Seniors Lured in by Scams
The latest scam which is quite prevelant here in Northwest Ohio, is the caller who claims to be a relative stranded in Canada. Supposedly they are being detained and need money for fines and transportation home. Funds should be sent via wire transfer, Western Union or MoneyGram. Our Better Business Bureau has been contacted by many reporting this scam.
This scam can be carried out because your name, address, ages children, phone are listed on people search sites. We seniors can become frustrated when we hear a youngster is in trouble and we want to resucue. Never mind that we don’t recognize the voice. With our families so scattered we may not have heard the voice of our grandchildren for a long time.
Radio and Television are getting the scam information out here in our area. You might alert others in your area as to this scam as it is growing rapidly so a representative of our Better Buseau told me The Better
Is there a “For Sale Sign” in your yard. These scammers are not targeting the elderly who can’t defend themselves, they are appealing to the desperate who are having trouble selling there homes.
Go here to read the descriptions of scam offers to help sell your house. http://blogs.byownermls.com/2008/11/avoiding-common-homeowner-scams.html
While on line we have to have our defenses up. This week, a nice skype chat turned into a blunt statement “Send me more than $150 US dollars”. The nice thing about skype is that you just don’t respond. Likewise, as we advertise our business ventures on line by giving out our e-mail address, we become the recipient of scam letters. You know the one who is sick, father has died and left money in London. Not original is it? I just learned that there is a place to report these incidents. Facebook has been hit with a Nigerian type scam where the person claims to be your on line friend stranded in another country. This involves high jacking your on line account. Mail on line.com. reports the latest on line scam.
Send your reports to: http://www.antiphishing.org/report_phishing.html
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