“Stranger Danger” is not a new concept, but the warning often issued to children is also relevant to young adults and the elderly at risk of scams and financial crimes.
“With new technology, strangers have an easier time getting a hold of you,” said Jenny Eck, consumer protection program officer with the state attorney general’s office.
Eck visited Hunter’s Pointe senior living center Monday to warn residents about scams reported across the state. One key step, she said, is to never give out personal and financial information to someone over the phone or computer.
Just last week, Eck learned of a new scam, which stung a resident at another Helena retirement community. The caller told the woman her computer might have viruses. The woman logged onto her computer and saw common symbols the caller said were signs of a virus. The caller told her she had to go to a special website and download software in order to clean her computer.
Visiting this website allowed the caller to have remote access to the woman’s computer and all of her information, Eck said. The woman then gave the caller her credit card information in order to pay $200 for the supposed virus blocker.
Luckily, the woman felt something was not right, ended up reporting the scam, and was refunded her money. Most of those fooled by frauds are not reimbursed.
“Sometimes it is too late. Once that money is gone, it’s hard to get it back,” Eck said.
Many times with sweepstakes and lottery scams, the money is wired out of the country and impossible to retrieve, she said.
“If you didn’t buy a ticket, you didn’t win,” Eck said of lottery scams. “Just because the check looks real doesn’t mean it is.”
One of the most heartbreaking schemes, dubbed the grandparents scam, preys on the elderly with the scam artist pretending to be a grandchild in trouble. The story is usually that the grandchild went to Canada or elsewhere and got in trouble with the law. The caller pretends to be the grandchild and says they need bail money or attorney fees. The money needs to be wired and no other family members can know about it, the caller says.
“This is one we’re getting a lot of,” Eck said, adding that a Havre woman was taken for $30,000 with the scam.
One tip is that banks will never call and ask for your information. Eck urged people with questions to call or visit their bank directly. Other words of advice Eck had for Hunter’s Pointe residents included putting a security freeze on your credit, register with the federal do-not-call list and shred unneeded financial documents.
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