Author Ryan M. Chippendale has been in public safety/service for over two decades. He has held the roles of Police Officer, Firefighter, EMT, CPR Instructor, NRA Instructor, Glock Armorer, and Notary Public, among others. He is the proud father of three girls (12, 10, 4) and has been married for thirteen years. He is the son of a senior mother who keeps a running honey-do list for him, and he has expertise with firearms, electronics and computer systems. He is an ordained minister, is fluent in sarcasm and has been known to be found at a karaoke bar once or twice in his life. This is the first of a series of three blog posts.
Criminals exploit seniors for what they perceive to be naive tendencies but in reality it’s because they are generally too nice… and too trusting. According to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, scammers cheat seniors our of approximately $2.9 billion annually. Consider that number is likely low; a lot of these crimes go unreported as the victims are embarrassed or ashamed of being taken advantage of. I’ve had investigations where I was able to identify victims of a scam, had the criminals in custody, seized the proceeds of the scam, and yet the victim still denied they had been taken.
After you finish these articles you may be inclined to develop an extremely cynical outlook towards strangers. While that’s not necessarily the healthiest way to live, a dash or cynicism can help you apply a “smell test” to situations that might victimize you. As much as it pains me to admit this, some criminals are clever. Almost to the point where I’ve been impressed by their creativity. Even the dumb ones are being schooled by a hierarchy. The criminals get together and compare what works and what doesn’t. Often, they use the infamous “Dark Web”, making tracking their communications more difficult.
Let’s discuss some rules which if you apply to your life, you will protect yourself against 99% of scams we’ve seen.
First, and what is super obvious after it’s explained – the government (or law enforcement) will never call you.
Let me explain… this doesn’t mean that if your car is parked in a construction area and they’re trying to get it moved, a police department wouldn’t call you and ask to have your car moved. What will NEVER happen is a law enforcement representative calling to tell you that you’re wanted for a crime, or someone used your social security number, or if you don’t do *something* there will be a negative consequence.
Scammers will cold call you and represent themselves as a member of a law enforcement agency. They will tell you that you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest (for most folks that’s a scary thought) and that if you don’t do what they tell you, you will be imminently arrested. Often they want you to purchase gift cards from a local retailer and digitally transmit the funds to the scammer to satisfy whatever fraudulent accusation they’ve convinced you is going to get you arrested. Can’t figure out how to do that? It’s ok, they’ll settle for you just reading off the numbers from the card you bought. They will also instruct you that you must stay on the phone with them the entire time. While this might make you think there’s some legitimacy to this tactic, it’s solely so you don’t have the opportunity to call someone and ask if something sounds fishy.
No government agency accepts gift cards in payment for anything. In fact, if anyone ever asks to you buy a gift card, you should assume it’s a scam. No matter how much how much convincing they use, gift cards = scam. I’ve experienced cases where the victim received a phone call from a person and the caller ID read “US Marshal Service.” The scammer instructed the victim to Google the phone number on the caller ID which revealed a legitimate Deputy US Marshal in Texas. The problem was, the scammer utilized a method called “spoofing” to change their caller ID. While the situation may have appeared real, once the “agent” instructed the victim to purchase a gift card, then the giant red flag should have gone a mile high.
Another more disgusting scam targeted towards seniors involves pretending that their grandchildren are in some kind of trouble. This attack comes from the scammer pretending to actually be the grandchild, or perhaps a law enforcement officer who has their grandchild in “custody”, and needs bail to have them released. Guess how that bail needs to be paid? You got it, gift cards.
If the phone rings, and it’s a stranger – you should be skeptical. Think about it. Have you ever tried to call a government agency and they actually answered the phone in less time than it takes to cook a roast? They don’t have the staffing to call YOU either. In the extremely rare example that it’s a legitimate call, there’s nothing wrong with asking for their contact information and verifying. Research the phone number, not just calling back the number they give you. Figure out a way to authenticate who they are. All else fails, take notes and go to your local police department. Let a trained professional offer their opinion on the situation.
- The Government won’t call you
- Technology such as caller ID is just as susceptible to exploitation
- Anyone asking for payment via gift card is likely trying to scam you
- Law enforcement doesn’t call ahead their intention to arrest you. We like surprises.
While this goes without saying, this is absolutely not an exhaustive list of scam possibilities. In later articles I’ll discuss different tactics a scammer might use to victimize you.