Be Careful! 5 Dangerous Scams Targeting Retirees

Regardless of age, everyone might become a target for con artists. In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had collected as many as 1.4 million fraud reports totaling up to $1.48 billion lost to such scams- and those are just the scams we know about as many others manage to fly under the radar.

Compared to 2017, there has been a 38% increase in such fraudulent activities and nobody is safe. While younger people have reported falling for scams more than seniors, they tend to lose less money in the process, around $400. Elderly folk tend to lose $751 if they trust the wrong people.

Older people in particular make great targets for fraudsters due to a combination of reasons. They own their own homes, usually have good credit, and have sizable savings- the fact that they take much longer to report the scams also doesn’t help either. It has also been reported that those born in the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s are particularly vulnerable because they’re more trusting and polite.

Now, we’ve all (hopefully) heard about email, telemarketing, Social Security, or IRS scams. These are the most frequent types of scams and while some details may vary they’ve remained unchanged over the past several years.

Today we thought we should tackle 5 types of surprising scams that are on the rise. Watch out for these and if you think you’ve been victimized, don’t waste any more time and file a complaint with your local police department. The faster you do, the more likely you are to get the results you need! In addition, don’t forget to contact the Federal Trade Commission while you’re at it.