State Attorney General Kamala D. Harris recently issued a consumer alert urging older Californians to be on the lookout for the “Grandparent Scam” and other scams targeting seniors and others that have been reported to the California Department of Justice.
Earlier this month, Harris and AARP California hosted a telephone town hall with thousands of older Californians to discuss these various scams. According to estimates from the AARP, fraud costs American seniors billions of dollars a year.
“The perpetrators of these cruel scams and fraudulent schemes prey on the bond between grandparents and their grandchildren,” Harris said. “My office will continue to work with AARP and our law-enforcement partners to educate Californians about the threat of these scams and to prosecute those who victimize our families, friends and neighbors.”
Nancy McPherson, AARP California state director, said AARP is committed to helping older Californians and their financial well-being by arming them with knowledge.
“That’s why we’re proud to join Attorney General Harris and the Department of Justice in spreading the word about these nefarious schemes,” McPherson said.
Harris provided tips to those who should be aware about these financial frauds.
Be aware of these scams
The “Grandparent Scam” is a common scheme targeting older Californians. In this act of fraud, scam artists pretend to call on behalf of a relative of the victim— often a grandchild— who purportedly needs money, according to Harris. Scammers will create stories of this relative being in jail or stranded in a far away city. Conveniently, the scam artists will insist that there is no time to call anyone or that the relative does not want to alert anyone about their circumstance. Remember, scammers often depend on creating a false sense of urgency. Do not send money or offer any help without first calling other family members to make sure that the emergency is real. If the caller says that a certain relative is being held in jail, call the jail or police station in order to make sure that a relative is there and ask for the amount of money needed for bail.
Some scammers pretend to be from the IRS, according to Harris. These scammers will call and say that the victim owes the IRS money and that they will go to jail if they do not pay immediately. Again, notice that the caller is creating a false sense of urgency. The IRS will first send a letter before attempting to contact. The IRS will never call and ask for money and threaten to send anybody to jail. Moreover, the IRS will never ask for personal information through email. If such an email is received, delete it— it is from a scammer, says Harris. Potential fraud can be reported to the IRS and Treasury Department at 1-800-366-4484 or treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml .
Similar to the IRS scheme is the debt-collector scam, says Harris. Here, con artists pretend to be debt collectors and say that if payment is not received immediately, then the victim will go to jail. Again, note the sense of urgency the scammers try to create. Under state and federal law, it is illegal for debt collectors to threaten to send anybody to jail if debt is not paid. If such a call is received, report it to the California Attorney General’s Office at oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company .
Finally, if a phone call or email is presenting news that seems too good to be true, such as winning the lottery or making easy money from home, it is likely to be just that— too good to be true. Do not share personal information with scammers.
Avoid being a victim
Harris again offers the following tips for older Californians to avoid becoming a victim of these scams:
The most important thing to remember is that scammers rely on pressuring people to act quickly, Harris says. By instilling a false sense of urgency, scammers take advantage of the good will of senior citizens who want to help their family and friends in these false scenarios where they are in peril.
Remember to take time and do research before sending money or personal information to another individual.
Remain vigilant and be wary of calls or emails from strangers who ask for money or personal information. Just because somebody knows things about someone’s family does not mean that they should be trusted. The Internet, including websites like Facebook and other social networks, can give scam artists all of the information they need to pretend to be a trusted family friend.
For more information, visit aarp.org .
