Scams targeting the elderly are on the rise.
The Seal Beach Police Department observed a “significant” spike in financial scam and fraud offenses, with the majority of the victims being older citizens.
In response, the government announced a slew of preventative measures aimed at exposing scammers’ techniques, as well as advice on how to avoid being a victim.
When determining whether or not they are being scammed, residents should bear the following in mind:
- Scammers use a variety of scenarios to enable their crimes, including threats of violence to make their victims feel desperate, terrified, and compelled to give money.
- The most prevalent sorts of frauds utilized by scammers are phone calls, text messages, emails, and computer pop-up adverts via the internet and social media.
According to the Seal Beach Police Department, the following is a list of the most common sorts of fraudsters.
- Scams Using Robocalls: According to the Federal Communications Commission, almost 2.4 billion robocalls are made each month.
- Family Imposter Scams: To fool people into providing bank account numbers, passwords, and other personal information, fraudsters may masquerade as officials from government agencies, banks, friends, or family members.
- Scams involving the Social Security Administration: Imposters may inform victims that their Social Security number has been linked to illegal conduct and/or suspended.
- Lottery and Sweepstakes Impersonation Scams: The FTC received over 116,000 reports concerning sweepstakes and lottery-related scams in 2020. Victims of all ages lost at least $166 million in total, with a $1,000 median loss.
- Scams involving computer tech support and virus impersonation: Scammers claim that their victims’ computers have problems or viruses that they can assist them resolve.
Read the Seal Beach Police Department’s news release here for a complete overview of how to avoid being scammed in Seal Beach.
