Older adults are often targeted by scams, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new avenues for scams. Fear and isolation may have made people more vulnerable to scams and con-artists, leading to a “scam”-demic accompanying the global pandemic.
In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that Americans aged 60 and over lost over $602 million to fraud, scams and financial exploitation schemes.
Some new scams based on COVID-19 included calls promising antibody tests, gathering personal information claiming to schedule a vaccine appointment, and gathering personal information under the guise of contact tracing. Scammers sold products falsely claiming to be miracle cures or to prevent COVID-19. Some related scams sought banking information with the promise of additional stimulus payments. The isolation caused by the pandemic also led to a rise in romance scams.
Some of the top scams reported in 2020 were:
1. Government impersonation scams. IRS impersonation scams have been very common in previous years. In 2020, Social Security scams became more common. Scammers claim the victim’s Social Security Number has been suspended or used in a crime. The caller attempts to scare the victim by threatening lawsuits or to stop Social Security payments. The scammer then requests personal information that may be used for identity theft, to take over the victim’s accounts, commit prescription…
