Sheriff urges elderly to guard against scams

CELINA - Scammers often target senior citizens, but seniors can protect their nest eggs, Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said at the first meeting of the Forum of Resources for Elder Education of Mercer County.

Older people often are targeted because, compared with younger people, they have more money available, have more time to talk with scammers and tend to be very charitable. Grey said he didn't want seniors to stop being charitable but encouraged them to be careful to whom they give money and how they donate.

Senior citizens grew up in a world where they could trust others. He sadly noted that is no longer the case. Grey has heard of scammers claiming to be raising money to buy bulletproof vests for local law enforcement, but to date he has not received a bulletproof vest from any organization.

Scammers use an urgent tone and don't want to give targets time to consult with others or think things over and get back to them, Grey said. They want information that moment.

Even if a call sounds real or an email looks real, never give out bank information or Social Security numbers over the phone or in an email. Don't click on links in strange emails, as scammers can also create legitimate-appearing websites. As rude as it sounds, people should just hang up the phone, Grey said.

Local scams include home-improvement scams, in which people come to the door asking to do various yard work or improvement projects, ask for half the money upfront and then leave. Grey said he knows people who have lost thousands of dollars this way.

People have also been told they've won the lottery and been asked for bank information for tax purposes. Scammers have even sent out fake checks to help convince people, but by the time the check bounces, the scammer already has the target's money, Grey said.

He suggested not doing business with people arriving at the door to solicit work, whether they turn out to be scammers or not. Additionally, if people haven't bought lottery tickets, they definitely haven't won.

Other examples include scammers calling seniors saying their grandchildren have been jailed in a foreign country and asking for bail money, callers claiming they are from the Internal Revenue Service and scammers claiming people have missed jury duty and must pay up or be sent to jail.

Law enforcement will always require you to pay for bail in person, and federal and local government entities, including the IRS, will never call, Grey said.

Grey said scams in big cities include credit card chip and mag strip readers that are placed at gas pumps and ATMs. Cameras the size of a pin top also have been placed over ATM keypads, allowing scammers to watch as people type their pin numbers.

Always look before swiping or inserting credit cards for signs of tampering, he said. In big cities, it's suggested the people use their hands to cover the number pad as they enter their pin to guard against cameras and prying eyes.

Additionally, in a new death-threat hoax, people are contacted by someone claiming to have a contract on their life but offering a chance to pay off the would-be killer.

If nothing else, Grey suggested that seniors double check information or offers for themselves. If they are contacted by strange businesses or nonprofits, they can usually contact the Better Business Bureau to check the organization's reputation. Additionally, seniors could add their number to a do-not call list at ftc.gov. The Mercer County Public Library personnel can also help put seniors on the do-not call list.

Technology has evolved, and new apps for smartphones can let scammers appear to be calling from any number they want, even local ones. Even Grey had been contacted through a friend's number, and it turned out to be someone asking for money.

The trouble is that telecommunications scams can be next to impossible to solve. In the rare case that someone gets arrested, seniors probably won't get back the money they had lost. A scammer wouldn't be in the business if they had money in the first place, so suing likely would be ineffective. If scammers are sent to jail, they won't be earning money to pay back people.

"The best way to protect your nest egg is to not let it get away from you," Grey said.

The FREE of Mercer County is a new group of local professionals who want to help educate seniors on resources in the area. The next FREE meeting will be at 2 p.m. June 30 in the Rockford Carnegie Library at 162 S. Main St., Rockford. Tom Risch from Mercer County Veterans Service Office will discuss veterans benefits, including disability and death pensions, VA health-care eligibility and health care in a VA medical facility. Free pie and coffee will be served, and a door prize will be awarded.

More information can be found on Facebook at Elder Education - Mercer County or at MercerFREE.care.

Corrections:

The next meeting of Forum of Resources for Elder Education of Mercer County will be June 20. The error was made in reporting.