Legal Aid's Senior Scam Alert Newsletter


ATTORNEY JAY WHITE'S
SENIOR SCAM ALERT
 
Part of my work here at The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County is to make sure you are aware of scams out there so you can protect yourself and help spread the word.

Every month I'm going be sending you information about the scams I have been made aware of.

If a senior you know needs legal advice or counsel about a scam,
please don't hesitate to call Legal Aid at 1-650-558-0915.
August 2017
Phony Social Security Calls
The Acting Inspector General of Social Security, Gale Stallworth Stone, is warning citizens about a new Social Security Administration (SSA) employee impersonation scheme.

SSA has received reports from citizens across the country about phone calls from an individual posing as an SSA employee, frequently telling the recipient that they are due for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their Social Security benefits. 

The caller then attempts to get the victim to give them personal information such as date of birth or social security number; that information is then used to edit the SSA recipient's account, and the scam artist has SSA payments sent to themselves.

SSA employees occasionally contact citizens by telephone for customer-service purposes.  In only a few limited special situations, usually already known to the citizen, an SSA employee may request the citizen confirm personal information over the phone, but not to provide information that is not already on file.

If a person receives a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA, citizens may report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online via https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
 
Acting Inspector General Stone continues to warn citizens to be cautious, and to avoid providing information such as your SSN or bank account numbers to unknown persons over the phone or internet unless you are certain of who is receiving it.  "You must be very confident that the source is the correct business party, and your information will be secure after you release it," Stone said.
 
If a person has questions about any communication-email, letter, text or phone call-that claims to be from SSA or the OIG, please contact your local Social Security office, or call Social Security's toll-free customer service number at 1-800-772-1213, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, to verify its legitimacy.  (Those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can call Social Security's TTY number at 1-800-325-0778.)
Fake Business Emails
An E-mail message may appear to be from a business you know. Scammers sometimes use emails that look legit to trick you into sending money to them.

The email might say it's from a real estate professional you're working with, telling you there's a last-minute change and you should now wire closing costs to a different account. Or it could seem to be an email - with an invoice -apparently from your utility company, telling you to wire payment.

Once the scammers know about you, they send an email that seems to come from the business, telling you where to send money.  If you wire money, it goes to the scammer - and you may never see your money again.

If you suspect the e-mail is fake, contact the company through a number or email address you know is real. Don't use phone numbers or links in the email.
The Federal Trade Commission offers these safety tips:
  • Never wire money
  • Don't open email attachments, even from someone you know, unless you're expecting it. Opening attachments can put malware on your computer.
  • If you wired money through your bank, act quickly: ask them right away for a wire recall. If you used a money transfer company, like Western Union or MoneyGram, call their complaint lines immediately.
  • Report your experience to the FTC at www. Ftc.gov and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Give as much information as you can, including all requested banking information. The sooner you get this report in to ic3, the more likely they can help you.
  • If your bank asks for a police report, give them a copy of your report to ic3.gov.
Charity Scam
Charity scammers are creative, cunning and cruel - and they often mix in a little truth to spice up their big lies. This scheme shows just how low they can go.

Imposters claiming to be with the Federal Trade Commission, or another agency like the fictitious "Consumer Protection Agency," may call to say you have won a huge sweepstakes from the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a well-known charity for very sick children. To get the money, the callers say, the "winner" must first pay thousands of dollars to cover taxes or insurance on the prize. The call may even come from a 202 (Washington, DC) area code to appear credible - since the headquarters for the FTC and most federal agencies are in DC.

This is just a scheme using the well-known names of Make-a-Wish and the FTC to rob thousands of dollars from people. Once you wire money or send banking information, you will never see your money again.
 
The Federal Trade Commission offers a few facts and tips to protect yourself from charity scams:
  • The Make-a-Wish Foundation has information about this specific scam on its fraud alerts page.
  • If someone asks you to wire money or provide your bank account information over the telephone, it's a scam.
  • Anytime you are asked to pay to get a prize, it's a scam.
  • The FTC doesn't oversee sweepstakes and no FTC staff is involved in giving out sweepstakes prizes, but does go after sweepstakes scams like this one when reported.
  • If an FTC case results in refunds, you can find the details at ftc.gov/redress.
  • If you encounter this or other scams, report it to the FTC at 1-877-FTC-HELP or ftc.gov/complaint.
  • Talk to your friends and family about scams. Visit FTC.gov's Pass It On page to find out how.

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