Another common form of impersonation scam involves impersonating financial services firms, banks, debt collectors, or mortgage companies. Image: MargJohnsonVA/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffImposter scams remained a leading source of fraud against older persons last year in reports to both the FTC and the Senate Aging Committee’s hotline, says a report from the committee.
“While the types of scams remain relatively the same year over year, losses are on the rise. FTC reports that in 2023, losses topped $10 billion—$1 billion more than those reported in 2022, and the highest losses ever reported to FTC,” it says.
The most common forms of imposter scams are “grandparent” scams or “person in need” scams, in which scammers “may pretend to be a grandchild or a law enforcement officer who has detained the target’s grandchild,” it says, or someone else the person knows, claiming they are in trouble or need money to help with an emergency such as paying a hospital bill or leaving a foreign country.
Such scams may use AI to clone the voice of the person purportedly in trouble, it adds.
Signs to watch for, it says, include:
* The person on the line asks you to send money immediately and shares specific details on how to do so, for example through gift cards or cryptocurrency;
* The “grandchild” or “law enforcement officer” on the line asks you to keep the incident a secret, despite the supposed urgency of the situation.
* The caller rushes you and asks you to make immediate decisions with little to no information.
* The caller reports to be in a situation or place that does not align with the typical behavior of the person they claim to be.
Another common form of impersonation scam, the report says, involves impersonating financial services firms, banks, debt collectors, or mortgage servicers. “For instance, scammers may pretend to be debt collectors and attempt to trick their targets into paying debts that do not exist. They may harass or threaten their intended victims with penalties or jail time if they refuse to pay. Mortgage relief scams involve promises related to refinancing and lies about the terms of a loan,” it says.
In yet another form of impersonation scam, scammers pretend to be a representative of a federal agency and “threaten a person’s benefits, demand payment for “taxes” or “fees,” or allege some problem in order to steal your money or personal information. They may also use documents or images, like a federal logo, when communicating with the intended victim to make their claim seem legitimate,” it says.
The agencies most commonly impersonated are the SSA and IRS, it adds.
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