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Have you ever gotten a text from UPS saying your package has been held up in customs? Or from an “old friend” stuck in a distant place without the funds to get home? Or the recently circulating message from Bay Area Fastrak asking you to log in with your ID and password to pay a toll you don’t recognize?
Online fraud and identity theft are on the rise and, according to FBI Assistant Director Mehtab Syed, the senior population is particularly vulnerable. Senior fraud accounts for $3.4 billion of the over $12.5 billion in losses to U.S. residents tracked in the FBI’s most recent report.
“It’s out there,” said Health Projects Center family consultant Christina Andrade, who works in San Benito County. “People are getting scammed over the phone or even through the mail. And it’s very difficult to recoup anything lost because most of these scammers aren’t even here in the United States.”
According to the FBI, the most common schemes come from call centers engaged in “phishing,” in which people are tricked into sharing sensitive information; and “spoofing,” in which someone pretends to be a dependable source to gain people’s trust. In 2023, crypto currency investment offers were the most costly forms of fraud. Around 22% of those scammed were over 60 years old.
“I can’t say there is one common form of fraud,” said San Benito County Sheriff’s Deputy Kaleb Simpson. “Some scams ask you to pay for tech support or avoid deportation. Or they’re calling because you owe a bunch of money to the IRS, and they offer to settle it right then.”
The Sheriff’s Department itself has been invoked by scammers who represent themselves as deputies calling residents on official department business and threatening to jail the target for not showing up for jury duty, or on the pretext of collecting IRS fines.
In 2021, the scammers claimed to be calling from the office of Tom Keylon, who was then a captain in the Sheriff’s Department. In 2022, it was from then-lieutenant Tomas Corral’s office.
Simpson said scammers hack websites to gather information or buy numbers from overseas sources. Some cold-call numbers in the White Pages, hoping for a victim.
“It’s the case where anyone’s number is susceptible to being called by a potential scammer,” he said. “But seniors need to protect themselves more because they might not be as savvy about some of these calls.”
Simpson said the simplest way to avoid con artists is to hang up as soon as you notice the warning signs. If someone tells you, “Don’t hang up on me,” or “You have to pay this now,” he said, you are likely being scammed.
Andrade with Health Projects Center said that one particularly serious problem is scammers looking for government-issued identification numbers. Social Security numbers, in particular, can also be used to open up credit card accounts, which scammers use without making payments, destroying the victim’s credit rating.
“If they claim to be from Social Security,” she said, “it would make sense that they already know your number. So why would they ask for it? If they get these numbers, they can also start charging Medicare for braces, wheelchairs, and things the client never gets and often doesn’t even need.”
Simpson said most reported attempts at fraud in San Benito County have been unsuccessful.
“People seem to be aware of the different attempts and scams that people run,” he said. “So something starts to smell fishy, they hang up. Then they call us and say, ‘Hey, this is kind of weird.’ But every once in a while, someone does lose some money.”
Simpson said one obstacle to enforcement is people not wanting to report being scammed because they are embarrassed.
“It’s admitting that you were fooled,” he said, “and someone pulled the wool over your eyes. But we’re definitely not judging you if you come and say, ‘Hey, I got scammed.’ Because we’ve all been in that same boat in one way or another.”
Simpson said that the way to report fraud depends on where you live: incidents in Hollister would be reported to the police, and anywhere else in the county would be reported to the Sheriff’s Department. There is also an online resource, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, where reports can be filed with the FBI.
“The FBI have some way of tracking down what phone number was used by what system at what time,” Simpson said. “They have systems to track things like overseas call centers that’s way above our pay grade.”
Andrade said it’s important to not only to immediately report fraud attempts to the police but also to the potential victim’s bank and credit card companies.
“Everybody needs to be aware of what questions they’re asking you,” she said. “If they can get your account information, then everything’s gone. And then what? You don’t have money to pay your own bills.”
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