Unknown caller show on mobile phone screen.
When you read about scams like this, it’s easy to fall into a “that happens to other people” mentality. However, when you look at the numbers of people in Illinois and around the country who’ve lost significant sums of money, keep in mind that it could easily happen to you.
Especially if you’re unprepared for some of the techniques that scammers use to separate you from your money.
Unknown caller show on mobile phone screen.
According to numbers furnished by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), while seniors are less likely to file complaints when they are victims of fraud, they tend to lose more money than younger consumers.
The median individual financial loss reported by people aged 80 and older was $1,700, which is a 55% increase from the previous year. Seniors lost four times the median loss of those in their twenties and thirties and two to three times more than other age groups.
The victim, a 74-year old woman from Western Springs, was told that the company she’d bought her computer’s virus protection plan from was about to go out of business, and they wanted to refund her the money she’d spent with them since they’d be closing up and unable to provide her with services she’d already paid for.
The catch was that she had to open an online banking account to receive her refund, according to Patch.com:
The following day, the woman signed up for the online banking service using her Fifth Third Bank account and spent around three hours with the man. At the end of their call, the man told the woman he did not work for the company and that she had just been scammed, police said.
The number used by the scammer was disconnected after their conversation.
And the money in her online account was gone, too. A grand total of $16,400 had been quickly siphoned off.
What can you do to avoid this happening to you or a loved one? Click here for advice from the Federal Trade Commission.
Can you take a guess as to how many public schools are in the U.S.? Do you have any clue as to how many billionaires might be residing there? Read on to find out—and learn a thing or two about each of these selection’s cultural significance and legacy along the way.
Data for this list was acquired from trusted online sources and news outlets. Read on to discover what major law was passed the year you were born and learn its name, the vote count (where relevant), and its impact and significance.
Click Here For The Original Source.
Recently, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued fresh warnings about cryptocurrencies amid Bitcoin's surge to a…
Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Athena here. (It’s anonymous!) Dear…
By Virma Simonette & Kelly Ngin Manila and Singapore14 March 2024Image source, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime…
Technology has disrupted many aspects of traditional life. When you are sitting at dinner and…
Reports of suicides, missing bodies, sexual kompromat and emptied bank accounts as fake sangomas con…
A South African woman has been left with her head in her hands after she…