7 Ways To Steer Clear Of A Scammer

As a recent retiree, adapting to a fixed income and understanding Medicare is already difficult, but the greatest challenge is avoiding scammers. Typically, you can recognize a scammer "once they have you on the line, phone scammers use deceitful promises, forceful sales tactics, and fake threats to extract information they can exploit to steal your money or identity (or both)." It's no wonder retirees often don't answer their phones anymore. Instead, they screen calls using voicemail. These scammers create obstacles for genuine and reliable salespeople, like insurance agents who aim to inform retirees and other consumers about helpful products like final expense or funeral pre-planning.

Scammers negatively affect consumers and all businesses. Recently, I received an email and text message claiming my Maryland Toll account was overdue. To avoid a penalty, I was instructed to pay my bill by clicking on a fraudulent link. When I called the Maryland Toll office, they confirmed that I received a scam message. They receive phone calls about these scam notices all the time. Just think about the amount of time this department alone spends on answering phone calls about these scam messages.

Identifying and avoiding scammers is crucial. But how can you steer clear of a scammer? The best guidance on this topic comes from Social Security—these points can be applied to any scam call:

1. Stay calm. If you receive a message that provokes a strong emotional reaction, take a moment to breathe. Discuss it with someone you trust.

2. Disconnect or disregard the message. Avoid clicking on links or attachments.

3. Safeguard your money. Scammers will demand payment via gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, money transfer, or by sending cash. These payment methods are favored by scammers because they are difficult to trace.

4. Protect your personal details. Be wary of any contact claiming to be from a government agency or law enforcement discussing an issue you don't recognize, even if the caller has some of your personal information.

5. Share the information to shield your community from scammers.

6. Report the scam to the Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report.

   
   

We hope this information has been helpful. If you want to get information on final expense and funeral pre-planning products, please do not hesitate to contact Benefits-4-Retirees.

"The value of money is a scam perpetrated by those who have it over those who don't."

Karen Joy Fowler

Resources:

• Phone Scams

• Protect Yourself From Scams