Holiday season is scammers’ season too. Millions of people shop online at this time, with record spending expected. If your aging parents are online shoppers, help them to see the tactics thieves use to steal their personal information.
Personally, I do a lot of online shopping for the convenience. I have gotten these fake text and email messages recently along with what are probably countless others who also shop this way. Scammers know that older adults may not scrutinize incoming messages as thoroughly as their younger family members do and they take advantage of it. This is exactly why younger family members and adult children of aging parents should alert their elders to the lurking danger. It increases during the holiday shopping season but it also happens all year long.
The Typical Message
All of us are in the category of targets when we shop online. My latest message in my email said that “my item” could not be delivered because part of my street address was missing and I needed to update it. Just click on the link…That is a phishing scam.
I could tell it was fake by the fact that it did not identify “my item”, and I did not recognize the sender’s address. Your aging parent could fall for this phishing scam, thinking that they had a delivery coming or a gift coming. If possible, show them the kind of wording scammers use to do this trick. Know that when you or they order something from a real company, it usually tells you what shipped, when it shipped and when it will be delivered. It identifies what you ordered, not with a nondescript “your item”. If there actually were a problem with your address, you would be notified by the seller before anything shipped to you. Being notified that your address is missing something is a clear red flag of a scam.
Another Common Scammer Message
You get an email or text and it says you “missed the delivery”. Most of us do not have to be home for deliveries. If you order something that does require your signature at delivery, you will know it and delivery services like UPS leave a note for you about the attempted delivery if you were not home. They do not send texts! The scammers inevitably say to just click on the link and they’ll take care of the imaginary problem. That is a trick to steal your or your aging parents’ personal information.
How Do Scammers Get Personal Information?
According to the Federal Trade Commission, if your aging parent clicks on the link, scammers can get information like their usernames and passwords for online banking, email, or social media accounts. The link is a trick to allow the scammer access the person’s stored information on the computer. Scammers can quickly steal the victim’s identity and open new accounts in the victim’s name.
Identity Theft
Opening new accounts in another person’s name is a goal of identity thieves. It has far reaching consequences. They can buy real estate, take out car loans, empty bank accounts and other thefts, all using the stolen identity of the unsuspecting victim. It can take months or years for the person whose identify was stolen to clear up the messes the scammers create. If this has already happened, go to IdentityTheft.gov to find out how to repair the damage.
The Takeaways
- Holiday shopping season puts all who do online shopping at risk for scams.
- Warning your aging parents about these increasingly common scams is good protection, as they may not know the risks on their own.
- Show aging parents the hallmarks of text and email scams about “incomplete information” or “missed delivery” among other tricks these thieves use.
- Show aging loved ones what to do if they get a text or email about something they ordered: Never click on links as above described. Always contact the seller directly if you get such a message about a “problem” with the order, delivery or payment method.
- Never respond back to the sender of the questionable email or text by their method of communication. Instead, go to the company from which the item was ordered, directly to their website, or call their phone number, to verify any suspicious message.