Locals Continue to Receive Scam Calls. There must have been a big push by scammers with their robocalls late last week and over the weekend. Local social media has been abuzz with people warning everyone about scam calls and others asking if certain robocalls were real. A representative from the King County Sheriff's Office even sent out a warning about the scams.
The scams tried to impersonate other entities. In one, scammers said that they were from the Social Security Administration and claimed that Social Security numbers had been suspended. The other scam claimed to be from Apple and encouraged people to log on to a supposed Apple "safe site" with their Apple ID.
With heavy participation by numerous group members, most people seemed to understand that the calls were scams and that the best thing to do is to just hang up.
There were some who commented to the effect of, "Shouldn't people know by now?" After all, scams delivered by robocalls or via email have received a lot of publicity over the last few years from the Federal Trade Commission, AARP, Better Business Bureau, Washington State Attorney General's Office and even local law enforcement agencies. It is hard to imagine that anyone does not know about scams.
However, there is always someone who does not get the word. And while that may be a small percentage, all scammers need is a small number of people to bite to make some money. Some people who might not have heard about these scams and might by vulnerable include:
·
The elderly who are isolated socially. The
elderly may be the first our first thought as being vulnerable to this type of
crime. Some surveys have shown that older people may succumb at a lesser rate
than younger people but lose more money when they are victimized. Some elderly
people may not be engaged with social media like younger people and may not have
the support system to hear about scams or to ask if a robocall is a scam. If
you have an elderly relative or neighbor, take some time to talk to them about
scams and what to do to avoid them.
·
Millennials and younger. Many youth now have
grown up on computers and smart phones. They accept this technology and they
might trust it more than their parents or grandparents. Those same surveys as
above have found that millennials may succumb more frequently to scams, but not
lose as much money as older people. Parents should talk to their children about
scams.
·
Immigrants. While I have not seen any reporting
specifically about immigrants being victimized by scams, it is logical that
they are also vulnerable. Many immigrants may not be as familiar with how our
government works. Their experiences in their homelands may tell them that a
phone call out of the blue with scare tactics and strong arm methods that act
as a shake down are normal ways of doing business.
Government agencies and others who track scams are constantly putting out press releases to educate the public. In part, this is important because scammers are always changing how they do business. For example, last year the U.S. government and the Indian government cooperated to arrest an IRS scam ring in India, in one of the largest operations against scammers. After that operation, IRS scam phone calls went dramatically down (but not completely away). Scammers changed tactics and increased their claims to be from the Social Security Administration in the Social Security number suspension scam. Informing the public about these changes helps the public to be on guard when they receive these robocalls.
Robocall Update. Most everyone is disgusted about robocalls. Congress is moving (probably too slowly for most of us) to tighten up the laws to prevent these annoying phone calls. This week the House passed H.R. 3375 - Stopping Bad Robocalls Act. The act would protect consumer privacy, ensure that robocalls are only made with consumer's consent, and ensure that consumers can withdraw consent. The bill now goes to the Senate for its consideration.
The National Law Review:
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/house-subcommittee-to-markup-composite-robocall-bill-tomorrow
Congress.gov:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3375
The Federal Trade Commission wants to hear from you. This short video suggests what to do if you receive a scam call and it urges you to report scams to the FTC. It uses the information to sued scammers and to provide information to law enforcement agencies who have criminal investigations into the scammers.
Federal Trade Commission:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DocHwQF_nE&feature=youtu.be
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