Scammers are using leaked personal information to rob older Americans of their hard-earned money.
In 2023, people over 60 lost a whopping $3.4 billion to scams, a 10.6% increase from 2022, according to the FBI’s IC3 reports.
Tech support scams are the most common, affecting the largest number of people and causing the greatest financial losses. Other common scams include investment fraud, romance fraud, and identity theft.
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How criminals use your personal data against you
According to FBI IC3 reports According to data analyzed by data removal company Incogni, criminals are able to scam seniors because they have access to their personal data. They gain access to this data through data brokers who collect personal information from public records and sometimes obtain it privately as well. This data can include anything from your name, contact number, address, and financial details to your marital status, the electronic devices you use, and more.
Once a criminal has your personal information, they can use many tactics to scam you. Below I discuss some of the most common ones:
1. Investment fraud: Criminals who commit investment fraud use personal information such as financial data, names and contact numbers to trap their victims. This type of fraud affected 6,400 people in 2023, resulting in total monetary losses of $1.2 billion.
2. Tech support scam: This is one of the most common scams where a criminal uses information like your contact number and the electronic devices you use to scam you. They can also try to impersonate popular e-commerce companies like Best Buy and Amazon. Around 18,000 people have been affected by tech support scams in 2023, losing over $589.8 million.
3. Fraud of trust or romance: Personal data such as income level, credit rating, and assets owned can help criminals choose viable targets for this type of scam. More than 6,700 Americans have been affected by loss of trust or romance fraud and have lost more than $356.9 million.
Other examples of ways criminals scam seniors include: government impersonationidentity theft and harassment.
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What is the scale of these scams?
Scams involving personal data have significantly affected seniors in the United States. In 2023, there were a total of 101,068 complaints filed by people over the age of 60, resulting in total losses of $3.4 billion. This represents a 14.5% increase from the 88,300 complaints filed in 2022 and a 10.6% increase in the total amount of money lost (up from $3.1 billion in 2022).
The numbers are even more shocking when you consider reports from the past five years. Between 2019 and 2023, a staggering 455,000 claims were filed, with seniors losing a total of $10 billion. In 2023, the average amount lost per victim was $33,900, a slight decrease (3.38%) from the $35,100 in damages reported in 2022.
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10 ways to protect yourself from criminals who exploit personal information
If you think you are at risk or have been affected by one of the many scams I mentioned, follow these steps to protect your privacy and digital security.
1. Invest in data deletion services: While no service promises to remove all of your data from the Internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites on an ongoing basis over an extended period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.
2. Place a fraud alert: Contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) and request that a fraud alert be placed on your credit file. This will make it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name without verification.
3. Beware of phishing attempts: Be alert to emails, phone calls, or messages from unknown sources that ask for personal information. Avoid clicking on suspicious links or providing sensitive information unless you can verify the legitimacy of the request.
The best way to protect yourself from clicking on malicious links that install malware that can access your private information is to have strong antivirus protection installed on all your devices. This can also alert you to any phishing emails or ransomware scams. Get my picks for the best antivirus protection winners of 2024 for your Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.
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4. Check your Social Security benefits: It is essential to periodically review your Social Security benefits to ensure that they have not been altered or manipulated in any way, safeguarding your financial security and preventing potential fraud.
5. Change your password: If you think your personal data has been compromised, you can make it unusable for thieves by simply changing your password. Choose a strong password, one you don’t use anywhere else. Better yet, consider getting a password manager to generate one for you.
6. Periodically monitor your financial accounts: Review your bank accounts, credit card statements, and other financial accounts regularly (at least every two weeks) for unauthorized transactions or suspicious activity. This allows you to detect fraud early and take action.
7. Be careful on social media: Be careful about the personal information you share on social media, as scammers can use details like birthdays, vacation plans, and family or friend connections to target you.
8. Use multi-factor authentication: Allow Two-factor authentication on your important accounts to add an extra layer of security beyond a password. This requires a second step, such as a code sent to your phone to log in.
9. Back up your data: Regularly back up important data on your devices to a external hard drive or cloud storage. This protects you if your device is lost, stolen, or infected with malware.
10. Use updated security software: Keep your security software, such as antivirus and antimalware programs, up to date. updated on all your devices to protect against the latest threats.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Your data is now more valuable than gold to scammers and criminals. They can use your personal information to cause not only financial but also psychological damage. These criminals especially target people over 60, knowing that they are vulnerable. It is important that you are very careful when browsing the Internet and do not accept unsolicited advice from anyone on the web or over the phone.
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