Online Fraud and Scams: Protecting Yourself and Your Loved Ones
Today we’re going to talk about online fraud and scams, especially those targeting the elderly and older people. Even if you’re not elderly or an older person, the fraud schemes being perpetrated on large volumes of people in the United States have become an epidemic, and it’s now become an enterprise-level business for these scammers overseas. We’re going to talk about how to prevent it if you have somebody in your life who is being affected by this and is currently giving money to somebody.

How to Get Them to Stop
How do you get them to listen and stop sending money? How does the psychology work for these scammers? Where is it coming from, and what parts of the world is it coming from? We’re going to talk about how to flip the script on the blame game, how to change the perspective of who’s responsible for this, and also how to detect the patterns and maybe get some recovery from financial institutions.

Types of Scams
First, let’s talk about the types of scams that are being used. Many times, the scams fall into one of three categories. One is an unrealistic investment scam where there are huge returns and high percentage rates of profit. Normally, you can double your money in two or three months. Sometimes it’s crypto, sometimes it’s bonds, sometimes it’s some real estate investment. Many times, it’s crypto because crypto is in the news, so it sounds like it matches modern technology. It’s also a way to ensnare unsophisticated investors people who are maybe very smart, intellectual, or highly educated but don’t know a lot about crypto.

Romance Scams and Fear-Based Scams
Another type of scam is a romance scam, where the person starts with a personal relationship, maybe a romantic one, and then convinces the person to send money for things like travel, medical expenses, business investments, or even pet care. The victim feels like they are in a relationship with the scammer. The third type is fear-based, where they contact an elderly person and claim they’ve missed jury duty, will be arrested, or need to pay a bond fee. They might even claim a relative is in danger or has been kidnapped. Sometimes, they use voices that sound like the relative to get the victim to pay.

How the Scams Operate
It doesn’t matter what the format is the result is the same: the victim sends money to the scammer. This is an industrial-level enterprise. There are large-scale companies, mostly overseas in Asia, where hundreds or thousands of people constantly work on these scams. They contact tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of people to start these scams. They don’t need a high success rate; the labor is very cheap, paying as little as 50 cents an hour to send emails, post messages on Facebook, or use social media. One of the common elements is they always transition the conversation to WhatsApp, where the conversation becomes private.

Scale of the Enterprise
How big is this enterprise? It’s been reported that Cambodia, in Southeast Asia, is one country with a high number of scammers. It’s theorized that half of Cambodia’s GDP comes from scam money. Whether that’s true or not, it shows the scale of the problem. These scammers use genius-level psychology to ensnare even highly educated victims like attorneys, doctors, and professors. It doesn’t matter what your education level is scammers know exactly how to pull on heartstrings, guilt, shame, or threaten their victims.

Shifting the Blame
We need to shift the blame from the victim. It’s not their fault for giving money; it’s the scammer who’s the predator. If you were walking down the street and got hit by a car, it’s not your fault. The same applies here. Victims also want to be part of the solution, but first, they need to be aware that this is a scam.

Breaking the Cycle
How do you prevent this if someone in your life is being victimized? How can you get them to believe you? Sometimes, they don’t want to believe that their romantic partner or investment is a scam. You can tap into three solutions. First, show them mainstream media, websites like activeintel.com, or official FBI or IC3 reports. Sometimes, documentation isn’t enough. You might need someone they trust a mentor, someone with influence over them to intervene. The third option is contacting their financial institution. Alert the bank about potential fraud, and while the bank might not lock the account, they will be on notice and may act to avoid liability.

Holding Financial Institutions Accountable
If someone has been a victim, you can look at third parties, like banks, to see if they have liability for allowing the fraud to happen. You may want to seek legal advice to pursue recovery. This type of fraud is elder abuse, but it’s not limited to the elderly victims can come from all walks of life. Scammers target older people more often because they may be less tech-savvy, but anyone can fall victim.

Emotional Impact and Support
Sometimes, even if a victim suspects they lost money, they might not tell their family out of shame or embarrassment. If you suspect this, give them the space to talk without blaming or shaming them. For more information about dealing with victims and fraud recovery, check out activeintel.com or actualhuman.com for in-person consultations.