Sadly, we as human beings are constantly exposed to devastating news and heartbreaking stories. With this negativity constantly shoved in our faces, it can be hard to see the good in the world. However, beneath all the devastation, good people live and positive stories are happening every single day.
Along these lines, there have been many examples of elderly people being scammed. The elderly, or even sometimes adults over 50, are targeted for many reasons. The main reason is obviously due to the fact that the older a person is, the more likely his/her mind starts to slip, leaving one more susceptible to falling for a scam.
The other crucial reason is that many of these scams are done over the internet or through electronics. While the current generation is flooded with experts in technology, older people did not grow up with the same knowledge. Despite having a limited understanding of the internet, many elderly adults still surf the web, leaving them as bait for these criminal scammers.
One very common scam is a pretty simple one. Scammers will call phone numbers that they know will be vulnerable and act as their credit card companies, banks, car insurance companies, etc. to gather their card numbers and/or social security numbers. This can aid in stealing one’s identity or using their card number to steal money.
The more advanced scams exist online. Hackers can create pop-ups or fake profiles to lure people into thinking they are buying something, entering into a contest to win a prize or donating to charity. While most people know not to give out their information, many older people don’t understand the risk.
This story we have is very unique and took scamming to a whole new level. No one could believe the shocking way that this scammer fooled his victim.
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