Seniors lose thousands to scammers as embarrassment prevents victims from reporting
JACKSON, Tenn. — Older adults often fall victim to scams as the amount lost increases with age. The Federal Trade Commission saw a record $12.5 billion stolen last year.
They spent decades saving for retirement, now, scammers are stealing it in minutes. A growing number of seniors in our community are loosing thousands to scams, and many are too embarrassed to report it.
“The victim are told not to tell anybody that they’re involved in whatever scam that they’re involved in, and so they wait,” said Sergeant Jeff Herndon with the Jackson Police Department.
Herndon says time is crucial, as the window for recovery typically lasts seven days but some forms of payment are almost impossible to recover.
“Gift cards are very hard to trace,” said Herndon.
Here in the Hub City, investigators are seeing pop-up email scams containing viruses or urgent messages, phone calls impersonating organizations, and more.
“Of course the text message scams where they text you saying you need to contact them in regard to a warrant, it’s not going to be law enforcement. Most times if law enforcement is looking for you, they’re going to come find you,” said Sergeant Darrell Listenbee with the Jackson Police Department.
Listenbee says scammers often target seniors, assuming they’re less familiar with new technology and easier to pressure.
Just last week, Jackson Police saw 10 reports of scams in our area, with one victim scammed out of $95,000.
“This is such a sensitive subject for a lot of folks. They’re embarrassed when they get scammed,” said Herndon
Embarrassment often leads to dead ends as victims choose not to pursue a case. Listenbee urges seniors to immediately stop communication and contact law enforcement.
Resources are available for scam victims. The Identity Theft Resource Center provides free, one-on-one assistance and the Federal Trade Commission allows you to report scams and recover from identity theft.
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