Identity theft and investment scams targeting Manchester area seniors

Elder fraud has long been a problem but is becoming rampant in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Manchester senior citizens have been targeted in the past year by scammers.

On a fairly regular basis over the past year, WCSO collaboration deputies assigned to the Village of Manchester have been seeing reports of fraud, identity theft, and investment scams among residents, particularly senior citizens.

Most recently, in late June, a deputy received a report of fraud where the victim lost approximately $146,000 to a suspect "possibly known to the victim," who convinced them to invest money in a fictitious company.

"That is a lot of money," commented Sgt. Joel Gebauer, who is in charge of the Manchester station.

Although Gebauer has spoken to local seniors at their twice-weekly luncheon to spread awareness of the situation, these events continue to happen on an almost monthly basis. He is trying to get the word out about these activities so that fewer people will be taken in by these smooth-talking criminals.

Quite often the fraudsters are successful in keeping their victims from telling others about the details of the financial fraud, which exacerbates the problem. The secrecy requested (or demanded) of the victims allows the fraudulent behavior to continue.

Another common scam is when a victim is notified that a check was deposited into their account "in error" and the scammer then requests the victim to return the money. However, by this time the original check has bounced and the victim is actually sending his or her own money to the criminal. Losses of $4,810, $17,000, and $19,500 were reported to the WCSO by Manchester Village residents within a short period of time with these types of scams.

Identity theft has also been rampant in recent months' reports from the WCSO. Reports of Comcast accounts being established in victims' names, stolen credit cards by otherwise trusted home care workers, false unemployment claims, and more, have been investigated by collaboration deputies assigned to Manchester Village.

According to the FBI, senior citizens are often targeted by scammers because they tend to be trusting and polite. They also usually have financial savings, own a home, and have good credit — all of which make them attractive to scammers. Additionally, seniors are often less inclined to report fraud simply because they don’t know how, or they may be too embarrassed at having been scammed.

The FBI also recommends that everyone take precautions to protect your identity if a criminal gains access to your device or account. Immediately contact your financial institutions to place protections on your accounts, and continue to monitor your accounts and personal information for suspicious activity.

The FBI has a page dedicated to exposing and preventing these types of fraud, which typically are aimed at older citizens. See https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/elder-fraud.

According to WCSO's Forensic Detective, Kevin Parviz, there are some simple, yet alarming, statistics that can help residents recognize an attempt to defraud. "Essentially, 99% of all unrecognizable emails are fraudulent in nature," he says. "If you get a email from a company, it may ask you to take some kind of action to be taken on your part. If you’ve never done business with this company and you’ve received an email from them, there’s a 99% chance it’s fraudulent."

In addition, Parviz says, 100% of all communications that indicate a sense of urgency or rush is likely a fraud. An entity emails you, calls you, or text messages you, and states immediate action is needed to resolve a problem and money is the only answer to solving said problem. Resist the pressure to act quickly. Scammers create a sense of urgency to produce fear and lure victims into immediate action.

It's also safe to say that if a caller or correspondent requests payment in the form of gift cards — whether Apple, Amazon, Target, or other easily-negotiated and untraceable methods — it is almost totally likely to be a scam.

Gebauer added, "Essentially we’re trying to combat frauds in the community, specifically amongst the elderly, and I feel that if information is shared to help citizens get ahead of a problem before it becomes too late, then we’ll be saving countless resources to avoid further people from becoming victims."

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.