When Don McGran Jr., a security adviser for Fairfield County Bank and a former 30-year veteran of the Ridgefield police department, looks at Fairfield County, he sees a vulnerable senior population.
With a median household income of $82,000, Fairfield is one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S., followed closely by neighboring Westchester County”™s $79,585 median income. Those two ingredients combine to form a hot spot of predatory calls, letters and emails from scammers hoping to earn thousands of dollars in one day, McGran said. Senior numbers ”” 15 percent of Fairfield County is above 60 and New York state has 3.7 million 60-plus seniors ”” speak to ample opportunities for fraud.
“Quite simply put, it”™s where the money is,” he said. “That”™s what the bad guys want.”
McGran has been giving his “Protecting your money from scams” presentation throughout Fairfield County”™s senior centers, community centers and Rotary clubs for the past three years, warning seniors of the costly danger that lies on the other end of the telephone.
Despite the belief seniors are targeted because of a declining mental state, McGran said it is instead because seniors often have large amounts of cash at their disposal from retirement and grew up in a time when scams like this did not occur. Scams can range anywhere from lottery scams to phony criminal cases to IRS fraud. No matter what the nature of the scam, McGrath said he preaches the same advice.
“Don”™t give them the time of day,” McGran said. “The longer you talk to them, the longer they”™ll talk you into doing what they want you to do.”
One of the most common scams is the “grandparent scam,” where criminals pose as grandchildren, attorneys or law enforcement in an effort to extort money from seniors.
The way scammers find their targets, McGran said, is through Facebook. Through social media, they find a younger relative ”” a niece, nephew or grandchild in most cases ”” and build a “book” of family information, including the names of other relatives to whom they refer after placing their call, which allows them to easily confirm key details if they are questioned.
McGran said after the initial call and money wire, scammers will often call back a second and a third time for “sentencing fines” and “attorney fees,” which can top $10,000. Some seniors he has spoken with have lost up to $40,000. He said most calls are international, especially from Canada, but he has seen some from California and even as close as from New York City. The scammers, who McGran called “Academy Award winners,” often are articulate, well-spoken and have no accent, making them very believable.
Lyn Bond, director of the Lapham Community Center in New Canaan ”” where McGran made a presentation last year ”” said she spoke recently with a senior who was on the receiving end of a “grandparent scam” call. Luckily, she said, the scammer didn”™t do his homework.
“Somebody told me they got a ”˜grandparent call”™ and hung up the phone on them because their grandson is 2 years old,” Bond said. “That one wasn”™t going anywhere.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission, one out of every ten “grandparent phone scams” are successful, making it a $5 billion annual business. The National Council on Aging labels “the grandparent scam” one of the top 10 nationwide scams targeting seniors.
The FBI, which has warned local police departments about the increased threat, asks senior victims to report scam calls to its Internet Crime Complaint Center, which reported over $525 million consumer damages from phone scams in 2012. In February 2014, Connecticut U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy wrote a letter to FBI Director James Comey requesting more funds be sent to the state to assist local police enforcement in promoting awareness and prevention in these types of scams.
But on average, only 3 percent to 4 percent of seniors report they have fallen victim to a scam. That”™s because they feel embarrassed at the risk of losing independence, the ability to drive, or other privileges, McGran said.
McGran”™s presentations differ depending on the town and which scam is trending in what neighborhood. He”™s given some 100 talks on the topic, he estimated. He said an IRS scam involving false tax returns is the biggest threat Fairfield County is currently facing.
“This is something that”™s going to get worse and worse,” McGran said. “Prevention is key.”
