{"id":5647,"date":"2024-12-11T23:24:49","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T16:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harborstone.com\/wph\/workarea\/?p=5647"},"modified":"2024-12-11T23:25:16","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T16:25:16","slug":"government-impersonation-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harborstone.com\/wph\/workarea\/government-impersonation-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Government Impersonation Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pay up… or else!<\/strong>
Government impersonators trick older people into sending cash to avoid trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What it is:<\/strong> Scammers call unsuspecting older adults and pretend they\u2019re with the IRS, Social Security Administration, Medicare, or other government agency. They may say they\u2019re calling about unpaid taxes or other bills and threaten that if you don\u2019t pay them money or share your personal information<\/strong>, something bad will happen or you\u2019ll lose government benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How it works:<\/strong> Every scammer has a different method, but in general, the victim gets a call, text, email, or other message alerting them that there\u2019s something wrong. The contact may be very believable and will work to establish credibility and build rapport. Then they demand payment and use intimidation to get you to send money or personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALERT: These scams are happening close to home<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our local area, banking institutions are reporting instances where elderly members have withdrawn large amounts of cash and sent the money to scammers to avoid a made-up financial consequence\u2014only to learn later that they\u2019ve been scammed. In some of these local cases, the scammer has sent a courier to collect the victim\u2019s cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protect yourself:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n