BBB to host Nest Eggs and Scams
Roughly 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 today, and about 10-thousand more will cross that threshold every day for the next 16 years, according to the Pew Research Center. Better Business Bureau’s Dale Dixon explains what that means for opportunistic scammers.
Economically, Boomers are the most likely among all age groups to say they lost money on investments since the Great Recession began. Baby Boomers also are the most likely (57%)
to say their household finances have worsened. But in the next 50 years the United States will see the largest transfer of wealth in history. More than $20 trillion will be transferred from the Depression-era generation to their Baby-Boomer children. It all adds up to a prime opportunity for a thief.
Here are some of the ways they'll continue to try to steal those savings.
Telemarketing
Perhaps the most common scheme is when scammers use fake telemarketing calls to prey
on older people, who as a group make twice as many purchases over the phone than the national average.
“Charity Scams”
Money is solicited for fake charities. This often occurs after natural disasters.
Internet Fraud
While using the Internet is a great skill at any age, the slower speed of adoption among some older people makes them easier targets for automated Internet scams that are ubiquitous on the web and email programs. Pop-up browser windows simulating virus-scanning software will fool victims into either downloading a fake anti-virus program (at a substantial cost) or an actual virus that will open up whatever information is on the user’s computer to scammers.
To help you protect your hard-earned money, the BBB is hosting "Nest Eggs and Scams." You can join them for breakfast on Tuesday March 5 at 7:30 am at their offices on N. Curtis Road. Five dollars buys you breakfast -- some green eggs and ham, which also honor the recent birthday of Dr. Seuss.
Please register ahead of time if you plan on attending the breakfast.
From the BBB: "We don’t want people scared of the unknown. We’ll show you how the scams work - and most importantly how to protect that nest egg. Remember – Sam I Am liked those green eggs
and ham after he tried them."
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