Scams use the stereotype of a confused, older person giving their money to a scammer is almost cliché at this point in time. Unfortunately, not many people question this idea, leading them to ask why seniors fall for scams in the first place, courtesy of https://www.bestaustraliancasinosites.com/online-pokies/. A better question may be, why does anyone fall for a scam?
People do target retirees for scams that seek to separate them from their limited funds and income. That’s why it’s crucial to protect your assets by avoiding a financial crisis you’ll find challenging to resolve later on. Here are the four top scams that seek to target people during their retirement years, curated by new usa online casinos.
Pyramid schemes
A pyramid scheme (or Ponzi scheme) depends on a constant influx of new members whose “investments” are then used to pay off earlier members. In many cases, there’s no actual product sold, just the promise of easy money. That’s what makes pyramid schemes so tempting for many seniors, but Kevin Keegan didn’t fall for it despite retiring very early.
In other pyramid variations, there are products for sale from companies passing themselves off as multi-level marketing companies. People tell victims they can earn easy money through sales in a person’s “downline.” The inherent flaw in any pyramid scheme is that it eventually collapses when not enough new clients come in to cover the scheme’s financial obligations to all members.
Investment fraud
In addition to traditional pyramid schemes, other types of investment fraud scams exist and are regularly tracked by fraud experts. From affinity scams to pump-and-dump schemes, there are many ways unethical scammers scheme to get their hands on your money through investment fraud.
Even experienced investors can fall for a scam such as promissory note fraud, for example, where an investor delivers a sum of money in exchange for a written agreement that obligates the other party to provide a more significant sum of money (principal plus interest) on a specific date. That’s all fine if the promissory note signer actually intends to live up to their obligations, but in many cases, they don’t. You’ll never see the money, or the fraudster, again. It’s another reason to only deal with reputable, licensed professionals with plenty of solid references.
Phishing emails
Anyone can fall prey to a phishing email. In this simple yet deceptively effective scam, someone sends an official-looking email to you, requesting you take some action to keep your account in good standing.
A standard version consists of an email that seems to be from your bank asking you to verify some piece of personal information—and providing a handy link to click, which takes you to a website that looks very much like your bank’s actual site. But, of course, it’s not your bank’s website, so you enter your login information on the fake site. Now the scammer has full access to your account and can empty it quickly.
Home improvement and repair scams
If a person you’ve never seen before knocks on your door and offers to repair or perform some improvement task for your home, be extremely cautious. With home improvement and repair scams, people ask victims to pay some amount of the total fee upfront. Workers leave the job half-finished, finished poorly, or not done at all, and the “worker” disappears with your money. Reputable home repair companies do not typically solicit business by knocking door to door. Always ask for local references and check out the company’s online and local presence.
