Editorial:

As scammers get more creative, be more vigilant

Posted 10/24/19

In hindsight, it sure is easy to spot a scam.

On almost a daily basis we hear about some hapless soul who fell victim to the latest scam.

There are people who purchase thousands of dollars …

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Editorial:

As scammers get more creative, be more vigilant

Posted

In hindsight, it sure is easy to spot a scam.

On almost a daily basis we hear about some hapless soul who fell victim to the latest scam.

There are people who purchase thousands of dollars worth of gift cards to avoid a supposed arrest by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, there are people who lose tens of thousands of dollars on get rich quick schemes and there are people bilked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars when they go looking for love in all the wrong places online.

And the list goes on, with new varieties of schemes seemingly popping up each week, leaving millions of victims from coast-to-coast.

While Wyoming is generally a low-crime state, we are not immune from the far-reaching tentacles of fraud. Multiple times a week, Park County residents report being the victim of some kind of scam, including identity theft.

Just last week, a phone scammer preyed upon a local fast food employee, convincing them to take around $700 from the cash register and convert it into some prepaid credit cards for safekeeping; the young employee was tricked into thinking that she was helping a corporate leader protect the store’s cash from some thieves.

With each new report of fraud, it’s tempting to scoff and assure yourself that you’d never fall for something like that. But that’s a dangerous belief to hold.

Statistics gathered by the Federal Trade Commission show that just about anyone can be a victim. For instance, there’s data suggesting that younger people are victimized more often than seniors.

“It’s what the data have been telling us for a while, but it’s hard for people to grasp,” Paul Witt, a supervisory data analyst with the FTC wrote in February. “Last year, of those people who reported fraud and their age, 43 percent of people in their 20s reported a loss to that fraud, while only 15 percent of people in their 70s did.”

While it’s possible that older victims of fraud might not be as likely to report being victimized, the AARP wrote in 2018 that “younger consumers are actually far more open to sharing personal information online, which opens them up to scams.”

Then there’s “optimism bias” — the general thought that fraud is something that happens to other people. If you’ve ever read about a scam and thought, “I’ve got too much common sense to fall for that,” watch out.

While most people know to promptly delete any emails from a Nigerian prince offering untold wealth — and hopefully more people are realizing they should hang up whenever a caller demands a gift card — the fact is that, given the right circumstances, we’re all vulnerable to fraud.

You might be a savvy consumer, but what if you’re dealing with a personal tragedy, or find yourself in desperate need of cash or are just in a big hurry?

And while certain schemes have become infamous, there’s a new variety or wrinkle being invented every day. That’s why constant vigilance is critical, because you never know when or how someone may try to take advantage of you.

We are fortunate to live in a community where we can generally trust and rely upon our neighbors; it’s one of the things that makes Powell a special place to live. But just like anywhere else in the world, there are people who will lie, cheat and steal — sometimes including the people you’d least expect. After all, we’re less than a decade removed from a nearly $850,000 embezzlement scheme run by the former CEO of Powell Valley Healthcare. Prior to 2011, who would have predicted that the leader of one of Powell’s largest organizations would turn out to be a confidence man?

The FTC, AARP and other agencies offer plenty of useful tips on how you can detect and avoid falling victim to scammers. As one example, before making a financial commitment or sending money to someone you don’t know very well, take the time to think it through and do your due diligence. If a caller, emailer or salesman is legitimate, they won’t have a problem with you verifying that they’re telling the truth.

You’d also do well to remember that, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Because the fact is we’re all much more likely to be a scammer’s next victim than the recipient of a mysterious prince’s fortune.

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