Pebble Beach, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Creepy Santa Scam


There are always myriad elder abuse scams revolving around the holidays, but the most recent one is a revamp of an old scam, something of a pyramid scheme.  The scam goes like this : buy a $10 gift card and send it to your secret sister, then you will receive 6-36 gifts in return.  It actually works in the short term, similar to a pyramid scheme.  But over time, the holidays end and people no longer participate, and the scheme crumbles.  In addition to being potentially bilked, your friends will hate you if you catch them up in this scheme!  Stay alert and be careful this holiday season!

Pacific Grove, CA Elder Abuse Alert From Citibank

A pile of money sitting next to stacks of cash.


Citibank is alerting cardholders that someone has implemented a phishing scam which involves the crooks to obtain information to allow them to access your account.  Unfortunately, they are doing an all-out attack, contacting people by email, text and phone and impersonating a Citibank employee.  The bank has committed to never ask for your account number, security word, PIN number, checking account number and other sensitive information.  Be on the alert!

Monterey, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Social Security Scam


You read about the latest scams in the paper on almost a daily basis, but I just got a call myself on my cell phone with a robot saying, “Your Social Security number was used fraudulently in a transaction in Laredo, Texas.  Please press 1 to speak to an officer.â€Â  I typically screen my calls, but since this was coming from an 831 area code I was curious and picked up the phone.  I hung up without pressing 1 and when I googled the telephone number it was a cell phone, so surely it was not the Social Security Administration.  Be careful, these scams seem to increase around holiday time.

 

Pebble Beach, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Medicare Scam

A pile of money sitting next to stacks of cash.


Senior citizens are complaining to AARP that they are getting calls from Medicare claiming that because of the coronavirus, they were issuing plastic cards now and asking people to verify their Social Security number.  These are not representatives of Medicare, these are scammers trying to get your personal information so that they can commit identity theft.  Beware!

Carmel, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Medicare Scam

A building with the capitol in the background.


Senior citizens are complaining to AARP that they are getting calls from Medicare claiming that because of the coronavirus, they were issuing plastic cards now and asking people to verify their Social Security number.  These are not representatives of Medicare, these are scammers trying to get your personal information so that they can commit identity theft.  Beware!

Pebble Beach, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Customer Service Scams


AARP Bulletin had an elder abuse alert for our area.  The article profiled a 75-year old man who saw a charge on his credit card that he didn’t recognize for Amazon Prime.  He did a google search for Amazon’s phone number and called the number, which turned out to be fake.  They asked him to confirm his credit card number, as well as his Social Security number.  “Scammers will buy and place fake ads that often elude the filters for the online search engines,†Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser told AARP Bulletin.  They also tricked him into buying gift cards.  “When people are searching for customer service numbers, they are in a hurry and quickly scan for the first phone number they see,†he said.   Â