Hot Item Elder Abuse Scam : Many Seniors Are Falling For It

A woman in a blue t-shirt cleaning the house

The AARP Fraud Watch Network has received numerous complaints from seniors who have fallen victim to what they are calling the “Hot Item Scam.”  This is where scammers advertise hard-to-find items using keywords like “Nike sneakers latest edition” or “Xbox,” taking your credit card number and not shipping the item.  If you are lucky, you can get the charge reversed by your credit card company.  But some scammers do this very quickly, closing their merchant account so it is hard for your bank to retrieve the funds.