This is one of the most prolific types of fraud. Scammers prey on good people. So how do you know who is legit and who isn't? There are many worthy organizations. But what if you receive a charitable solicitation from an organization you've never heard of? To guard against being taken advantage of follow these guidelines when donating to charities:

• Make checks payable to an organization only--never an individual.
• Be suspicious of solicitors who say they will only accept cash only. (Con artists want cash so there will be no paper trail for authorities to follow.)
• Report any suspicious organizations to your local postmaster or Postal Inspector.

Check out organizations you're unfamiliar with, or whose names are similar to well-known charities. You can do this by visiting the Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance web site, or by contacting them at BBB Wise Giving Alliance, 4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22203.

If you're unfamiliar with the charity, ask for its annual report and financial statement. If the organization is not willing to provide these financial documents, you should immediately be suspicious.

Consider giving locally – these are organizations and locations that you may be able to drive to and check them out yourself. Back to Top

EMAIL COMPROMISE / WIRE FRAUD

The NCFTA, along with its law enforcement and industry partners, has observed that cyber criminals are gaining access to compromised email accounts and leveraging the relationship between the email account holder and their financial advisor to request unauthorized wire transfers. The criminals either use the existing email address or slightly change the email address by adding or supplementing a letter or number. The criminals then typically attempt to socially engineer the advisor through stories of hardship or loss in order to justify the wire transfer.

Once the criminals have verified the amount in the account, they request that funds be sent to bank accounts in the US, Australia, and Malaysia. Some of the funds sent to US and Australian accounts have ultimately been sent to Malaysian accounts. Some of the money mules were recruited by romance scams on dating websites. Banks, brokerage firms, and credit unions of all sizes have been affected by this scam.

Please see http://www.ic3.gov/media/2012/EmailFraudWireTransferAlert.pdf for additional information on this scam and guidance on how to report such incidents to law enforcement. Back to Top

LOTTERY FRAUD

First – for you to be reading this, you or a loved one is being victimized – or maybe you are just not quite sure yet. This can be difficult as you are NOT even certain what should be done. Whether you or a loved-one is being victimized, you need guidance on what to do, and who to report it to. I have links on this web site to various agencies that also have guidance for you. Assess all that is offered before deciding what to do. Much of the advice is repetitive – but it is good to know.

Over the years I received many complaints of seniors victimized in scams, with their adult children just finding out about it. Though losses are more often a few thousand dollars, I have had victims that lost hundreds of thousands, and one well over a million dollars – the scammers will not relent until they have it all. Most of the complaints relate to winning a foreign lottery with the money being sent out of the country. These investigations have limited success in identifying the suspects overseas. In almost all cases, even if the suspects are identified, the money has already been dissipated and no recuperation can be made.

There are many source countries where these scams emanate from (about 10), but it frequently involves Nigeria or Jamaica. Though these countries are “friendly” with the USA, they are not sympathetic to our issues. They have their own troubles and crime to investigate, and often do not have the resources to investigate foreign complaints when their own citizens are not the victim. This does not mean that you shouldn’t file a complaint – you should – you never know what positive things may come of it. It also may help the “next” victim.

If the victim has sent money (usually by money gram) to another country – then it is obvious as to what is occurring. But if the money was sent to another location in the USA, do not get your hopes up too high. More often the bad guys are using intermediaries. These are often senior citizens just like Mom & Dad who thought they won the lottery but ran out of money to pay the “fees” to collect their winnings. The victim is then told by the bad guys that in order to receive their winnings, they need to work it off by forwarding fees from other “lottery winners”. Either way, the intermediaries have sent the money out of the country.

Here are some basic suggestions for seniors to do (or their adult children):

• DO NOT ANSWER THEIR CALLS – you will NEVER convince the caller to stop calling – even police officers have answered the senior’s phone and told the scammers not to call again – scammers laugh at this and keep calling after the officer has left (though Nigerians typically do most of their communications by email, Jamaicans do not. The Jamaican scammers are nasty, threatening, intimidating and will scare any senior. They have been known to call a victim dozens of times in a day, at all hours, in order to intimidate them into sending money. This comes after they have been “sweet and nice” to the victim – but when that didn’t work – watch out! They do almost all of their communications by phone.)
• Change the phone number if possible (some seniors do not like this option - but it is the best)
• Install an answering machine. Have the recording give the phone number – no names. Have a young strong voice make the message (or automated voice)
• Insist that the senior screen every call before they answer the phone. Scammers do NOT like to leave a message and will stop sooner.
• Consider meeting with their bank branch to see if they can help. It’s nothing new to them so don’t be embarrassed. Bank personnel have assisted in many cases.
• Consider taking over the senior’s finances or being a joint account holder – this is the hardest thing – and only necessary in some situations where other interventions have not worked. (Being a joint account holder gives you access to oversight of the money movement without impeding your parent’s ability to write checks. This way you can see if Mom or Dad are “moving” money or taking out cash – the best indicator of a scam.
• Please know this – if a scammer has no success with getting money, they will sell the name and phone number to other scammers and the cycle will continue. The secret is NOT to confirm the name or number – so if you are worried about your elderly Mom & Dad being victimized – get ahead of the scam. Get an answering machine giving only the phone number. Screen the calls. As for emails – it’s like an open door to the house. Do not respond to emails from unknown sources. Do NOT open links in those emails whatever you do. Educate Mom & Dad and work as a team.