VILLAS — FBI Special Agent Derek Altieri told seniors one of the main fraud mechanisms is via communication methods.
In a seminar May 20 at the Millman Center about financial fraud, Altieri explained common tactics of scammers and what seniors should watch out for.
“If you’re talking to someone on Facebook or via text, if their next step is to move you into an app, you need to run [because] 99.99 percent of the time, it’s going to be a fraud,” he said. “When we get into a house, we try to figure out how the bad actors were talking to seniors and we start looking at the phones.”
WhatsApp is difficult for law enforcement to trace, Altieri said, because the backend does not verify users’ identities.
“Not all WhatsApp is bad, but if you’re on Facebook and they’re trying to move you to an app, those bells and whistles need to go off inside your head,” he said. “If they start asking you to convert money into digital currency, run for the hills.”
Virtual currency, also known as cryptocurrency, is a decentralized digital currency that serves as a medium of exchange on a computer network. It is not backed by a government or central bank.
“The main places they [might] ask you to send money are Gemini, crypto.com and Coinbase,” Altieri said. “It goes into these wallets, and the money can move hundreds of times in the money laundering cycle, a method to hide the illicit proceeds.”
Overseas call centers are another method of fraud. Altieri said the centers are highly sophisticated, which makes them very complex and difficult to catch.
“These call centers are bringing in more than the gross domestic product of that country,” he said. “They are making so much money; they are paying off their local law enforcement.”
One customer service representative makes 100 to 200 calls a day, aiming to connect with one or two targets. Altieri explained that the people making the calls are victims of human trafficking.
“The men and women at these call centers are physically and sexually abused,” he said. “If they don’t produce, they get tortured.”
Call center fraudsters are looking on social media sites like Facebook and on funeral home websites to identify targets.
“They know if a spouse passed away, there is potentially a life insurance policy and 401k,” Altieri said. “The home address will be there for condolences, and they run the address and see if there’s a mortgage against the property.”
Another method of fraud is an imposter scheme, which allows a fraudster to gain access to a person’s computer. Altieri said “tech support” and pop-ups are a method for bad actors to gain access to a computer to monitor a user’s activity.
“They’re going to put hidden software in the background and they’re going to watch you enter passwords and capture those keystrokes,” he said.
Altieri reminded the audience that banks will not call to ask for a PIN for a compromised account. He recommends calling the number on the back of a credit or debit card, Googling the bank’s phone number or visiting in person.
“If the IRS calls you and says you haven’t paid taxes, I have permission from the IRS to say they will not call you,” he said. “They will send you a letter in the mail. You can even bring it into my office; we will help you verify it.”
Another imposter scheme is couriers sent to a home to pick up money.
“Not only are people taking that cash, but they are converting it into gold, which makes it very difficult for law enforcement to track and trace,” he said. “If anybody is calling you to wire you money and have you buy gold, gold bars or coins, you need to call us immediately.”
Gift cards are another way to launder money, which Altieri said is difficult to trace.
Why target seniors?
Altieri said fraudsters target older adults for several reasons: loneliness, they are at home and accessible, possible memory issues and romance schemes.
“These bad actors are scouring social media and dating sites, and they are in it for the long haul,” he said. “They will develop relationships and conversations. When we look at the phones, there are months of conversations.”
Romance schemes start with developing communication and friendship, before they ask for money. Altieri added that 75 percent of the fraud schemes he sees have a romance component.
“These conversations are extremely intimate, at the three- and four-month marks,” he said.
Altieri added that banks are trained to ask a series of questions to identify potential fraudulent schemes.
“From an investigative standpoint, it tells me how deep the victim is into the fraud scheme. If you remember anything, if you meet someone online and they want you to invest and put an application on your phone, it’s fraud.”
Red flags
When it comes to possible fraud, double-checking everything is key, especially if external pressure is being applied.
Altieri said to check emails, addresses, banking coordinates and phone numbers daily. It is important to call a known phone number to verify authenticity, rather than doing so during the initial call.
Altieri recommended keeping several questions in one’s mind, including:
— Has anybody asked you to invest in gold or cryptocurrency?
— Has someone claiming to be the bank or a government employee asked you to send money?
— Has someone claiming to be tech or customer support put software on your device?
— Has someone contacted you claiming to be a family member and claiming they’re in jail?
— Has someone you’ve never met claimed to be romantically interested in you and asked you to send money or something else?
— Have you ever been asked to withdraw cash to purchase gold?
— Has someone asked to meet you in person to hand them cash?
– By RACHEL SHUBIN/For the Sentinel
