Scams Targeting Seniors

The trusting nature of our senior population and their lack of experience with high tech frauds makes them prime candidates to be taken by heartless criminals.

Prize Scam
Seniors are solicited over the phone or email and advised they are the winner of a large lottery
or sweepstakes. Prior to receiving any winnings, the consumer must first pay an upfront fee.
No winnings are ever received.
The scammers constantly re-invent the wheel and come up with new twists to prey on
potential victims. Recently the CAFC has received reports where seniors receive a call from an
individual who claims to represent “Reader’s Digest”, or “Set For Life Lottery”. They are
advised they have won a prize and that in order to receive the prize they are required to
provide their bank debit card number, date of birth and in some cases are asked to enter their
PIN into the telephone key pad. Scammers target seniors who do not use online banking
services and use the financial information to take over the account which is then used to
launder money and proceeds from other mass marketing fraud scams.

Warning Signs – How to Protect Yourself
• Known lottery and sweepstakes companies such as Reader’s Digest, and Publisher’s
Clearinghouse will never request for money up front in order to receive a prize.
• Any fees associated to winnings will never be paid through a money service business
such as Western Union, MoneyGram or by loading funds to prepaid credit cards such as
Green Dot.
• Any unsolicited phone call advising that you have won a lottery is fake. The only way to
participate in any foreign lottery is to go to the country of origin and purchase a ticket in
person. A ticket cannot be purchased on your behalf.
• Never give out personal information over the phone, no matter who the caller claims to
represent.

The Emergency Scam

Scammers use social media, the internet and newspapers to target potential senior victims, a
call is received claiming to be a family member or a close friend advising about an urgent
situation that requires immediate funds. Common themes have been that the family member
was arrested or got into an accident while traveling abroad. Fees are required for hospital
expenses, lawyer fees or bail. Usually the potential victim is instructed to send money via a
money service business like Western Union or MoneyGram.

Warning Signs – How to Protect Yourself
• Confirm with other relatives the whereabouts of the family member or friend.
• Police, Judges or legal entities will never request that money be sent through money
service business
• Never voluntarily give out family member’s names or information to unknown callers.
• Always question urgent requests for money.

Service Scams
The CAFC receives reports on a number of service type scams that seniors are potentially
vulnerable to;
• Microsoft/Windows technician – scammers call and pretend to represent a well-known
computer based company like Microsoft and claim that the victim’s computer is sending
out viruses or has been hacked and must be cleaned. The scammer will remotely gain
access to the computer and may run some programs or change some settings. The
scammer will then advise that a fee is required for the service of cleaning and request a
credit card number to cover the payment. In some cases the scammer will send a
transfer from the victims’ computer through a money service business like Western
Union or MoneyGram. The end result is that the victim pays for a service that was not
needed as the computer was never infected.
• Lower Interest Rate – scammers call and make an offer to reduce interest rates on the
victim’s credit cards or line of credit. Personal information is requested such as SIN,
mother’s maiden name, date of birth and the credit card number with the expiry date of
the cards they want reduced.
If you think you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud, please contact the Canadian
Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or report online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca