With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Most people wouldn’t want to become friends with someone who is trying to rip them off. Yet, every day, people hand over their hard-earned money to strangers who’ve become good friends – within the timespan of a single telephone call. How is this possible? Friendly Scammers Preying on Seniors
Some criminals use aggressive, threatening tactics to steal money from victims over the phone. It’s easy to identify these scoundrels as enemies, people who want to cause financial harm to other people. But what about someone who calls pretending to be a friend? Friendly Scammers Preying on Seniors
Friendly scammers are more diabolical than aggressive ones. Hothead bullies usually take what they can and move on to other targets. “Friendly” scammers want to make long-term relationships with potential targets, stealing money over and over again from the same source. Friendly Scammers Preying on Seniors
To misquote a famous movie, “These are not the friends you’re looking for.”
Scammers know the value of friendship. People generally trust friends more than strangers and are more willing to take actions suggested by friends. Scammers want to be your friend because they know they’ll have a greater chance at convincing you to give them your money if they’re successful.
These frenemies will tell you that the money you send them will help you get what you want. Whether the promised benefit will help you, family members, or a charity, they’ll latch on to any reason why you might need the benefit they’re offering and exploit that reason to the fullest extent possible.
A scammer will never be your friend, no matter what that person might tell you.
Frenemy scammers typically use the promise of a prize to lure money out of a target. Any person who calls with the promise of incredible lottery winnings, amazing raffle prizes, or free trips, and asks for money to receive that prize, is a scammer. You didn’t win a thing, but you can lose everything if you believe the scammer.
A person who sends money to these friends to receive something of substantial value will never receive that value. The “winner” will receive additional requests for cash for as long as he or she can send more money. Even when a victim runs out of money, the helpful friend requesting money will convince a person to take out loans on personal property or sell assets such as vehicles and coin collections to send in more cash.
NEVER send cash, money orders, checks, cash cards, or wire transfers to anyone to receive a prize. Ever.
A friendly scammer doesn’t care if you’re rich, poor, or somewhere in between. He doesn’t care if you need the money you have to pay for critical medical expenses or essential living costs. The friendly scammer on the other end of the telephone, a person you’ve never met, will take every dollar he can get from you, even if puts your life in jeopardy.
Always hang up on a stranger who offers an incredible windfall, pretends to be a helpful friend, and asks for money in return. This person is a scammer who wants to steal your cash, and he isn’t the kind of friend you want or need to have in your life.
Friendly Scammers Preying on Seniors Friendly Scammers Preying on Seniors Friendly Scammers Preying on Seniors
Scams work best when a fraudster has real-time contact with a target. People find it far more difficult to say no to a live pitch than an email or mail scam. That’s exactly why telephone scams are highly effective, and why you should learn how to avoid them.