05-19-2024 Family Caregiver - Flipbook - Page 16
PROTECTING OLDER ADULTS IN
CARROLL COUNTY FROM FRAUD AND SCAMS
Protecting older adults from fraud and scams
is a high priority of the Carroll County States’s
Attorney’s O昀케ce. Our O昀케ce vigorously pursues
cases against those who would prey on older
residents of our County. The Federal Trade
Commission reported that in 2022, older adults:
• lost more than $1.6 billion to fraud, compared to
about $1 billion the year before.
• lost $404 million to investment scams.
• lost more to business impersonation scams
(pretending, for example, to be Amazon) and
romance scams than in 2021.
The Carroll County State’s Attorney Facebook
page regularly includes information on current
fraud and scam schemes targeting residents of
Carroll County.
Avoiding online scams
• Do not click on suspicious links or attachments in
emails or text messages.
• Never wire money to someone you have not met,
even after building a rapport online.
• Check domain names closely. Scammers may use
website names that di昀昀er slightly from genuine
sites.
• Government agencies like the IRS will not initiate
contact with you by email, social media, or text.
• Consider making your social media accounts
private, so only friends can see your information.
If your accounts are public, avoid posting personal
information.
• If you are not sure if an online message is actually
from a business, such as a bank, consider calling
their o昀케cial number or visiting a local branch.
16
Avoiding phone scams
• If someone pressures you to make a sudden
payment over the phone, tell them you need time
to think about it and will respond later.
• If someone claims to be a family member, contact
other relatives or close friends. They can help you
verify whether the story is true.
• Do not assume the caller ID is correct. Scammers
can spoof real numbers to deceive you.
• Ignore unsolicited calls or emails claiming you
have won a prize but need to provide personal
information 昀椀rst.
• Do not o昀昀er personal information, such as your
social security number or bank account number,
over the phone or in an email.
• Be wary of messages asking you to pay for
something by putting money on a gift card.
If you think you’ve been scammed
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a
fraud or scam, contact local law enforcement and
report it immediately, and also report it to the FTC
at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
HAVEN N. SHOEMAKER, JR.
STATE’S ATTORNEY
410-386-2671
carrollcountystatesattorney.org
2024 – 2025 Carroll County Bureau of Aging & Disabilities Resource Guide
