How International Fraud Rings Operate and Target Older Americans

Reading this in my April 2020 AARP Bulletin.

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2020/international-fraud.html

by Bethany Mclean, AARP, April 1, 2020

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An AARP Bulletin investigation — including interviews with dozens of experts and an examination of thousands of pages of court documents — shows just how systematic this “industry” has become, with fraud operations functioning in much the same manner as legitimate businesses establishing work spaces, purchasing leads, employing staff, setting goals, monitoring results and deploying the latest in technology all in an effort to steal your money. So when you answer that phone call about a prize for a contest you don't remember entering, or patiently listen to a pitch about a can't-miss investment opportunity, remember that behind that caller is very likely a sophisticated, professional enterprise.

And they're part of a big international industry. Older Americans lose roughly $3 billion to fraud each year, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging reported in 2019. Scammers from around the world tend to target older Americans in particular because they have wealth, tend to be trusting and may be less sophisticated about technology.

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Interestingly, the practice of American companies outsourcing work overseas, where wages are lower, has unwittingly built up the fraud industry. Call centers for the Caribbean tourism industry and in places like India have trained workers how to communicate with U.S. consumers, and some go on to use those skills at illegal call centers. There, crime breeds crime. Law enforcement officials attributed Jamaica's high murder rate in 2017 — about twice that of Chicago's — at least in part to rival gangs stealing fraud leads from each other, according to Steve Baker, the former Midwest Region director of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who conducted a 2018 study for the Better Business Bureau.

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Sometimes these associations turn sour, and this illustrates another way that fraud operations act like businesses. They sue each other.

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The takeaway message: If you do respond to that robocall and get connected to a real person, you have initiated a struggle between one (you) and many (the scammers). They are armed and expert at winning you over, using what-ever psychological means necessary to get your money.

The best advice is what you have heard numerous times: Don't answer calls from numbers you don't know. If you do, be sure to hang up the moment that you realize it's a robocall. Don't say anything. Be skeptical of any offer that sounds too good to be true. Never agree to a proposition involving your money without doing research. If you do happen to fall for a scam, report it to authorities immediately. But importantly, don't beat yourself up.