People are always trying to find ways to make a quick buck. Whether it’s with homemade crafts or selling old belongings, humans are innovative when it comes to earning money. One of the most recent ways people are making money is by scamming. Everyone gets emails or calls from random people claiming to be a Persian prince with a secret inheritance, or Amazon has incorrectly billed your card. Scammers find every possible way to trick you into giving them money, each tactic more deceptive than the last. Recently there has been an online scammer posing as a Mesa County official, which leads to questions of how scams work and how we can avoid losing thousands of dollars.
According to the YouTube channel Scammer Payback, run by a man with an alias “Pierogi,” a typical scam works like this: emails are sent out (which you may be familiar with) that say something along the lines of “There has been a charge of $200 to your account from Amazon. Please call (###)###-#### if this is an incorrect charge.” The scammed person will then call the number and they will connect with someone claiming to be an Amazon associate. The scammer will prompt the person being scammed to download a “screen share” app onto their computer. The scammer makes it appear as though the victim has incorrectly stolen money from “Amazon” or whatever company they are disguised as. The victim is then guilted into sending cash money or gift cards overseas to the scam building, usually located in India, and they can lose thousands of dollars in life savings just by being tricked. According to AARP, 8.8 million dollars was lost to scams in the year 2022 alone, and the numbers continue to rise.
Many may wonder how to avoid this or warn elderly of the risks of scam calls. Usually elderly people are most susceptible to a scam, because they tend to be more trusting in nature and more advanced technology is more difficult for them to understand (these are generalizations). First, it is important to be aware of the scammers tactics and malicious intentions. Don’t pick up random calls, and don’t believe random emails. Most of the time the emails that are disguised as reliable business contain spelling and grammatical errors. Other times, the emails have confusing phrasing and are difficult to understand, which leads to the assumption that it was translated incorrectly. Many students are exposed to these scammers frequently, so they know how to better pick out the scams from the legitimate businesses. Bella Bennett, junior, states “I get a call at least once a week from a scammer. I get emails too that look like they’re from Amazon or PayPal but they almost always have incorrect grammar and are confusing overall.” Also it is important to warn older people of the risks of scammers and be sure to inform them of reliable information and sources.
Scammers are ruthless and unfeeling and will oftentimes appeal to your emotions to guilt you into sending them money. But the bottom line is don’t send your money to people or organizations that are new and haven’t proved to be trustworthy.