“With the recent developments involving such things as artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency, as well as all of the new (and emerging) ways in which we’re able to communicate with one another, malicious actors on the internet assume that older users are more vulnerable, David Duncan of the Indiana Cybersecurity Hub cautions. At Geyer Law, our elder law attorneys are acutely aware of the fact that elder fraud reports to FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center have been on a sharp rise. In fact, with founding attorney Rebecca W. Geyer serving as adjunct professor of elder law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, we are constantly reminded of the unique vulnerability of our older clients.
Common frauds affecting over-60 Individuals, the FBI reports, fall into two main categories: government impersonation and tech and customer support. Very common are claims of non-payment of a bill or non-delivery of a package. “Confidence/romance” scams include Grandparent Scams, in which a criminal impersonates a panicked grandchild claiming to be in trouble. In tech support scams, the perpetrator poses as a customer service or support individual.
One trap involves pre-made estate planning document templates, purportedly helping purchasers avoid the cost of an attorney. These templates are rarely state-specific, and if not signed and notarized correctly, could be disregarded by Probate Court, trustandwill.com cautions.
In reading your messages (email or text), watch for these warning signs that you are being “phished”, the United States Attorney’s Office cautions:
- You’re asked to verify your account with social security number or other personal ID.
- You’re threatened with account closure if you don’t respond within a deadline.
- You’re invited to click on a link to gain access to your account.
At our Indiana estate planning and elder law practice, we put in place a number of special protections for the information clients share with us:
- We encrypt all emails.
- We use Sharefile, a secure method for sending and receiving data, when sharing files.
- We back up client information securely off-site.
- We maintain cyber security insurance in the event of a data breach.
We encourage our clients of every age need to stay smart about scams!
– by Kristina Shover, Associate Attorney with Rebecca W. Geyer & Associates
