Morris prosecutor tells seniors how to protect themselves from scams

Americans have lost over $10 billion a year to fake bank notifications, phony job offers and other scams, Morris County authorities told an audience of seniors last week.

Unfortunately, senior citizen victims frequently feel embarrassed about being scammed and don’t report their loss, out of fear of losing their financial independence, Assistant Prosecutor Christine Lopez said.

Members of the county Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit, along with the Morristown Department of Public Safety, held the seminar on April 3 at the Morristown Senior Center and detailed ways to spot a scam. Authorities offered these tips:

● Change the privacy settings on your social media accounts to be less public.

● If you receive a suspicious email or text message, don’t click on or download attachments.

● Never hold an ID or passport up to a web camera, even when asked.

● If someone is asking for payments in wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency, it is probably a scam.

● New Jersey does not have cash bail, so if someone claims to need money for bail, it is probably a scam. Notable tricks include:

● Spoofed bank alerts or package tracking links that direct users to malicious sites that steal the personal information typed in.

● Fake job offers/interviews.

● Telemarketing scams.

● Romance or friendship scams, seeking to get victims to wire money or “invest” in cryptocurrency.

Fraudsters often try to provoke an emotional response in their victims, the Prosecutor’s Office said. Some pose as a grandchild in need of money; others ask for personal information to “rectify an alleged hacking.” Seniors targeted by such approaches should hang up and call loved ones directly from their phone contacts or call companies using their official phone numbers, authorities said.

Those who believe they may have been victims of fraud should contact authorities as soon as possible, because swift action increases the likelihood of financial recovery and allows law enforcement to investigate, Detective Ryan Thomas said.