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Updated: March 2, 2025 @ 9:31 am
Text messages used to be proxies for a phone call; when you heard that special sound, it was probably a friend or a colleague getting in touch.
But increasingly, scammers are on the line. In April 2024 alone, according to a report cited by the National Council on Aging, “Americans received 19.2 billion spam texts — which translates into nearly 63 spam texts for every person.”
I received a text from my phone last week alerting me to a possible fraudulent charge on my debit card, and offering a phone number for me to call to learn more.
I did not call that number — which could itself have been an attempt at a fraud. Instead, I looked up the phone number of my bank, dialed it directly, and learned that my debit card had been used for an attempted purchase at the Louvre in Paris, while I was home in Western Colorado.
My card was cancelled, but the question remained: what did I do wrong?
The answer, according to Amy Nofziger, director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, was probably nothing. “You were probably doing everything right,” said Nofziger, who testified before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee last September that technology is making it easier for criminals to prey on older adults (the risk of fraud “operates 24/7 in our homes and through these devices that we carry in our pockets,” she said).
Losing my debit card number — which was likely stolen, transferred to a card and then sold to someone else — “could have been as simple as you handing your (original) card to someone in a restaurant,” who whisked it away to run it out of my sight, “or maybe you used it five years ago at your doctor’s office,” which stored the number on its computer, which was eventually hacked.
“The best idea is to assume nothing is very safe,” Nofziger said. “None of us are immune. My card numbers have been stolen many times, and I’m the director of a fraud program.”
Both credit and debit cards offer protection against fraud, but you must report suspicious activity relatively soon. “I believe you have 60 days to report debit card fraud, and 90 days for a credit card. But the quicker you do it, the better,” Nofziger said. “I recommend people check their accounts a minimum of twice a month. If you find a fraudulent charge, report it right away. For those who don’t have online access, make sure you sit down once a month with your bank statement” and scrutinize every charge.
“It’s very similar to how we protect our houses,” Nofziger said. “We lock our doors and windows, but we’re more likely to be targets of financial fraud. Do everything you can to keep yourself safe.”
Nofziger suggests visiting aarp.org/fraudwatchnework or visiting the Federal Trade Commission online, at ftc.org, “and searching for information on credit fraud, identity theft” and other consumer-protection topics to learn more.
In Colorado, AARP ElderWatch partners with the state’s attorney general’s office to fight financial fraud. Attorney General Phil Weiser’s watchword, when he speaks on preventing fraud, is actually two words, community education and communications manager Elliot Goldbaum says: “Constant vigilance.”
The attorney general’s office would like to hear from anyone who is offered a phony job via text (visit stopfraudcolorado.gov to learn more or file a complaint).
I received two unsolicited job offers over the past seven days via text: One was purportedly from LinkedIn, offering me online work on behalf of Costco. The other offered me a chance to assist “TEMU merchants with product reviews.”
The first gave me a phone number to contact; the second suggested I get in touch via WhatsApp.
Both offers were highly likely to be scams. Most scam jobs revolve around working from home, according to stopfraudcolorado.gov. At some point in the pre-employment process, they typically require applicants to pony up money for “supplies,” which could involve wiring money or forwarding gift cards to the would-be employer, “a huge red flag,” an expert I spoke with said.
I declined these unwanted solicitations quite simply. I blocked the messages, so I could not be contacted again from these places. And then I deleted each one.
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