Nowadays, unfortunately, there are an increasing number of criminals trying to con people out of their hard-earned savings. With the growth of the internet and Artificial Intelligence these scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated and often target the vulnerable and the elderly, who they consider may not be as `computer savvy` as those who have grown up with the web.
The most common scams are;
1. Offering excellent rates on luxury travel and gifts.
2. Stating you’ve missed a payment on a utilities bill.
3. Stating there is a parcel waiting to be collected at your local courier office or post office.
4. Stating that you’ve overpaid on a mortgage or insurance plan and they can recover the overpayment for you.
5. Offering cheap health insurance.
6. Selling fake funeral plans.
7. Selling quick return investment schemes.
8. Charity collection scams.
9. Email phishing scams: you receive an email message claiming to be from a legitimate company asking you to update your personal information.
10. Sweep stakes, bingo and lottery offers with guaranteed financial rewards.
The above are a selection of online scams but you can also be tricked in revealing information by a phone call, at the supermarket by someone pretending to be disabled or a simple knock on the door asking to use your bathroom or for a glass of water and these person-to-person scammers tend to work in pairs and are usually females.
Another scam which often catches out new arrivals to Spain is that of an individual with fake ID incorrectly saying that by law you have to have your gas cylinder checked annually and then charges a three-figure sum for doing it.
Be alert and bear the following in mind,
Remember the most common financial scams used on the vulnerable and the elderly as detailed above.
Be alert to the signs of the scam.
Talk to someone you trust before taking any action which reveals any of your personal information.
Do not give out any of your personal details – for example bank account number, credit card number, NIE or Passport number.
Do not tick any boxes or sign any documents if you don’t understand the offering.
Remember if it’s too good to be true, then it almost certainly is.
Keep alert in order to keep your money and possessions safe.
At Age Concern Marbella & San Pedro we are always happy to offer advice to stop you from being scammed.
You can call or email us, you’ll find details of how to do so on our website
