Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshy, from left, and county Prosecutor Paul Dobson discuss chat with Jane Smalley and Judy Reed after their presentation on “Frauds and Scams: Spot Them and Stop Them.”
WALBRIDGE — When asked for personal information during a telephone call with someone you don’t know, just say no.
That was the message repeated several times at a recent “Frauds and Scams: Spot Them and Stop Them” presentation by Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn and county Prosecutor Paul Dobson.
Wasylyshyn and Dobson have been touring senior citizens centers in Wood County to share tips on how to stay safe from scammers. On July 27, they visited the Northeastern Area Senior Center in Walbridge.
What they have found is seniors tend to be a victim of scams three-five times more often than other people, the reasons being they’re lonely or more trusting, Wasylyshyn said.
“You also answer your phone. We are of the era, when the phone rings you answer it and you’re polite,” he said.
Senior citizens are also less likely to report being scammed because they could be embarrassed or don’t want to lose the trust of family members, he said.
Scammers are getting smarter and Wasylyshyn and Dobson hope to educate senior citizens on what to look for to avoid becoming victims.
“It’s happening here in Wood County, people of all ages, tens of thousands of dollars are being lost,” Wasylyshyn said.
Dobson shared that, from 2020 to 2024, the number of cases where victims have lost $10,000 or more has increased four times; the number of cases where victim have lost more than $100,000 has increased sevenfold.
“These numbers are probably low because a lot of people don’t report,” he said.
Why are senior citizens targeted?
Because they lack technology knowledge, they’re more likely to have available funds, they’re more susceptible to fear tactics, and they’re lonely, Dobson said.
If you get a message from Microsoft that there is a problem with your computer, ignore it, Wasylyshyn said.
Microsoft has no idea if there is a problem and probably doesn’t care, he said.
“Don’t click on anything,” he advised. “There’s no exception to ‘never.’ Never click on a site unless you know where it’s going.”
Also, “never give your personal information,” he said.
Scammers work with fear and urgency, Dobson said.
“They’re going to want to scare you,” he said. One example is “you need to do this right now.”
No government agency, whether federal, state or local, is ever going to tell you that you can resolve an issue by purchasing gift cards, Dobson said.
“They want to get cash, they want to get cryptocurrency, they want to get gift cards because gift cards are hard to track,” he said.
Wasylyshyn advised to also be on guard if a jail calls demanding money because your grandchild has been arrested. As soon as they say don’t call the jail, it’s a red flag.
You can call any jail in the country and ask who is incarcerated or call your grandchild and ask them if they’re in jail, he said.
If it doesn’t make sense, don’t do it
“We’re never going to ask you to help solve a crime,” Wasylyshyn said.
He shared a story where someone was approached after leaving their bank by a person who identified themselves as an FBI agent. The “agent” told the person they suspected one of the bank tellers was committing fraud and asked the person to go back inside and withdraw a large sum of money.
If that person had returned with the money and handed it to the fake agent as requested, that money would have departed with the agent, Wasylyshyn said.
“They’re very convincing,” he said. “This is what they do for a living. They’re very good at it.”
If you do get a questionable phone call, hang up and don’t be polite about it.
If anyone calls and tells you to not tell anyone what you are doing, it is a scam, Wasylyshyn said.
Retail and service scams via email include fake delivery and purchases; member referrals; tech support; and financial services offers.
Wasylyshyn advised never allow anyone remote access to your computer.
“Never give out personal information to somebody who contacts you,” Dobson added.
Senior citizens needed to be aware of scams that included calls to tell you you’re in trouble, calls demanding money, and requests to pay fines with cryptocurrency and gift cards.
“We won’t call you to tell you you’re in trouble,” he said. “We pick up and deliver.”
Dobson suggested calling your bank or credit card company directly — not the number given to you via phone call, text or email — if you get a suspicious phone call or email.
Avoid being scammed by always asking someone else, calling law enforcement, verifying by independent means or simply hanging up.
Romance scams, also known as love bombing, have become an issue. This happens when you meet someone online and they start asking for money to help with rent, credit card bills or funds to help them move in with you.
“They want you to be engaged emotionally so they can take everything they can from you,” Dobson said.
If they don’t want to video conference with you, that’s a red flag, he said.
They explained SPOT and STOP ways to be aware of potential scams.
SPOT: State vigilant, Power in the hang up, Only answer calls you know, and Trash unexpected invites and offers.
Dobson also advised the dozen seniors in attendance to change the privacy settings on Facebook accounts to friends only and remove their birthday.
STOP: Stay calm, Trust someone you know or law enforcement, Only outlaws want your money, and Protect your information.
Lessons learned
Jane Smalley admitted she had been scammed in the past, but not for a huge amount.
A person had approached her on Facebook Messenger using a friend’s identification.
Judy Reed said she learned to not give anyone her personal information, including social security number or phone number. She said she deletes such requests.
She also learned to change her personal settings on Facebook.
Walbridge Police Chief Chris Mullins said the village doesn’t get many calls reporting scams, but the ones they do are pretty significant.
Solicitors collecting data have become a problem, he said.
Dobson said the goal is to arm seniors with knowledge so that when they see something that sounds off, they can recognize it as a scam.
The tour will end at the North Baltimore Senior Center on Aug. 24 at 12:15 p.m.
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