People of any age can be victimized by fraud, but seniors are less likely to report it as theft.
That is the finding of a report the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently sent to Congress. The report, “Protecting Older Consumers 2017-2018: A Report of the Federal Trade Commission," found that the top scams financially targeting older victims included fraudulent tech support; business imposters; prize, sweepstakes and lottery scams; romance scams; and family or friend imposter scams.
To encourage members of the public to report theft by fraud, the FTC has launched its’ “Pass It On” campaign. The campaign encourages those who recognize a scam when they see one to educate those who do not.
“The truth is that sharing what you know can help protect someone who you know from a scam,” the campaign tells the public. “Start that conversation and pass on some information that could help someone you know.”
Most importantly, the campaign advises, tell the FTC if fraud has occurred by going to ftc.gov/complaint to tell your scam story.
According to the report, an educated consumer is a protected one.
“You might help someone else avoid that scam,” the FTC advises members of the public, “And we might be able to put a stop to it all together.”