The Chilling Force #3 In Your “Retirement Window” (Part 2)
Why is Force #3 Cyber Risk & Scams important in retirement? We covered that last week, but the quick summary is…
The Chilling Force #3 In Your “Retirement Window” (Part 2)
Why is Force #3 Cyber Risk & Scams important in retirement? We covered that last week, but the quick summary is…
The scammers know where the money is, in YOUR pocket, Retirees! Hello, TARGET!
You worked 40 years to accumulate more wealth than the average working person, making YOU the Target of the most schemes!
We covered only 4 of the most common 10 in the last newsletter (go back to Issue [#004] to catch up).
I’d love to cover not just the remaining 6 most common scams, but also several more we’ve encountered with clients that aren’t on the list!
That made me realize that, although I’m trying hard to condense each one, there will be at least another newsletter devoted to Force #3: Cyber Risk & Scams, just so we can make you aware and help you avoid being the victim of these, so here we go….
Today’s newsletter may be the most important thing you read this week!
The scams we’re covering today are targeted directly at those who are getting close to retirement…and those already retired!
Many of these scams are made possible by information about you retrieved from a data breach.
Have you ever received a notice from a merchant, your bank or credit card (or the Federal Government!) that your data was breached?
You’ve probably gotten several notifications about being involved in a data breach.
So before we start….
Download this: (click the picture)
Scam #5: Government & Social Security Imposter Scams
I know, you wouldn’t fall for this, right? Oooh, they’re creative!
It usually starts with a call, email, text, or social media message from someone who says they’re with a government agency. They might even give you their “employee ID number” to sound official and have info about you, like your name, home address, and more.
They often say they’re with the FTC, Social Security Administration, IRS, or Medicare — but sometimes they give you a FAKE agency name.
Scammers are trying to get you to engage in any of the following: Talk to them, click a link, share your personal data (usually claiming they need to verify you), or grant access to your devices or accounts.
Government agencies will NEVER call, email, text, or message you on social media. Only a scammer will do that, no matter how real it appears.
Social Security:
The real Social Security Administration won’t threaten you or suspend your Social Security number, or demand repayment of an overpayment (a common threat to get you to react without thinking…). They may even threaten to arrest you if you don’t pay!
No government agency will demand you wire money or pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a payment app. If you receive something supposedly from a government agency, CALL the agency directly! (Find the number on the agency’s website)
If you are given a link to click: DON’T Click on links in unexpected emails, texts, or social media messages that look like they’re from a government agency. Don’t pass it on, just DELETE the message.
Probably the best fraud-prevention step is to open an account on SSA.gov. The site is secure, and while the prospect of entering personal information and uploading documents may seem a bit scare, it must be done to establish the account.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-government-impersonation-scam#other
IRS Impersonation Scams:
If you filed your taxes and found out you owe, could a scammer call you and “catch” you?
The IRS will never email, text, or message you on social media with threats or demands that you pay, nor will they call you about your taxes unless you set up an appointment. If you owe taxes, the IRS will contact you by mail.
The IRS does have private debt collectors who might call you, but only after you’ve gotten two letters in the mail about your debt: one from the IRS, followed by one from the debt collector.
Remember, scammers are playing a “numbers game” and hope to reach you by accident when you’re vulnerable!
The NEW scam actually sends a letter (that looks like it’s from the IRS). This has been effective because that is how the IRS USUALLY reaches out to you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzlDXeLVVm8
Medicare Impersonation Scams:
You get a call, email, text, or social media message from someone claiming to work for Medicare. They ask for your Medicare, bank account, or credit card numbers for your “new” Medicare card.
But it’s a scam — Medicare **sends its cards to you automatically for free. **You never have to do or pay anything.
Your Medicare Card
Sydney Woman Loses Her Life’s Savings to a Text Scam
https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/using-medicare/your-medicare-card
In another variation of the scam, the caller says they need your Medicare number for a medical equipment claim that you don’t remember making. That’s also a scam. Medicare impersonators want to steal your Medicare number and file fraudulent claims for benefits.
Best protection: Call 1–800-MEDICARE (1–800–633–4227) for questions about your benefits., Medicare number or Medicare card or to report anything suspicious.
This makes me think about another “scam”, not really listed as a scam, but it infuriates me!
One of our teammates was assisting a client by visiting her mother, we’ll call her Edith, in an assisted living facility, because the client lived many states away.
Edith received a bill for a mammogram, although she’d never had to pay before. Trying to run down the reason, we discovered that Edith had been changed from her original Medicare Part B, and a Medigap policy to a Medicare Advantage Plan.
Edith didn’t really understand either of those plans, and didn’t remember switching, so we delved into it! What did we discover?
That someone had called her (knowing she was on Medicare because she was almost 80, and got her to agree to switch to a Medicare Advantage Plan they were marketing, although it was probably obvious she didn’t understand!
Problem? Once you get onto a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can NOT switch back to original Medicare and a Medigap policy!
The Medicare Advantage Plan didn’t have the benefits of her former plan, and had much more co-pays and deductibles, as well as limiting which doctors she could see.
It was a fight, but we proved she was not capable of making that decision, and we were able to get her back on her original plan!
Many people get caught in a Medicare Advantage Plan because they often promise to pay your Medicare premiums, give it to you at “no cost”, and even give you a gym membership!
They are not required, like Medigap policies, to allow you to see any Medicare approved physician, so you may have a problem when you become really ill.
It seems like a great deal….and most participants are very satisfied at first, but later regret it when their costs go up or they get really sick!
We’ll discuss ALL the healthcare challenges you’ll face in retirement in another newsletter!
Impersonation of Your Local Sheriff’s Office or a Court Official:
When was the last time you had to be on call for Jury Duty? You’re supposed to check in… maybe you forgot?
You may get a call from the “local court” stating you need to pay a penalty for missing jury duty.
Woman warning others about jury duty scam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev6Sr5DGXzw
Perhaps you receive a call from the local Sheriff’s office saying you failed to pay a fine or fee, and there’s a warrant for your arrest …or you’ll go to jail if you don’t pay immediately.
Callers often use the names of actual deputies or police officers and may disguise their phone numbers to make it appear they are calling from a local law enforcement agency.
This practice of disguising the caller ID is known as “spoofing.” Federal authorities have already reported that scammers will attempt to email a victim fake law enforcement credentials to gain their trust!
It can sound so real…
Hang Up on Scammers: Alexandria, VA Sheriff’s Office
Phone scammers are using AI to pose as your local Sheriff’s office. The FTC has reported over $4.6 Million in losses just this year!
Phone Scammers Using AI to Pose as Your Local Sheriff’s Office
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkB5tPeRpOw
We’re all accustomed to receiving phone calls, texts, and emails….but what if this new scam DOES get to the U.S.?
“…involves Hollywood-level production that mimics the machinery of the state, tricking people with fake police stations and courtrooms. Victims are told they are under “digital arrest” for crimes such as money laundering or drug trafficking, and ordered to remain on camera for days or weeks while investigators supposedly verify their assets.” They are then brought live into a “courtroom” with “officers” and a “judge”. (A Hollywood set…)
What is a “Digital Arrest”?
The process is terrifying. You receive a call saying that you’re the subject of a criminal investigation. It might be a police officer charging you with money laundering, a customs official claiming they intercepted drugs en route to your home.
Bogus law enforcement officers interrogate you on video calls, not just for hours, but for days, as they threaten you with criminal charges and pressure you to pay settlements or fines.
“It’s a terror-based scam that involves holding a person digitally captive,” says Frank McKenna, chief fraud strategist with Point Predictive in San Diego, CA. “They’ll get you on a video call, and they won’t let you go — they’ll basically transfer you from person to person.” (Almost all AI Fakes!}
The Indian government reported in March 2025 that in September, a retired doctor in Hyderabad died from a heart attack after enduring nearly 70 hours of digital arrest and constant surveillance.” “We’ve had victims who have gotten pictures of dead bodies and pictures of car accidents saying, ‘This is what’s going to happen to you’.”
This looks so real, it’s catching retired doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. This has begun happening here, in the U.S. Can you imagine an elderly person…
How to stay safe: Hang up! Law enforcement doesn’t call people and threaten to arrest them!
Remember how the system works: Court orders or arrest warrants are NOT delivered through phone calls, emails, or social media messages.
Whew…that was a long one!
Just remember, your best protection if you’re unsure is to hang up, don’t click a link, call the authority at the real number you can find online, and ask Google: Is this a valid email or web address for (company name or government website)?
Scam #6: Business Impersonation & Shopping Schemes
Business impersonation is on the rise and getting extremely sophisticated!
Remember when I said YOU are the target, Retiree?
The IRA / ACAT Scam is all about stealing your life’s savings!
$120,000 STOLEN from Her IRA | ACATS Scam Exposed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUsjeobocmY
A shocking new scam lets criminals drain retirement accounts by opening fake brokerage accounts and transferring assets unnoticed.
You’re liable even if you NEVER gave your information to them!
New York Times reported a gentleman, Jin Tran, was checking on his wife’s IRA account, and saw $120,000, half of it, was GONE! He stumbled on a crime in progress!
Because the process wasn’t yet completed, they were able to stop it, and eventually get the money back. Had he logged in a day later, it would have been gone, and unrecoverable!
ACATs, transfers of assets in kind, take place within 3 days of the order. If a scammer gets your personal information, they can open an account and pass the “Know Your Customer” test to set up an account.
Unfortunately, scammers are very proficient at getting all your personal information. (Think Data Breaches!). However, they also need your current account information, which isn’t easy…
Unless you have a paper statement, they can get a hold of? Once the account is transferred, it’s in your name, so can’t you go get it?
It won’t be there long enough! It’s usually immediately transferred into Cryptocurrency or physical gold, untraceable!
Neither Vanguard, the custodian that transferred the funds, nor Bank of America Brokerage, which opened the new account, could give them an adequate explanation of how it happened.
How do you protect your life’s savings? Use the extra security features:
- Fidelity, Schwab, and other custodians allow customers to lock outgoing transfers and send mobile alerts for activity.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication.
- Turn on pre-transfer alerts.
- Monitor your accounts regularly.
- Secure mail — shred or turn off paper statements!
As financial advisors, we check our clients’ accounts daily. We help our clients access their accounts online, but getting them to actually look at them is a challenge!
If we notice something unusual, we’ll call the client! We require a “Trusted Contact” in case we suspect a scam.
We’ve actually talked 2 clients out of cooperating with a scammer that they absolutely believed was real!
But what if you’re managing your money yourself? A custodian, such as Vanguard or Fidelity, is not looking at your account daily, nor would they have any reason to call or contact you about activity, since it’s all on YOU!
The Scam: Help to Stop Fraud!
Here’s the $740,000 Scam Targeting Retirees Right Now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3KP5AunrAY
The scary part, the smarter you are, the better this scam works!
Barry, a retired Virginia attorney, lost $740,000 — not because he was careless, but because he was trying to protect his money. Barry wasn’t just an attorney; he was a claims attorney for an insurance company, whose job it was to detect FRAUD!
This is the retirement scam specifically designed to fool smart people. Below is exactly what to do to make sure it never happens to you.
How to protect yourself:
- No government authority will ask you to move your money to protect it.
- Even if you’re checking your account number, never call a phone # from a pop-up.
- Make sure your brokerage account has a Trusted Contact in place!
- Turn on transfer alerts and outbound transfer locks.
- Slow way down, urgency is their weapon!
- Talk to someone you trust!
The FTC warns that real losses are far higher than the $2.4 billion reported by adults over 60 in 2024. The agency estimates that the overall cost of fraud to older adults in 2024 ranged from $10.1 billion to $81.5 billion, depending on the methodology.
Large, devastating losses exceeding $100,000 are reportedly driving the surge.
One of our clients, we’ll call her Rachel, received a call from her “bank”, warning her that someone in the bank was trying to steal her money.
The bank was investigating the problem and wanted to “protect” her account and “catch” the scammer. She was told that, to protect her account, she needed to move it to another account outside the bank, and they would assist her in doing so.
Rachel was given the information on what to do and told not to speak to the bank teller about why she was doing the transfer, because these are the people trying to steal her account!
She didn’t call us to discuss what she was doing, nor did she tell her husband, who happened to be out that day.
When Rachel asked to make the transfer, the teller questioned why she would transfer $160,000. Did she know it was a bank in Hong Kong?
Rachel, thinking the teller was lying, insisted on transferring the funds. Of course, we know the rest of the story…
The money, her entire life savings of her and her husband outside of the retirement accounts with our firm, was scammed and gone for good!
When she finally told her husband, she was so ashamed! They went to the bank, which said it could do nothing and was not responsible because she authorized and insisted on the transfer!
How did we find out? Same as 2 of our other clients…when they came to take out an unusually large amount from their retirement accounts! Her husband explained that when she was out of the room…she was too ashamed to tell us.
Those are the BIG scam losses, but what about the small ones that eat away at our money? And steal our personal data?
We are ALL looking for bargains, what with inflation making everything cost more!
We’ll start with Common Shopping Scams in newsletter [#005], including the one that caught yours truly!
Meanwhile, you can get our “Scam Defense Guide for 2026” at the link…
**Scam Defense Guide for 2026**
Okay, I’ll leave you with that for now. Have a great rest of your day, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
Take care, Nora
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