Bob:
My grandmother calls me, her voice trembles, asks me to come to the bank branch where she is now sitting and help her. Like, he wants to close the deposit and withdraw all the money, but why suddenly, I still did not understand. Lost, almost crying. I felt that something was wrong and came.
I'm starting to figure it out. A bank employee said that my grandmother came to the company of some two men and demanded to give her $ 10000 from a cash deposit. This is all her money, she saved it all her life. The manager began to explain to her that if the deposit was closed early, all accrued interest would be burned out - and in her case it was almost $ 800.
My granny is a little hard of hearing and could not understand what was being said to her. Therefore, I constantly asked my guides - and they somehow alerted the employee. She asked if they were relatives, and my grandmother said that they were representatives of a certain Investment Fund. Then the manager convinced my granny to call me. And just in time! True, when I arrived, these mysterious strangers had already disappeared. Somehow I persuaded my grandmother to go home and calmly discuss everything.
I ask: who was that, bah? It turns out that in the morning she received a call from some international organization and said that they now have an exclusive offer for pensioners: if you take money from the deposit and transfer it to their investment fund, then supposedly you can get an impressive profit. She receives 4% of the deposit, and investments will bring as much as 20% per year and more!
Granny, overjoyed, told them that she had $ 10000 on the deposit, and these rogues immediately made her happy that she would receive $ 2000 of annual income from above. Grandma was already dreaming of how she would make her family happy with this money.
"Investors" volunteered to accompany her to the bank and said that they would need to receive the entire amount in cash, and then they would go with her to the office of the organization and draw up an investment contribution there. Like, it's safer this way, and besides, they will tell her everything and help her everywhere. But, thanks to the deafness of my grandmother and the vigilance of the bank employees, their plan fell through.
The scammers escaped, their phones do not answer, and the grandmother with fright cannot even remember what they looked like. It's scary to imagine what would have happened if my grandmother had withdrawn the money.
Granny, I ask, do you have any idea what forest they could take you to? Where would we look for you? She cries: she wanted the best. I was going to give these $ 2000 to me for a new car. I do not need, I say, such "gifts". Next time, you better consult with me before throwing money around. I am glad that grandma did not have time to heap things up
Financial Culture Expert:
The elderly are a favorite target for scammers. Scammers take advantage of the fact that pensioners usually do not understand investments, but at the same time they often have some kind of savings - this money becomes the target of attackers.
Some retirees feel lonely, crave companionship and therefore willingly enter into conversations with strangers. At the same time, many people find it difficult to resist the pressure of scammers who skillfully use social engineering methods. They play on emotions, press, rush - and the person, as if hypnotized, succumbs to their persuasion.
Most often, people of the old school are afraid of new technologies, do not use the Internet. Therefore, the criminals persuade them to make dubious deals, offering to arrange everything personally. At the same time, they promise to accompany the person everywhere and help him in every way. This “care” also captivates the elderly.
Dmitry's grandmother almost fell into the trap of criminals. Perhaps they would simply take the money away from her at the exit from the bank. But it is not excluded that they would have acted more cunningly - they continued to pretend to be an "international fund", brought her to their office and offered to sign an "investment" agreement.
With stories about "super-profitable investments" people are often lured into their networks by large-scale financial pyramids and fly-by-night companies that simply quickly collect money from gullible investors and disappear. The state does not compensate the savings lost in such illegal organizations. The only thing left for the victims is to contact the police.
The main way to protect your finances is to learn to recognize cheating immediately. The following signs will help with this:
For more information on the characteristics by which you can expose cybercriminals, read the text "How to quickly recognize a fraudster".
It is also important to warn your family, especially the elderly, not to agree to any financial offers without discussing them with loved ones. In financial matters, one should not rush, you always need to take time for reflection.
For older relatives, we can also recommend online financial literacy classes, which are held specifically for older people. At these events, participants are also told how to protect themselves from fraudsters. The main thing is to make sure that the seminars are organized by well-known companies, and not just another swindler.
My grandmother calls me, her voice trembles, asks me to come to the bank branch where she is now sitting and help her. Like, he wants to close the deposit and withdraw all the money, but why suddenly, I still did not understand. Lost, almost crying. I felt that something was wrong and came.
I'm starting to figure it out. A bank employee said that my grandmother came to the company of some two men and demanded to give her $ 10000 from a cash deposit. This is all her money, she saved it all her life. The manager began to explain to her that if the deposit was closed early, all accrued interest would be burned out - and in her case it was almost $ 800.
My granny is a little hard of hearing and could not understand what was being said to her. Therefore, I constantly asked my guides - and they somehow alerted the employee. She asked if they were relatives, and my grandmother said that they were representatives of a certain Investment Fund. Then the manager convinced my granny to call me. And just in time! True, when I arrived, these mysterious strangers had already disappeared. Somehow I persuaded my grandmother to go home and calmly discuss everything.
I ask: who was that, bah? It turns out that in the morning she received a call from some international organization and said that they now have an exclusive offer for pensioners: if you take money from the deposit and transfer it to their investment fund, then supposedly you can get an impressive profit. She receives 4% of the deposit, and investments will bring as much as 20% per year and more!
Granny, overjoyed, told them that she had $ 10000 on the deposit, and these rogues immediately made her happy that she would receive $ 2000 of annual income from above. Grandma was already dreaming of how she would make her family happy with this money.
"Investors" volunteered to accompany her to the bank and said that they would need to receive the entire amount in cash, and then they would go with her to the office of the organization and draw up an investment contribution there. Like, it's safer this way, and besides, they will tell her everything and help her everywhere. But, thanks to the deafness of my grandmother and the vigilance of the bank employees, their plan fell through.
The scammers escaped, their phones do not answer, and the grandmother with fright cannot even remember what they looked like. It's scary to imagine what would have happened if my grandmother had withdrawn the money.
Granny, I ask, do you have any idea what forest they could take you to? Where would we look for you? She cries: she wanted the best. I was going to give these $ 2000 to me for a new car. I do not need, I say, such "gifts". Next time, you better consult with me before throwing money around. I am glad that grandma did not have time to heap things up
Financial Culture Expert:
The elderly are a favorite target for scammers. Scammers take advantage of the fact that pensioners usually do not understand investments, but at the same time they often have some kind of savings - this money becomes the target of attackers.
Some retirees feel lonely, crave companionship and therefore willingly enter into conversations with strangers. At the same time, many people find it difficult to resist the pressure of scammers who skillfully use social engineering methods. They play on emotions, press, rush - and the person, as if hypnotized, succumbs to their persuasion.
Most often, people of the old school are afraid of new technologies, do not use the Internet. Therefore, the criminals persuade them to make dubious deals, offering to arrange everything personally. At the same time, they promise to accompany the person everywhere and help him in every way. This “care” also captivates the elderly.
Dmitry's grandmother almost fell into the trap of criminals. Perhaps they would simply take the money away from her at the exit from the bank. But it is not excluded that they would have acted more cunningly - they continued to pretend to be an "international fund", brought her to their office and offered to sign an "investment" agreement.
With stories about "super-profitable investments" people are often lured into their networks by large-scale financial pyramids and fly-by-night companies that simply quickly collect money from gullible investors and disappear. The state does not compensate the savings lost in such illegal organizations. The only thing left for the victims is to contact the police.
The main way to protect your finances is to learn to recognize cheating immediately. The following signs will help with this:
- They come to you themselves. Fraudsters initiate contact with the victim: they call, send letters, impose any services, persuade them to invest money somewhere.
- They promise super profits. Investments are always a risk, only charlatans guarantee profit.
- They hide information about themselves. Illegals do not have a license from the Bank. They do not disclose the scheme of making a profit, legal information, their financial indicators.
For more information on the characteristics by which you can expose cybercriminals, read the text "How to quickly recognize a fraudster".
It is also important to warn your family, especially the elderly, not to agree to any financial offers without discussing them with loved ones. In financial matters, one should not rush, you always need to take time for reflection.
For older relatives, we can also recommend online financial literacy classes, which are held specifically for older people. At these events, participants are also told how to protect themselves from fraudsters. The main thing is to make sure that the seminars are organized by well-known companies, and not just another swindler.
