Dear Friend, 

The internet, for all its benefits, has become a breeding ground for scams and fraud. Online scammers, often operating overseas, employ numerous tactics to dupe honest Americans. 

Scammers will target seniors by posing as Medicare, Internal Revenue Service or Social Security Administration officials to obtain personal information or money. They may claim that you owe taxes and need to pay over the phone or attempt to obtain personally identifying information by threatening your Social Security or Medicare benefits. These are scams. Remember, government agencies will not call, email or text you asking for personal information or money. Only scammers do that.

Ahead of National Consumer Protection Week, here are some tips the Federal Trade Commission to help keep you safe and avoid scammers:

• Block unwanted calls and text messages. Take steps to block unwanted calls and to filter unwanted text messages.
• Don’t give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn’t expect. Honest organizations won’t call, email, or text to ask for your personal information, like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers. If you get an email or text message from a company you do business with and you think it’s real, it’s still best not to click on any links. Instead, contact them using a website you know is trustworthy.
• Resist the pressure to act immediately. Honest businesses will give you time to make a decision. Anyone who pressures you to pay or give them your personal information is a scammer.
• Know how scammers tell you to pay. Never pay someone who insists that you can only pay with a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, a payment app, or a gift card. And never deposit a check and send money back to someone.
• Stop and talk to someone you trust. Before you do anything else, tell someone — a friend, a family member, a neighbor — what happened. Talking about it could help you realize it’s a scam.
• Report suspicious activity. If you encounter a scam or suspect online or telephone fraud, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

More information on how to avoid scams and fraud can be found on the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s website, here.

Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. By staying informed and vigilant, we can protect ourselves and our families from falling victim to online scams. If you ever have questions or need help with these agencies, please reach out to one of my offices in Otsego or Chaska.

Sincerely,

Sincerely,