According to the publication, the Departments of Revenue and Veteran Affairs in Washington State, as well as the state Attorney General, are tracking down a group of people from a group calling themselves ‘Seniors First.’
The callers tell seniors, or at the very least imply, that they are with the state government, but are actually trying to sell reverse mortgages to the people they speak with on the phone.
The Seattle Medium reports that seniors were asked for personal financial information under the guise of being approved for state tax benefits, but that the callers are not in any position to be able to determine whether seniors are eligible or not.
For safety, the Washington State Attorney General advises seniors not to give out personal information of any kind over the telephone to unsolicited calls from people they don’t know.
Scams targeting seniors are not unique to Washington State: phone calls from people misrepresenting themselves have appeared in South Dakota, as well as similar frauds in British Colombia, Toronto, and elsewhere across North America.
For seniors, whether living with family or in assisted living communities, the best way to protect against scams is by not giving out personal information to strangers.