Curbing Cybercrime In Rural America

Cybercrime might seem like something in a big city or a spy novel, but it happens in rural America.  The Federal Trade Commission recently reported another record year of fraud losses totaling $12.5 billion by American consumers.  The losses affect people of all ages, but older Americans lost the most, and many don’t have the means to rebuild their nest eggs.  The AARP’s Sean Voskuhl said it can happen to anyone.

“Everyone is vulnerable. There is no such thing as not being a target of these criminals. If you are young, old, have money, or don’t have money, it doesn’t matter," Voskuhl said.  "There is a scam for you. The types of scams that can target you are different, especially by age.”

Older Americans will likely get scams by phone, get impostor scams, be asked to send gift cards, and lose more money.  There are hundreds of different scams, but only six or seven ways that you’ll be asked for money.

“The most reported forms of payment that scammers requested last year were credit cards, peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo and PayPal, and debit cards," he said.  "The one key difference between them is there are consumer protections with credit and debit cards. If you get ripped off, you can file a fraud alert to get money back.” 

Peer-to-peer payment apps are unprotected forms of payment, so it’s important to know exactly who you are sending money to on those platforms.  So, where do the biggest losses typically happen?

“Bank transfers are a big one. A criminal will convince someone their account isn’t safe, and their funds need to be moved into a secure account. Transfer fraud totaled $2.1 billion last year," Voskuhl stressed.  "Cryptocurrency scams, often done through crypto ATMs in grocery stores and gas stations across the country, totaled $1.4 billion in losses.”

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