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Joe Borg, managing director of the Alabama Securities Committee and president of the North American Securities Administrators Association.

(Prototype credit: Rob Culpepper)

Joe Borg is manager of the Alabama Securities Commission and president of the N American Securities Administrators Association.

The North American Securities Administrators Association says it has disrupted more 200 pandemic-related scams. Why the increase? Anytime in that location'due south a major outcome that causes stress in people—a natural disaster, an economic collapse or anything that creates fear on a big calibration—in that location's a gamble that there's going to exist a fraud component. We saw the same thing with Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. And the pandemic is a perfect storm for con artists. People are at home, they're isolated, and they're available. Scammers know that the economic system is in turmoil, and so they combine all those factors to make a friendly pitch.

What kind of scams are you lot seeing? Throughout the pandemic, we've seen everything from phony vaccines and fake cures to scams promising to double your retirement savings. Nosotros're also seeing an increase in romance scams. Widows and widowers who can't go to their church building functions or other places to come across people are beingness targeted. Scammers start conversations with them online and persuade them to give up their money. Scammers are also trolling social media to look for religious affiliations and political leanings, which they utilize to pitch to folks with sure traits. Afterward all, how could you not trust somebody who thinks like yous?

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Who are the primary victims and why are they peculiarly vulnerable? Information technology would be an understatement to say that seniors are the primary target for many scams. They're home, and they're almost incommunicado. Their children and grandkids tin can't come visit them anymore. They have money in the bank, usually in savings accounts, and they're worried nigh Social Security and health care. These are the kinds of things that scammers know how to accept advantage of and make seniors readily vulnerable to fraud.

What are state securities regulators doing to terminate this problem? We're standing to monitor the internet, averaging two to 2-and-a-one-half newly discovered frauds each day. Nosotros issue orders to close them down, and if the schemes are based in the U.S., we're sometimes able to freeze and track the funds that take been stolen. But the majority of scams seem to be coming out of countries in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. For all applied purposes, a con artist can be located anywhere in the world in today'due south technologically connected community. And if the victims have sent the coin offshore via wire transfers or gift cards, it's most impossible to recover.

What can people do to protect elderly family members from scams? Make sure trusted family unit members are in constant communication with seniors. Has anyone tried to talk them into an investment? Has someone told them they have won a prize, but they take to pay taxes up forepart? The conversations must be done with great respect, as seniors may non talk to their children and trusted relatives if they experience that their competence is being called into question. And if your family members are starting to suffer from memory loss, review their financial accounts for signs of fraud.