Holiday scam warning issued to Illinois senior citizens
LINCOLNWOOD, Ill. - Some real-life Grinches are spoiling the holiday season for an increasing number of Chicago area seniors. Police say holiday scams targeting the elderly are out of control.
That's why Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and his team are visiting senior living centers to spread a word of warning.
Jane Epperson, a resident of The Carrington in Lincolnwood, was recently targeted.
"I got a phone call, supposedly someone from Amazon," she said.
Epperson is lucky. Even though she followed the caller’s instructions and downloaded software on her computer that gave him access to her bank account, she pulled the plug in time.
"So in the end, I had to change my bank account, my credit cards, everything," Epperson said. "And it was terrible."
"This happens to old people, young people, people with PhD’s," said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who on Tuesday warned residents of the Carrington Senior Living Center in Lincolnwood about the dramatic increase in holidays scams this year.
Most are in the form of phone calls and emails to seniors, supposedly from companies or charities seeking personal financial information.
"The number of scams and the volume has dramatically increased," Dart said. "And it’s heartbreaking. The stories we get from people who literally have lost everything on what seemed like it made sense at the time."
Detective Mike Kane says unfortunately, many seniors let their guard down over the holidays.
"There’s always the generosity level people tend to have around the holidays. It’s an opportunity for people to pose as family members and try to get into those bank accounts," Kane said.
Charleen Skelly says she nearly fell victim to a common senior scam.
"I got a phone call and they said this is your grandson Jim, and I’m in trouble and I need $4,000," she said.
Detective Kane said it’s all about the emotions.
"They’ll propose that they’re stranded, or hospitalized even to make it more dire," Jane said. "People are very confident when they pull the scams. There’s more operators on the phone and people don’t realize until it’s too late."
Sheriff Dart said there’s no way of knowing home much money is lost to these types of scams.
"This is probably one of the most underreported crimes you’re ever going to come across because across-the-board, everyone is mortified and embarrassed. And so they don’t want to tell a soul about it," Dart said.
The sheriff said the best advice is to never give personal information to a stranger. Instead, hang up the phone or delete the email and notify police.