Weekly podcasts reveal latest scams

#Middlebury #SeniorNewsLine

Having trouble keeping up with all the latest scams? AARP has just made it a bit easier with its 12-episode weekly series “The Perfect Scam.”

Go online to www.aarp.org/podcasts/the-perfect-scam and start with Episode 1 – the grandparent scam. This might well be the cruelest scam directed against seniors. We love our grandchildren, and if one calls saying they’re in trouble, we’ll try to help, of course. The problem comes when it’s not our grandchild after all. Listen to this podcast to see just how sneaky thieves can be.

Episode 2 is another bad one … the jury duty scam. We’re law-abiding citizens and if we’re called to jury duty, we go. Getting a scary call saying there’s an arrest warrant out for us for not showing up in court … we don’t need that kind of fear, but some of us fall for it.

Episode 3 has the scammers either calling us or putting a message up on our computer screen. They say they’re from a big computer company and are trying to save the computer from viruses. They claim the computer is being accessed and attacked. Most of these guys are from call centers in India or Malaysia or even the U.S., and they want to sell you their repair services. They will threaten you if you object, threaten to put pornography on your computer, and threaten to post your personal information on the Internet. If there is a scam to avoid, this is the one. Take notes. Play it for your friends.

Every week for 12 weeks there will be a new half-hour scam podcast on AARP. You can go back at any time and listen again, and you can listen to these podcasts on your computer, smartphone or tablet.

(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.

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