There has been an uptick in what regulators call “romance fraud.” This refers to a type of online deception where individuals create fake identities and develop fraudulent romantic or otherwise close relationships with unsuspecting people to exploit money out of them.
Studies have been done to try to pinpoint when seniors are most vulnerable: Unsurprisingly, it’s between twelve and twenty-four months after losing a loved one, moving, or becoming less mobile, and therefore less able to get out and about to visit friends.
We all need to pay attention to these situations, especially as society promotes a greater use of the internet to “stay connected” with other people. Friends and family don’t cost us money to maintain those relationships: strangers or impersonators do. Please pay attention, and if you’d like a non-judgmental chat about what is going on in your life, call us. We’re always here to help.
