Blaine County Undersheriff Frank Billmayer was a recent presenter at the Chinook Senior Center. His topic was “Identity Theft, SCAMS and Identity Protection and Recovery.” Center Director Kristi Norby said, “We only planned for a short presentation before we served lunch. Our seniors were so interested in the topic they insisted the undersheriff keep talking while lunch was served. It was amazing how many of our seniors shared instances of being targeted with a scam or attempted identity theft.”

Countermeasures to avoid scams

and identity theft

Billmayer said, “The two most vulnerable groups for scammers and identity thieves are senior citizens and youngsters who do a lot of social media.” Youngsters inadvertently make it easy for thieves to access their information because they share too much personal information on social media. He cautioned seniors to tell their grandchildren and children not to post personal information, like phone numbers or street addresses, that allow thieves access to more information based on the simple tidbits they pick up trolling social media.

Seniors have their own sets of challenges with scammers and identity thieves. A current scam to get seniors’ credit card numbers has to do with the issuance of new Medicare cards which begins this month. The new cards (see attached photo with new format example) will no longer have a social security number but will show a unique beneficiary number on each new Medicare card. Several locals have been contacted, by phone, from scammers offering to ‘speed up’ their getting a new card—for a cost. The Social Security official website proclaims, “Medicare will never call you uninvited and ask you to give us personal or private information to get your new Medicare Number and card.” Undersheriff Billmayer said, “The best countermeasure to any suspected phone scammer is to simply hang up.”

He spoke also about a popular phone scam still being used toward grandparents. Gathering bits of information from social media about a grandchild, the scammer then calls the grandparent with a tale of woe about the grandchild being stranded, in jail, etc. in some far off place. A friend of mine was taken by this and said, “They put a youngster on the phone that sounded so much like my granddaughter I wired her money to fix her supposedly broken down car. The imposter was well coached with information that only my granddaughter would know.”

There are other email and letter scams still in play. A favorite is an “undeliverable package” from some legitimate delivery service, like FedEx or UPS. The scammer wants money for the senior to receive the package. Billmayer’s advice on suspected written or emailed scams, make a copy of the document and give it to someone in the sheriff’s office. Often times knowing the types of scams that are in play allows law enforcement to share information so others can be warned. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov) posts information about scams and tracks the status of each.

In addition to hanging up on suspected scammers and sharing suspicious written or internet scams with law enforcement, there are some things individuals can do to help reduce the prospects of someone stealing bank account information or credit card numbers. “Safe wallets” are billfolds and wallets designed to prevent thieves using electronic devices to download bank or credit card info directly from a person’s billfold. Even taking more care in creating user id’s and passwords for online accounts is an effective way to reduce identity theft. And, Billmayer said, never put your phone number or social security number on a check…it’s too easy for a thief to find the information.

How big a problem is identity theft? Some estimates are that every year about nine million Americans have some part of their identity stolen—from stolen financial information (like credit cards compromised) to more complex loss where a victim’s entire identity is stolen. Every change in society, like the new Medicare cards being issued, gives thieves new opportunities to create ways to steal. Caution and minimizing the personal information you share can all help you protect yourself.

If you have concerns about something you suspect is a scam or an attempt to steal your identity, share it with the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office at 357-3260 (that’s a non-emergency number). Undersheriff Billmayer can be reached with concerns by email at: fbillmayer@blainecounty-mt.gov.