Area law enforcement recently notified us of numerous consumer complaints regarding suspicious phone calls from fraudulent elderly medical alert companies going by names such as “Senior Alert Care Company.” The representatives claim that a family member has purchased a medical alert system for the recipient of the call and then asks that they provide a credit card number to finalize the account setup.
Should you receive a telephone call similar to the scenario described above, it is likely a scam. If you are not sure if a call is legitimate, take down as much information as possible and contact law enforcement or your financial institution for assistance. Never provide confidential information such as your account, credit card or other ID numbers in response to an unsolicited call.
The following is a list of red flags that may indicate a call is a telephone scam:
- The caller will not take “no” for an answer
- The caller requests payment for a “gift”
- The caller is pushy and refuses to answer any specific questions regarding the organization they claim to be calling from
- The caller insists you must “act now” on the offer or risk missing out
- The caller refuses to provide any written proof or documentation
Should you receive a suspicious or unsolicited call, please do not respond by providing or entering any personal information. If you have provided your personal information in response to a suspicious call, please notify us immediately so that we can assist you with protecting your accounts and preventing identity theft.
