Senior News Line: The scams just keep coming

In the world of scams, just when you think scammers can’t possibly come up with new ideas, they do.

One of the worst now is the fake fraud alert for protection services. You’ll get an emergency message or call saying that someone is trying to access your account.

The “helper” from your “bank” asks if you want to temporarily transfer your money to a safe, protected account while officials work it out and you say yes — and there goes your money, never to be seen again. If you ever get a call such as this, hang up and call your bank to ask if they called you.

And then, of course, there are all the old standard scams. There is the grandparent scam where a thief calls and pretends to be a grandchild who is in jail and desperate to be bailed out.

There is the romance scam where a supposed suitor pretends to get close to you over time and then asks for money or wants to do a joint financial investment.

And the driveway repaving and home repair scam where they promise to do a fine job on the work, but you’ll need to pay a bit upfront for materials and supplies.

And lest we forget, there are the computer repairs wherein they need remote access to your computer, the work-from-home scams, fake Amazon text alerts, etc.

Beware any calls or text messages that push you to act now, that insert urgency or fear into the situation. Don’t fall for it. Hang up and don’t click links. Make a call yourself to see if the situation was legitimate and carefully delete the text message.

To learn about even more current scams, check AARP at https://tinyurl.com/tpspzcdp.

With the holidays coming, the scams are just going to get worse. Stay alert.