Author Archives: Crystal Baldwin

About Crystal Baldwin

Crystal manages the publication and distribution of the CAP Connection blog.

Scams are crimes that we can try to avoid

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By Crystal Baldwin

A heartfelt thank you to Jeanette Voss and Martha “Mickey” Pullen for sharing your stories in a recent Seven Days article, Cyber Scams Are Leaving Older Vermonters Destitute, Frustrated and Saddled with Tax Debt. Your stories help us understand that scams are malicious criminal operations that succeed through thievery. You have helped others to see that responding to a scam is deeply human and natural. Scams are crimes. Scams are never the fault of the people they harm.

Findings by the Federal Trade Commission as well as AARP support that we humans are most likely to respond to scams when our emotions (positive and negative) are elevated—from anger to love, we have recently experienced two or more stressful life events, are living in isolation, and have increased exposure to scam encounters.

It could look like this: A new mom on maternity leave who lost her beloved father receives a call about an unpaid IRS tax debt. When scammers use carefully scripted dialog, the notion of unpaid taxes seems plausible. One may question whether claimed dependents had been properly updated, or if a burial tax was overlooked.

This new mom receiving an unwanted call from the IRS was me. During the call, I felt panic rise as I readied myself to engage. My sleep deprivation and my baby saved me. Upon receipt of the call, I was rushing out the door with my crying child. I decided I was too tired and overwhelmed to engage in a meaningful conversation. Exasperated, I said, “I just can’t right now,” and hung up. Once I was seated in my car, I expressed a long exhale. In that moment, I started laughing as I said aloud, “That was a scam!” My baby was not amused.  

When involved in a scam our brains are likely to experience an “amygdala hijack” —a term defined by Emotional Intelligence expert Daniel Goleman. This hijack is a natural response to emotional stimuli. When it is triggered, our response bypasses the orderly and fact-checking part of our brain. Scammers trigger this hijack by using manipulative psychological tactics. In the recent experience I shared above, my emotions helped me out of a tough situation. But I have experienced scams before where my emotion-based actions led me to monetary loss.

Scams frequently occur in isolation. Because of this, one of our best prevention strategies is to stay connected with our communities. That way, whenever you encounter something that is unexpected, urgent, unsettling, or unknown, you can engage a trusted contact, or community organization. This trusted support serves as your sounding board. They will help you to ask questions and expose the scam. Regularly engaging your trusted contact, such as when thinking about buying from a new website or making a high-dollar purchase, helps you to form scam avoidance habits. As burdensome as it may seem to activate a prevention strategy involving others, think of it like locking your door. It is a safety measure that will hopefully stop a thief from stealing from you.

Key Prevention Tip: When it's unexpected, urgent, unsettling, or unfamiliar: Slow down, Take steps to verify, Get community support.

If you have responded to a scam, know that you are not alone. Please report all scams to the FBI’s IC3.gov so that they can aggregate data to identify scam activity.

Steps when funds or personal information have been jeopardized:

STEP 1:
Immediately contact the Financial Institution’s Fraud Department.

STEP 2:
Immediately report to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI
If personal information may have been stolen or compromised:  IdentityTheft.gov provides step-by-step recovery guidance or call 1-877-438-4338

STEP 3:
Consider engaging a trusted contact who will support you through the process.

STEP 4:
Engage Vermont supports when you need additional help:

VT Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program:
 ago.Vermont.gov/cap

VT Department of Financial Regulation:
dfr.Vermont.gov

Local law enforcement

United Ways of Vermont 2-1-1 Information and Referral Hotline

Stay safe and be well, Vermont.

Avoid Scams and Fraud During Flood Recovery

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Vermonters have become all too familiar with the difficulties of disaster flooding. We know from experience that as we seek to recover, time is of the essence. We may bypass research gathering steps to respond as quickly as possible to the most pressing needs. When encountering urgent, unexpected, or unfamiliar consumer transactions, like agreements for repair, or disaster recovery, avoid scams and fraud by slowing down and taking steps to verify. Engage trusted contacts to help consider the next steps and to help you make informed consumer decisions.

As we recover: Avoid Scams. Phony charities, government (FEMA) relief, dubious contractors. Ago.vermont.gov/cap
Printable Flood Resources

You can further avoid scams and fraud by looking out for the following known disaster scams:

Government imposter relief scams may claim to be the Federal government or the State of Vermont or FEMA. FEMA scams manifest as fraudulent inspectors that request fees for service, or administrative personnel that call to “verify” your information but are phishing for your personal information. Such relief help scams may even claim they can speed up your FEMA relief application for a fee.

Avoid this scam:  Connect with FEMA directly online. Seek updates regarding whether emergency declarations have been made: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/declarations and follow updates from the Vermont Emergency Management.

Phony charities that solicit funds claiming to support recovery efforts. The Vermont way is to help our neighbors. We all want to help, whether it is through volunteering or donating money. Sadly, scammers use the same contact methods as legitimate charities (phone, online, mail).

Avoid this scam:  Please only give to valid charities that you have thoroughly researched and vetted. Use tools like the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance and Charity Navigator to research charities before you donate.

Dubious contractors may appear with promises to restore damages immediately in exchange for immediate payment. Such contractors urge you to act fast, may offer lower prices, and do not have credentials—though they might say they are “registered and insured,” these are unverified statements.

Avoid this scam: Vermonters must be extra critical about hiring home improvement contractors. Never pay in full upfront for a home improvement project. Make sure you have a contract. Reference our Home Repair How-To Checklist for more tips on finding and hiring home improvement contractors.

Please watch out for these scams and report them to the Consumer Assistance Program by phone at 800-649-2424 or online at ago.vermont.gov/cap

More: Visit the Federal Trade Commission on spotting and avoiding post-disaster scams: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scams-after-weather-emergencies-and-natural-disasters

Update August, 20, 2024: “FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of Vermont to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storm, flooding, landslides and mudslides from July 9-11, 2024” (https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20240820/president-joseph-r-biden-jr-approves-major-disaster-declaration-vermont).

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: Help in Your Community

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By Crystal Baldwin

As we prepare for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day this Saturday, please read and share: “Finding Help,” a guide on help options for Vermonters experiencing elder abuse, exploitation and neglect. 

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: Building Strong Support for Elders - National Center on Elder Abuse - My Community, your community - free of elder abuse
National Center on Elder Abuse – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

When considering care for our loved ones, there is a lot to think about . Who should help manage their money? Should someone live with them, and who? Can we afford to hire an in-home caregiver? Should we seek out assisted living care, or think about an adult day option? Once everything is finally sorted out, we can exhale. But should we? As our parents checked in on our wellbeing as children, once our elders are set and settled, we must continue to check in on them, too, with great care and concern for their wellbeing. 

On this World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, we must be vigilant and aware of the risk factors and signs of elder abuse. We must serve as supportive connections to older adults in our communities to prevent their social isolation—one of the main elder abuse risk factors (ncea.acl.gov). As someone who has cared for a vulnerable elder, I know firsthand that it can be difficult to know where to turn for help, advice, and guidance.   

Finding Help: Abuse, Exploitation & Neglect in Later Life - link to guide
Finding Help – A resource guide produced by the VT Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living

Last fall, the Vermont Attorney General’s Elder Protection Initiative and the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living launched the Finding Help: Abuse, Exploitation and Neglect in Later Life help guide, a resource for Vermont’s most vulnerable and those who care for them. The guide walks through how to recognize abuse and exploitation, help options outside of government, as well as how to report elder abuse or exploitation to government for response. This resource outlines free services provided by an array of organizations and state agencies, including: 

  • Elder abuse hotlines and helplines 
  • Case managers and social workers 
  • Domestic & sexual violence organizations 
  • Legal services; and 
  • Other community-based organizations and professionals 

You can help prevent elder abuse and exploitation. I encourage you to share and save a copy of this guide and keep it among your most referenced resources. Also, consider printing out the following abbreviated resource guide and share it with the elders in your life.  It includes some of the primary referral resource hotlines and can be kept handy close to the phone for easy reference.   

Resources for VTer's 60+ Vermont 2-1-1 VT Area Agencies on Aging 1-800-642-5119 VT Adult Protective Svcs 1-800-564-1612 VT Office of the Public Guardian 1-800-642-3100 UVMMC Case Mgmt and Social Work Team 1-802-847-3553 SASH 1-802-863-2224 Blueprint for Health - contact a Primary Care Physician. National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-372-8311
Resources for Vermonters 60+. Print and share.

Resources: 
NCEA: https://ncea.acl.gov/
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: https://worldelderabuseawareness.com/about-weaad/

Social Media Scams Hope to Elicit Funds from Grieving Families

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Scammers are targeting grieving families, posting links to fake funeral live streams on Facebook and asking for payment to access the service. Scammers may further make fake social media pages of loved ones to post the fake funeral livestream link.

The livestream option for funeral services is typically free to guests. If you are asked to provide payment, disengage and contact the organizer directly, such as the funeral home or the person who arranged the funeral services.

The array of scams that can occur on social media is virtually limitless. There are:

  • Opportunities to grow your wealth through investment schemes,
  • The chance to earn money through low-risk involvement, such being paid to have your portrait drawn,
  • Advertisements that lead to purchasing items and services that do not exist,
  • The development of false relationships

The scammers will stop at nothing.

Here are some things you can do to avoid fraud online:

  • Limit your social media connections to people you actually know and have met in person.
  • Know that accounts can be hacked so the “friend” contacting you could be a scammer.
  • Turn on restrictive privacy settings that allow only those close contacts access to your pages and posts.
  • Upon receiving an appealing offer take steps to verify and engage a trusted contact to scrutinize the offer.

If you have paid in response to one of these scams, contact your financial institution right away and alert about the fraud. Learn more recovery steps on our website: https://ago.vermont.gov/cap/recover-scams 

Please help stop scams by sharing this information with someone you know.

The Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) is your Vermont resource for consumer help and scam prevention information. Contact CAP at 1-800-649-2424 or https://ago.vermont.gov/cap.

Buying Stuff You LOVE Online 

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Have stuff you love? One might argue consumerism is all about the love people have for the things they buy. And consumer protection, well, that’s the promise that the sale of things will be clear and fair. Plain and simple. You love your stuff and so there are laws and rules that protect you as the consumer when you are buying things. Sometimes, people pay for things online that they never receive. For some, that’s heartbreak.  

Buying stuff you LOVE online: Blog.uvm.edu/consumer - Three photos of stuff: clothes hanging on a rack, shoes displayed with bright red boots in the middle, red handbag. Pictures are overlapping and positioned to the left against a pink background with a framed outline of white hearts.

So, what do you do when the thing you committed to purchasing from a website never arrives as a package at your door as promised?  

  • Try to discern whether the site is a scam or if the delivery delay was due to an error. Talk to friends and family about what happened and discuss. Do some browsing on the website. If pictures look pixelated and you notice spelling errors, the site is likely a fake.  
  • Found a fake? Inform your financial institution to dispute the charges. For credit cards, you have 60 days from the time the transaction was posted on your credit card billing statement to file a chargeback dispute (some cards allow more time, but not all). This means there is a clock ticking on when you can file a claim with the credit card company. If the item never arrives and you have found the website to be a fake, it is unlikely the company itself will not issue a refund. In this scenario, filing a dispute with your credit card company is your best course of action for a refund. 

The Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule is a Federal Rule that protects your mail, internet, or telephone orders of merchandise. What does the rule do? 

  • Sellers can solicit orders by mail, internet, or telephone only when they have a reasonable basis to expect that they can ship the ordered merchandise within the time stated on the solicitation (if no time is stated, within 30 days). 
  • If the seller cannot ship within the time stated (or 30 days, if no time is stated), the seller must get consent from the buyer to delay shipment.  
  • Without buyer consent to delay shipment, the seller must issue a prompt refund for the unshipped merchandise.  (Federal Register, Federal Trade Commission) 

Vermonters may file a consumer complaint with the Consumer Assistance Program when purchased items are not received, or are misrepresented: https://ago.vermont.gov/cap/get-help-consumer-complaint

Find something you love online? Protect your money. Take steps to verify the website is valid and perform online searches about others’ interactions with the site before buying. If you find that customers commonly say they do not get the product, or items are different than purchased, or advertised promises were not honored, look elsewhere. There is a chance the new thing you have come to love does not exist.