Today my LinkedIn feed and Google News filter is showing me several stories that illustrate how we are failing to stop online scammers from stealing from our elderly. It starts with the headlines.
CTVNews: Ontario seniors GIVE AWAY MORE THAN $1 MILLION to scammers.
CTVNews: Ontario couple LOSES MORE THAN $1 MILLION DOLLARS to fraud.
Toronto Only: A couple … LOST MORE THAN $1 MILLION
Daily Mail: Elderly couple transfer $1m to online scammers despite warning from bank
The tone of several of these stories, is victim shaming and leads with the wrong headline. They didn’t “Give away” or “Lose” or “Transfer” these funds. They were STOLEN FROM THEM.
Illicit Call Centers: “Facebook Pop-Ups”
One of the ways that we learn about how these scams play out is that we engage with scammers. I’m not a professional scam baiter or anything close to it, but it is a useful research tool. When I read the story of the Ontario couple, I knew exactly the type of script that was being followed, because I experienced it last month. Usually when I call an illicit call center on purpose, I am asked very quickly to give remote control of my computer to the scammers. But one day last month, the call followed a very different script than the primary ones to which I am accustomed. It started with a Facebook advertisement.
In the top right corner of my Facebook homepage, I had two advertisements displayed:
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