Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk by Cameron Huddleston

Author:Cameron Huddleston
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119538417
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2019-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

You can visit CameronHuddleston.com for a full list of scam red flags and examples of common scams to download, print, and share with your parents.

Don't just tell them to hang up. Instead, create a refusal script. There are so many ways scammers can reach victims now, but the primary way is still the telephone, Stokes said. But you can't just tell your parents not to answer the phone if caller ID shows a number they don't recognize or to hang up if it's someone they don't know. “It's not in their DNA,” Stokes said. They think it's rude not to answer or to hang up. And they might worry that if they don't answer it, they might miss an important call.

So you need to help them come up with a sentence that helps them get off the phone without feeling bad. Stokes said she told her mom to tell telemarketers and questionable callers that she's having tea with Officer Brady and couldn't take the call. You could tell your parents to say something similar, or even “I'm on the way out the door.”

Also caution your parents against staying on the phone with scammers if they know it's a con but just want to mess with the person. Stokes said that phone numbers are bought and sold, and scammers look at call data to see how long people stay on the line. “If you're going to stay on the phone for five minutes because you're screwing with the person who's trying to scam you, you're a hot commodity,” Stokes said. “That number is going to be bought and sold a zillion times. And you're going to be on more lists. So it's not a good idea to engage.”

And those robo-calls that give the option to opt out of future calls by pressing a number are a ploy. “You press that number, and now you're on the list because they know it's a hot number,” Stokes said. So warn your parents to watch out for this trick.

Help your parents avoid telemarketing and spam calls. Your parents can register their home and mobile phone numbers for free with the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222 to stop unwanted sales calls. This does not stop political, charitable, survey, or debt collection calls. And it doesn't prevent scammers from calling – only legitimate telemarketing companies. But because it will prevent legitimate companies from calling, your parents will know that the calls they still are getting are likely from scammers.

Your parents might be able to block anonymous calls to their landline (depending on their service provider) by picking up the phone and dialing *77.11 To remove the block, dial *87. They can download a free mobile app such as Hiya to help identify and limit spam calls to their cell phones, or contact their cell phone service provider to see what call blocking options it provides.

Warn them about unscrupulous financial professionals and risky investments. Just because someone is a financial professional doesn't mean that person will act ethically.

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