May hosts National Senior Fraud Awareness day and is marked as Older American month. To pay tribute to this, here are some simple tips to protect yourself and/or your senior loved ones from financial fraud.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, older adults are disproportionately affected by fraud. Whether it’s a phony phone call, phishing scam, or mail fraud, seniors often become targets for scammers who perceive them as easy marks.

While we alone can’t put an end to this shady illegal activity, we can empower ourselves and our loved ones with the knowledge to keep everyone — and our finances — safe.

Remember “Stranger Danger”

If someone you don’t know asks for personal information, it’s probably a scam. Remember to never give out credit card or account information, passwords, or social security numbers unless they can verify the identity of the person or business making the request.

Add your Number to the Do Not Call List

When you add your phone number to the The National Do Not Call Registry, the government informs telemarketers not to call you.

Unfortunately, unscrupulous organizations and scammers ignore the registry and may continue to harass older citizens, but they should see a reduction in unsolicited calls and text messages from those who abide by the law.

Find a Crash Course in Online Literacy

If you use technology but aren't completely familiar with how scams work online, you might not understand what to click and what to avoid.

Spend some time going over how to navigate the internet safely. Most importantly, do some reasearch to fully understand email phishing. Never click links in unsolicited emails from people or companies you don’t know.

If you use social networks like Facebook, remember not to share anything too personal as scammers might use this information to impersonate friends or family members online.

Content Provided by Balance.