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1 in 6 older adults fall victim to impersonation scams

<p>More older adults are likely to fall victim to scams than are currently recognised according to new US research. The problems are global. </p> <div class="copy"> <p>A research team from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, US, says older Americans who aren’t cognitively impeded, are also at risk.  </p> <p>In their study <a href="https://10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.35319" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> today in <em>JAMA Network Open</em>, the group reports on a behavioural experiment where they targeted 644 adults aged 64-104 in Rush’s Memory and Aging Project – a local scheme that draws on participants from metropolitan Chicago to participate in research – with a pitch mimicking a real-world impersonation scam. </p> <p>The study’s fictitious ‘US Retirement Protection Task Force’ pitched itself to participants as a government social security initiative.  </p> <p>This USRPTF told participants via either post, email or a telephone call there’d been irregular activity on their Medicare or social security file and the inquiry was a routine account security check. As part of this, the fake agency asked participants to call a telephone hotline or login to a provided website to provide their details.  </p> <p>Over two-thirds of the study failed to respond to any attempts to obtain information by the phoney scheme.  </p> <p>The remainder were evenly split by either responding to requests for contact, but expressing scepticism at the authenticity of the USRPTF, or by responding and engaging with the request for information.  </p> <p>Those who were engaged with the request for information, but expressed doubts, were also those with the highest cognitive performance, and lowest proportion of dementia. They were also the most financially literate participants, while those who provided their details had the lowest literacy. </p> <p>Those who provided details were also found to have the lowest scam awareness of all participants.  </p> <p>Among this group, 1 in 10 willingly provided personal information and 1 in 5 provided details of their social security number.  </p> <p>“If extrapolated to a population level, these numbers are astounding and suggest that a very large number of older adults are at risk of victimisation,” the authors say. </p> <p>They also note that, given the use of a fictitious US government organisation name, the number of people vulnerable to well-organised scams is likely much higher.  </p> <p>Last year, the US National Council on Aging reported 92,371 older Americans were defrauded of a total of US$1.7 billion. Most were victims of government department impersonation, sweepstakes and robocall scams. Often such scams will simply demand payment while ‘spoofing’ the phone number of a government agency to add the veil of legitimacy. </p> <p>It’s a similar story around the world. This year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found Australians lost a record $3.1 billion last year, mostly via phone scams. Australians over 65 years of age accounted for a quarter of losses and reports.  </p> <p>The UK’s Action Fraud initiative found Britons lost about ₤2.35 billion in the 2020/21 financial year, with those aged 50-69 most susceptible to falling victim.  </p> <div> <p align="center"><noscript data-spai="1">&amp;lt;img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Issue-100-embed.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Subscribe to our quarterly print magazine" width="600" height="154" title="1 in 6 older adults fall victim to impersonation scams 2"&amp;gt;</noscript></p> </div> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/1-in-6-older-adults-fall-victim-to-impersonation-scams/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="null">Cosmos</a>. </em></p> </div>

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Sam Neill's warning to single women

<p>Actor Sam Neill has issued a warning to women everywhere, cautioning them against a devious "online love scam" that is using his name and photo. </p> <p>The 75-year-old shared the warning to his Instagram followers on Thursday, telling people to be wary of scams that use the promise of romance as a means to rob money from victims in search of companionship. </p> <p>The post, written on behalf of Sam by his assistant, Lauren, said that scammers having been posing as Sam and contacting fans over social media.</p> <p>Lauren explained that this was impossible, as the actor does not have a private account and "does not keep secrets" from his social media team.</p> <p>"Sam has asked me to post on here to share with his followers an idea of the number of fake Sam Neill accounts out there on Instagram," it said.</p> <p>"The ONLY real Sam Neill account is this one - with the blue verified tick," the message continued.</p> <p>Included in the post was a screen grab of Sam's Instagram with a red marker circling the star's account and the message, "Warning".</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoIsALtyfzw/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoIsALtyfzw/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by SamNeillTheProp (@samneilltheprop)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"I’m saddened by the stories I hear every day of people who have fallen victim to these disgraceful, despicable scammers. Their sole purpose is exploiting peoples weaknesses and lonely hearts. It’s shameful and disgusting and both Sam and I are committed to bringing this to light," Lauren continued. </p> <p>"Please, please check for the blue tick. If the account doesn’t have it, but has Sam’s name, you know it’s a fake."</p> <p>Lauren explained that the scammers after often pedalling get-rich-quick cryptocurrency schemes, while most of them are offering a romantic relationship. </p> <p>"He definitely isn't having an online romantic relationship with you," Sam's assistant messaged on behalf of the star.</p> <p>"That's the trash bag scammer wasting your time, potentially breaking your heart and disappearing with your money!"</p> <p>Followers were grateful for the warning, with one comment reading, "Please continue to report the fake accounts that contact you. It helps a lot and will continue to make Instagram a safer place for everyone."</p> <p>Others didn't take the warning too seriously, with many of his followers keen to poke fun at the scammers.</p> <p>One person said, "Who the hell have I been sending all those nudes to?"</p> <p>"Wait, you mean the message he sent me asking me to send him bitcoin to be in a Jurassic Park movie wasn't real?" said another, before adding, "Well, this is awkward!"</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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“Bizarre” Home and Away impersonator loses court appeal

<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article includes mentions of suicide.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">A female ‘catfish’ who impersonated a <em>Home and Away </em>star to attract women online and was found guilty of stalking has failed in her bid to overturn her conviction.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lydia Abdelmalek was found guilty of six counts of stalking three years ago after she impersonated Lincoln Lewis, the star who played Geoff Campbell in the popular soap.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though she first launched her appeal in 2019, the guilty verdict was upheld in Victoria’s County Court on May 26, as reported by <em><a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7754837/home-and-away-catfish-loses-court-appeal/?cs=14231" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Canberra Times</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I find the appellant was responsible for the stalking behaviour,” Judge Claire Quin told the court.</p> <p dir="ltr">Judge Quin described the case as “bizarre” and rejected evidence presented by Ms Abdelmalek.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I found her account confusing, deliberate and that she was deliberately evasive,” Judge Quin said. “Her account does not make sense.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The court also heard that a phone seized from Ms Abdelmalak’s home during the appeal in relation to another case contained “incriminating” evidence against her, according to the <em><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-26/lydia-abdelmalek-lincoln-lewis-catfish-appeal/101099416" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The court heard that the phone contained a wealth of material that “supported the accounts provided by the victims”, including hundreds of texts and pictures sent to the women she stalked, intimate photos, and Mr Lewis’ real voicemail.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Much of this material was not available at the time of the Magistrates’ hearing,” Judge Quin said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The enormity of this behaviour could not be over exaggerated.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Abdelmalek impersonated the TV star and used other aliases to stalk seven people over a four-year period starting from May 2011, in what one victim called “sick mind games”.</p> <p dir="ltr">One of Ms Abdelmalek’s victims who died by suicide wrote a statement prior to her death where she outlined the trauma she experienced from being tricked into believing the actor was in love with her.</p> <p dir="ltr">She said she felt tortured for the “sick fascination, perverse pleasure and unhealthy satisfaction” of her tormentor.</p> <p dir="ltr">Another victim said she went from being the life of the party to a recluse after what the sentencing magistrate described as a “calculated and cruel” offence.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>If you are experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide, you can call Lifeline 131 114 or beyondblue 1300 224 636 or visit <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lifeline.org.au</a> or <a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/national-help-lines-and-websites" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beyondblue.org.au</a>.</em></p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-809f9e68-7fff-e3b1-a053-0cfcec6ba428"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Heidelberg Magistrates Court</em></p>

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Uncanny Robin Williams impersonation stuns fans

<p><em>Image: Youtube </em></p> <p>Robin Williams’ fans are very excited by actor Jamie Costa’s impersonation of the late star.</p> <p>Costa posted a five-minute clip to his YouTube channel, titled<span> </span><em>ROBIN Test Footage Scene,<span> </span></em>on Tuesday, showing a scene featuring himself as Williams and Sarah Murphree as Pam Dawber on the set of<span> </span><em>Mork &amp; Mindy</em>.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0-kOy4s_Z0M" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>The clip shows Dawber interrupting Williams as he runs through lines to break the news of comedian John Belushi’s death – and shows Williams’ reaction to the news.</p> <p>When Murphree tells Costa Belushi had been found dead that morning, Costa finds it hard to digest the news, insisting: “No, I told you, I was with him. John’s not dead, I was with him last night.”</p> <p>Blues Brothers star Belushi died aged 33 of a cocaine and heroin overdose at Chateau Marmont in LA in 1982.</p> <p>After Murphee warns Costa: “I can’t let what happened to him happen to you” and a knock on the door signals it is time for the pair to go back on set, costa returns to reciting lines – this time, with a break in his voice.</p> <p>The short film left some viewers hankering for a full biopic of Williams, who died by suicide in 2014 after battling Lewy body dementia.</p> <p>“Who else has been hoping Jamie would play Robin in a biopic since you saw his first Robin impressions?” one wrote.</p> <p>“It’s one thing to resemble a person but it’s how much he sounds like and has his mannerisms and expressions down that’s so freaking impressive. I hope this movie gets made. I still feel his loss,” said another.</p> <p>“This is absolutely incredible. Make this full length movie and hire this man NOW!” a third wrote.</p>

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Woman sentenced to jail after impersonating Home and Away star in online romance scam

<p>A Melbourne woman who has impersonated Australian actor Lincoln Lewis to ensnare women online has been sentenced to two years and eight months in jail after one of her victims committed suicide.</p> <p>29-year-old Lydia Abdelmalek received the sentence after being found guilty of six stalking charges.</p> <p>She posed as multiple different people, including the <em>Home and Away</em> star, to strike up online relationships with the victims before taunting them with threats.</p> <p>In a court recording obtained by <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/a-current-affair-catfisher-impersonate-lincoln-lewis-lydia-abdelmalek-jailed-stalking-court-latest-news-australia/e8210c78-4c01-4a86-b3e3-c952210c8e98"><em>A Current Affair</em></a>, Lincoln shared how “powerless” the catfishing made him feel.</p> <p>“It just takes away your happiness because now I’ve got this constant thought in my mind that something’s happening that I’m powerless to stop or even find out,” the son of former rugby league legend Wally Lewis said.</p> <p>In one case, Abdelmalek used Lincoln's profile to trick his primary school friend, who is identified as Emma, into a fake romance.</p> <p>Emma managed to speak to the real Lincoln in 2011 in a phone call. </p> <p>“She said, ‘Linc, I’ve thought for the last couple of months that you and I have been dating,'” said Lincoln.</p> <p>“My first reaction is, how could you think that? How could you think that we’re dating when we haven’t seen each other in years? And then she kept saying to me, ‘Linc, what do I do?’ many times.”</p> <p>He said Emma told him she was scared because Abdelmalek knew “everything” about her and a lot about Lincoln, including his family’s home address in Brisbane and his Virgin Velocity Frequent Flyer number.</p> <p>Emma later received <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-09/lincoln-lewis-fake-catfish-internet-stalker-court-trial/10919538">threats, prank calls and messages</a> such as “wen r u going 2 kill urself?”.</p> <p>After dealing with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder from the continued abuse, Emma took her own life in 2018, two years after the ordeal began.</p> <p>“I was angry that a faceless coward could be so inhumane to stoop so low to do this to an innocent person,” read Emma’s 2016 victim impact statement.</p> <p>“Words alone do not describe how this traumatic episode has affected me.”</p> <p>Another victim, identified as Jess, told the court that she suffers from “debilitating panic attacks, depression and anxiety” after receiving similar harassment from Abdelmalek.</p> <p>“I’m now forever entangled in your sick story of abuse and manipulation … You’ve ruined my life.”</p> <p>Abdelmalek was granted bail, and her defence indicated that she would appeal the guilty conviction.</p> <p><em>If you are experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide, you can call Lifeline 131 114 or beyondblue 1300 224 636 or visit <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">lifeline.org.au</a> or <a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/national-help-lines-and-websites">beyondblue.org.au</a>.</em></p>

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Scam alert: Fans lose thousands of dollars from fake Olivia Newton-John impersonators

<p>Olivia Newton-John has found herself embroiled in a fraud scheme, where impersonators scam her fans out of thousands of dollars.</p> <p>According to Newton-John’s publicist, a few people pretending to be the 70-year-old singer have asked fans on social media sites to donate to her cancer treatment centre, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness &amp; Research Centre. These fake accounts have successfully swindled large sums of money out of fans’ pocket.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Folivianewtonjohn%2Fposts%2F2311011185578242&amp;width=500" width="500" height="383" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>“If you get a message from anyone saying they are Olivia – this is a scam!” publicist Michael Caprio wrote on Newton-John’s official Facebook page. </p> <p>“Olivia does not direct message anyone on her social media pages so, beware.”</p> <p>Caprio said his team is currently working to get the fake accounts shut down.</p> <p>Some fans responded that they had been approached by the scammers. “A few months ago a person pretending to be Olivia Newton-John contacted me via Messenger,” one fan commented. “I thought it was suspicious that Olivia contacted an ordinary man like me asking ‘Hi’ and ‘How are you?’”</p> <p>Another fan confirmed that type of tactic is common. “They contacted me but I knew it was a scam. I also got contacted by the fake Cher and the fake Barbra Streisand.”</p> <p>Have you received any suspicious message from a ‘celebrity’? Let us know about your encounters with scammers in the comments below.</p>

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New scam impersonating government service

<p>A warning has been issued about a new scam that seeks to lure Aussies into handing over their bank details by cloning the myGov website.</p> <p>The warning was issued yesterday by authorities on the <a href="https://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/alert-service/beware-fake-medicare-email" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stay Smart Online</span></strong></a> website.</p> <p>The scammers are issuing an email that is designed to look as if it’s been sent from Medicare, asking the recipient to “please kindly update your Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments”.</p> <p>If the link on the email is clicked, it takes the user to the clone site: mygovau.net.</p> <p>The real site is mygov.au.</p> <p>The government website links several services such as Medicare, Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office.</p> <p>"If you input your login details you are directed to also enter your secret security question and answer, before you're taken to the fake Medicare website to input your bank account details," the Stay Safe Online warning states.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="334" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7819614/1_500x334.jpg" alt="1 (166)"/></p> <p>Dr Cassandra Cross, criminologist from the Queensland University of Technology, told the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-05/mygov-scam-clones-government-website-medicare-phishing-email/9942908" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ABC</span></strong></em></a> that online safety is more crucial as scams become more sophisticated.</p> <p>"They [cloned websites] look authentic, they look genuine. In this case the only difference is the URL," Dr Cross said.</p> <p>Dr Cross said this scam was like phishing emails claiming to be from banks that ask recipients to login to their account from a fake URL.</p> <p>"But they're using something a bit more timely and just a little bit different to catch people off guard and increase their chance that people will respond to it," she said.</p> <p>"We've done a lot of awareness around not putting information into banking websites that you'd click on from a link, but people wouldn't necessarily associate that same message with myGov.</p> <p>"This time of year we also see a lot around the Australian Tax Office, clinking on links to gain tax refunds."</p> <p>Previous scam indicators such as spelling mistakes and poor grammar can no longer be relied upon.</p> <p>"I don't think we can rely on those indicators as successfully now, because offenders have realised that people are looking for that and they've upped the ante, so to speak, so they've increased the level of sophistication that they put on these attacks."</p> <p><strong>How to make sure you are not clicking on a scam email</strong></p> <p>* It is recommended that if you receive a message from an organisation, never click on the links in emails or text messages.</p> <p>* Login to your official myGov account by typing the correct URL into your browser, and then check your website inbox for any legitimate messages from Medicare.</p> <p>* Always be suspicious of messages that aren’t addressed to you directly and if you are still unsure, contact the organisation separately.</p> <p> Have you received this scam in your emails? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

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Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks hilariously impersonate each other on Ellen

<p>If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then a recent episode of <em>Ellen</em> has revealed that actors Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are obviously big admirers of each other’s work.</p> <p>During the appearance, the two actors went toe to toe and impersonated each other’s most iconic characters. Streep took on Forrest Grump and Woody from <em>Toy Story</em>, while Hanks turned on the charm in his impersonation of the ice Miranda Priestly from <em>The Devil Wears Prada</em>.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pl9oc13p534" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>At a time when most talk show appearances seem to be cookie-cutter repeats of the same old tried formula, it’s refreshing to see these two stars enjoy themselves!</p> <p>Do you watch Ellen? What’s your favourite film featuring Meryl Streep or Tom Hanks?</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: YouTube / Ellen</em></p>

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