The Shelbyville Senior Center hosted members from First Community Bank to discuss common financial scams and how to combat them.

Compliance department officer Nicole Guiffra started at First Community 6 months ago, and she said there have been multiple clients have come to the bank, either to report a scam or withdraw money for one. She said recently one customer lost $12,000, while another lost $20,000.

“It has been a busy couple of months at the bank for me. We have already at least one of each of the three scams I want to talk to you about today,” she said.

The most common types of scams are via telephone and internet. “Especially if you have social media, that’s how a lot of these scams work: they get just the tiniest bit of information about you. When they you, they sound like they’re legitimate and they may not even know who they’re calling,” Guiffra said.

Scammers may already know your social security number or your name, which according to Guiffra, makes scammers sound especially legitimate in a small town where typically “everybody knows everybody.”

One type of common scam is called the “grandparent scam,” where a scammer will call disguised as a person’s grandchild, or close relative, and typically ask for money to be bailed out of jail or to help with medical expenses from an accident.

“It’s going to be cash or prepaid gift cards,” Guiffra said. “And then they’re going to say, ‘Don’t tell mom’ or ‘Don’t tell dad, I need you; I don’t want them to be mad at me.’”

“Just remember gift cards are for gifts, not for sending numbers over the phone,” Guiffra said.

Guiffra says it’s good practice to check with the jail or hospital to see if your “grandchild” is there, or to call that relative and check with him or her.

She also said you can’t always trust caller ID as well. “Spoofing” is a common practice where scammers can fake caller ID addresses.

Another common scam is the check scam, where scammers will ask to be mailed several hundred dollars in order for you to receive a large sum of money. But that check comes back and doesn’t clear because it’s fake, Guiffra explained. “We actually had two of those last week—$19,000,” she said.

“But if you put it in your account, and it’s no good and we can’t recover it, you are going to be responsible for any of that money you sent off,” she said. “So always be very cautious of any checks you aren’t expecting.”

Also, Guiffra added, if you get the scam in the mail, she advises to keep the envelope and bring it to your bank so they can report mail fraud.

Scammers typically target older audiences since the majority of them have money saved up.

The “romance” scam is another common fraud scheme that can typically come through a dating app or even over the phone.

Guiffra retold one instance where a local woman received money from her 401k for house repairs. But she received a call from a supposed “veteran” who needed money to come back home to see his family. She bought prepaid gift cards, which she read to him over the phone, and eventually she gave him her card number. The scammer drained her more than $20,000 of her 401k money.

“We’re thinking about that now and think ‘who falls for that?’ These are your neighbors, people who are just like you and me,” Guiffra said.

“Most importantly, if you weren’t expecting it, it’s not a gift from God, it’s not the answer to your prayers. It's probably a scam,” Guiffra said.

Lastly, Guiffra said if you are in any way unsure about something to go to your local bank. “We know what your normal behavior is, so if you come and need $10,000, we’ll ask a couple questions,” she said.