One reason that scammers are so difficult to stop, security experts say, is that they keep raising their game. They’re continually perfecting their scams, taking advantage of tech innovations, and honing their methods to better manipulate their targets. Scammers have become much more adept at impersonating legitimate institutions, including creating websites and messages that are “carbon copies” of legitimate health care providers, businesses, and banks, with fewer grammatical mistakes and other red flags for scams. And criminals are not only taking advantage of technological innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI), but they’re also growing ever more adept at psychological manipulations — their “game of persuasion,” says Aaron Foss, former chief executive and founder of Nomorobo, a firm whose technology aims to thwart robocalls. Foss explains that today’s scammers in overseas call centers, for example, are often trained to minimize their accents and coached on ways to connect emotionally with their targets. This article from AARP discusses six of the scams that experts say seniors should be watching out for this year.

For a description of these scams and how to avoid them, click here.