Empowering Midlife Women Against Scams - Ep. 79

Have you ever received an unexpected call from 'tech support', or a message from a 'grandchild' needing bail money? You're not alone. Together, we - Tish and Ellen - take you on a journey exploring the dark abyss of scams that have targeted us, our friends, and countless midlife women across the globe. We'll share our personal stories and experiences, and reveal shocking statistics about the staggering financial losses incurred by our age group due to these scams.

We don't just highlight the problem, we arm you with defenses too. From cultivating healthy skepticism to independently verifying suspicious communication, we're here to guide you on how to keep safe while navigating the digital world. We’ll introduce you to resources like AARP, Nextdoor, and reputable antivirus software that will help you stay a step ahead of the scammers. Plus, we'll discuss the newest threats, including deep fakes and the malicious use of artificial intelligence.

But remember, isolation is a scammer’s best friend, and community is our strongest defense. So, we'll discuss the importance of open communication about scams within your circles. By sharing our stories, we can arm each other with knowledge, prevent more victims, and ensure our midlife journey is safe and positively empowering. Don't let the scammers win. Let's navigate these murky waters together, and safeguard our future.

Obsessions:
Tish: Couch Console tray - perfect for a holiday gift
Ellen: Carhartt pink beanie 

Transcript

Tish: 0:21

On today's episode, we're going to dive into a topic that is unfortunately become all too common, but especially targeting our age group being scammed in midlife.

Ellen: 0:37

Ouch, I know, you know what Tisha. It's holiday season and I'm hearing more and more about scams. Scams targeting midlife women seem to be on the rise, so I think it's essential for us to discuss how we can protect ourselves and each other from scammers, and they can come in so many forms these days over the phone, on a social app, at the gas pump and 40% of romance scams I've not heard that term before, but now I know what it is target midlife people, so it's scary how we both know a number of people who've lost money and sleep over this.

Tish: 1:19

Absolutely. You know, it's just disheartening to hear about friends and acquaintances falling victim to scams. They are particularly traumatizing at midlife because it makes us feel so much more vulnerable out there. You know, a recent November 29th article from the National Council on Aging said that in 2022, there were 88,262 complaints of fraud from people age 60 plus, resulting in a whopping $3.1 billion in losses. And to add fuel to that, ellen, this is a shocking statistic as well. It is showing, from 2021 to 2022, a shocking 82% increase. And that's only the ones that are being reported. How many are going unreported?

Ellen: 2:29

Oh, my God, tish, what an increase. That's insane, insane. And you know, this is just an our age group. So I think today we'll walk through the main types of scams targeting us midlifers, and I'll share about a recent scam that I was targeted in, as well as some other scams that I know other friends have been targeted in, and some protective measures, because I think it's really important we understand how to protect ourselves. But before we get to that, you know I love to talk about our weekly obsessions. Tish, what do you have for me this week?

Tish: 3:08

Okay, so I have another, since we're all still in this December mode. I have a great gift. You know, I always find that my you know adult sons are a hard group to buy for, like, what do you get for this group, right? So I found the coolest thing for them. It's called a couch console, right, and it's this little right? I know it sounds crazy, right, but what do they love more than, like, being on the computer or gaming or watching movies? And it's this small box that they could put in the bed next to them or on the sofa, and what is so cool is where they put their drink. It actually has a balancing feature. So even if you know how, when you're in bed and your body weight makes things tip and you're selling things, it won't spill because it has this equalizer. It is so cute, but there's a place to put their phone. There's a little storage thing for the remote controls, everything. It is adorable and it's something they would use all year long. So that is my obsession.

Ellen: 4:19

Well, not only am I in it for my sons, but haven't you spilled a drink in bed or on?

Tish: 4:25

the couch, oh yeah.

Ellen: 4:28

I totally could use this, so I see a few of those come in my way, tish. Well, I've gone in a completely other direction. Today my obsession is this super cute pink car heart. You know that brand, that nobody was wearing. Until, like a few years ago, nobody's wearing.

Tish: 4:49

Yes, every one of my besties the other night was wearing car heart. So cause I was just wearing it yesterday and I kind of just giggled and I thought the same thing when did this become so trendy? But it is.

Ellen: 5:03

No, it is our good friend of the show, Ellen Howard. She has a car heart jacket. I was like damn girl, you know. So this is really, really become popular. But it is a knitted, cuffed beanie. It comes in 20 different colors, but my color is pink because you know how much you and I love pink and it is just the cutest. These are great stocking stuffers or gifts and we'll put links to both of these. We want to let everyone know we have so many of our obsessions up on our website and you can support our show, especially around the holidays, by going there and picking up a little something that you like. So please go there.

Tish: 5:49

Right. What is our website address for everyone who might not have been there yet.

Ellen: 5:54

That's right, it is thePositivelyMidlifePodcastcom and of course we will put a link to it in our show notes. But check it out. Things from rings to candles, to a sun lamp and sweaters, you name it All of our wheel prepping.

Tish: 6:13

It's got something for everybody it really does An animal lover.

Ellen: 6:17

You name it. All right, so go to our obsessions page on our website.

Tish: 6:23

Yep, definitely, and it'll also prompt you to get on our mailing list, so we're going to start reaching out to people. So if you ever thought, oh, there was a really good obsession about 10 episodes ago, this is how you're going to be able to find them. But, ellen, let's dive into this super important subject, and I wanted to see can you share a bit about any personal experiences that you have had with scams?

Ellen: 6:52

Well, I feel like we're going to dive deeply into my life today because I have had three of the big scams attempted on me. But you know what Tish? The first one is the online tech support scam and I think, with three boys, so many laptops and computers and accounts and different things in my house A few years back I got a call from someone claiming to be from a tech company, insisting that my computer had a virus. Now I'm protected and everyone's protected by McAfee. But you know, I freaked out.

Ellen: 7:23

Who knows where my kids had gone and what they downloaded, and they asked for remote access to fix it and in a moment of panic I really I almost said yes and I thankfully just took a hesitation, you know, a little bit of a pause and I decided to double check by texting a tech savvy friend, you know, before I did anything and it turns out it was a total scam. I almost gave the person access to my entire computer system and they also were talking about needing gift cards to fix it before I knew it was a scam and that if anyone's asking you for a gift card, your radar but you just go scam, scam, scam, scam, scam, scam, unless it's your kid.

Tish: 8:15

unless it's your kid, they want gift cards, but otherwise scam.

Tish: 8:19

Wow Ellen you know that is so frightening. You know how convincing these scammers are, right? And again, I think it's adults over 60 are almost 400% more likely to fall for these tech scams, right, Because you think, oh, the company is reaching out to me. You know they're being proactive, they think it's like this nice thing, but they're just counting on one of the calls that is going. They're going to sound like something that we already have, so it sounds like something that we should do, right? Yep, but it's just this over the phone thing, right? But there are more. You're going to get scams through emails, You're going to get scams through social media schemes, and there's even fraudulent investment opportunities that really target midlife women.

Ellen: 9:17

Oh, exactly, tish. And today we're going to talk about almost all of these. But I just have to go back to the gift card thing. You know, I had a friend who fell for this and she ran to Target to get gift cards and they told her at Target that it was a scam. She got as far as Target to buy gift cards for these scammers. This is a smart lady. So these scammers, they prey on our trust and they often use really sophisticated tactics. But we're going to talk about so many ways to protect yourself and, first and foremost, let's talk about being a skeptic. You had said this earlier.

Tish: 9:57

Yeah, absolutely, ellen. I think we need to adopt a healthy dose of skepticism, right, especially when dealing with unsolicited calls or messages. Right, don't be rushing into making decisions or sharing personal information when in doubt. Don't call the phone number that the person has provided for you, right? Or the link or whatever, but rather look up this information yourself. So, if it's your bank, if they're saying this is Wells Fargo, say I'm going to need to verify, disconnect the call, look up Wells Fargo's number on your stuff and then call to verify. Any reputable company will understand your need to verify.

Ellen: 10:48

You know. So, true, Tish. And I have to say, at the company I work for, they do these tests. They call them phishing.

Ellen: 10:57

Oh yeah, I don't know right, I have fallen for them so many times. I'm so embarrassed at my company. But you know, online they tell you to look at a logo that's not right, or misspellings or typos. You know just those little things. And that's where I think that healthy dose of skepticism comes in. But also, as I said, consider using a reputable antivirus software and strong and unique passwords for different accounts and add layers of security. I really hate all this two step authentication and the passwords that make you change and change and change, and you know it's like a lot for us right at this stage, but it really, really helps without security. And let's not forget about securing personal information. Avoid sharing sensitive details online and review those privacy settings on social media platforms and on your phone. All of it, just really be aware.

Tish: 11:59

Those are absolutely fantastic suggestions, ellen, for our listeners. Remember it's okay to hang up the phone. It's okay to delete an email. It is okay to ignore suspicious communications. Start trusting your instinct when it feels wrong. Stop.

Ellen: 12:24

Very good. Don't hesitate really to report the scams or specific this vicious activity to authorities. I know a lot of times it could be embarrassing, but by doing this we're protecting ourselves and others from falling victim to these tactics. It's really the right thing to do.

Tish: 12:46

That's such a crucial point, Ellen. Another tip is to stay informed, Keeping up on what the latest scams are that are circulating out in our area or online awareness is the first key, the first step to recognizing these potential threats.

Ellen: 13:09

Tish, I use two great resources. You're going to crack up on the first one because it's next door. Are you one next door for your?

Tish: 13:19

neighborhood. I'm not, and I really should be.

Ellen: 13:24

It's amazing what you can learn on next door, but one of the things you hear about I hear about all the time are what scams are going on and people who've gotten scammed. Especially there's a couple of gas stations where they're scamming at your card. At the pump, someone else fell prey to somebody calling about a bench warrant impersonating a sheriff recently. I think it's really great on next door to just check it out and have that radar up. The second one might also crack you up.

Tish: 13:59

It is AARP and I know we all feel too young for AARP?

Ellen: 14:06

Do you feel too young for AARP?

Tish: 14:08

Yes, I'm guilty. I'm guilty. It's a great organization. It really focuses on protecting people in so many different ways. I love this.

Ellen: 14:21

Yes, they have this scam database tool. You put in your zip code and you can see all the scams happening in your area. We will put this in our show notes, because this one is a really great resource that I think everyone should just be aware of.

Tish: 14:38

Ellen. It was funny because when we were sharing this information with each other, I thought I've never done that. I went to my area and you could look up and it would tell you what the scams were. Whether it was somebody coming to someone's house, selling rehab services, more rooms, over the phone, it just heightened again, heightening that awareness. We need to be talking about what scams are happening and we need to be talking about this with our friends and our neighbors, and by doing this we'll keep each other safe. Here is the hard thing too. If you've ever fallen victim to a scam and I know, you might be so embarrassed to tell anyone but by telling others you're going to prevent your friends and your neighbors from falling victim too. We're all smart ladies, but these scammers are getting so amazingly good they're bloody good at this. By making other people aware it's going to stop. It's really going to help.

Ellen: 15:54

Yeah, I completely agree, tish. I'm happy today to share the different scams that have come across my lap, because it's pretty amazing out there. I think if we asked this question at a dinner party or a holiday party, almost everybody would have a story, right? It's good to share.

Tish: 16:14

Absolutely. That's why I think we need to start sparking these conversations with our friends groups. Ellen, I know that both you and I have had close encounters when selling a big ticket item on Facebook Marketplace. I love Facebook Marketplace, but we need to be cautious when selling items there or buying items. Explain your experience that happened to you.

Ellen: 16:43

Sure, this was my first time selling on Facebook Marketplace. I know you love it. I've been the recipient of some of the great things, like the pickleball and tennis racket and swim fins and stuff you've gotten. But when I became an empty nester earlier this fall, I had a lot of stuff that I wanted to offload to clear out my garage. One because I wanted to park in my garage for the first time in 15 years, thinking, oh, I'd be coming home alone. It would be nice to park in my garage. Prior, my garage was like a mini gym for my three boys. We had a squat rack and a bench and all these free weights and bands. So I decided to put those up on Facebook Marketplace and the first person who contacted me said they wanted them, but her husband would pick them up on his way home from work but he didn't have cash and my listing said cash only. Would I do Venmo? And I should have said no, but I was like, oh OK.

Ellen: 17:44

The other thing I didn't do was I didn't look at the profile of the person, and I should have done that as well, but I did give them my address, which I was like. You know, sometimes they say meet at a supermarket parking lot, but I couldn't take hundreds of pounds of weights from my garage to a supermarket parking lot, so then, oh, he couldn't get there that day, he was coming the next day. Could I give them my phone number, in addition to my address? Because they only had a business, Venmo and I was like, oh, this is really getting. Yeah, this is. I can't even believe. I gave these people my address, so I know, I called you and I'm like what to do, and you were like look at their profile. And of course it was a bogus profile.

Ellen: 18:29

And I can tell right away I had already given my address, close to giving my phone number, I mean. But you know, I just thought, holy cow, this was so easy to get, it would have been so easy to get sucked in, so I reported it and disconnected from them and did some of my other things to real people who came by and picked them up.

Tish: 18:53

You know, those fake profiles are such a dead giveaway when you go and I'm not saying like everybody who buys and sells on Marketplace you know some people aren't big posters and they're not going to have a lot of information, but typically they're going to have something you can. You can just pull it up. It's all generic, it's nothing specific. There's no personal pictures. The profiles are like brand new. There's no history. That stop, stop, do not communicate. Tell them cash only guaranteed they will disconnect with you, right.

Tish: 19:34

So I was selling a big ticket item. I was selling a big treadmill, right? What I realized later is these scammers. They target big ticket items. They have alerts on their phones. They're the first ones at you. I got inundated with request and all of these had let's Venmo, let's PayPal, let's Cash App. They wanted the phone numbers. They did and I just kept saying no, catch, well, I don't have it. I'll wait for you, I'll wait for you to go to the bank and we'll arrange this. Again, it was a heavy item. They were going to have to come and get it. The lady who ended up actually buying it we had somebody on Facebook in common and I let her know right away.

Tish: 20:29

I'm not really friends with that person. I'm Facebook friends with them, but I do know them through another friend. If they ever went back to that mutual friend, I didn't want her to think like I was claiming that we were besties or anything like that. We just connected through a mutual friend as well and we've been Facebook friends. The woman we connected through had a photography thing, so I always follow up her beautiful photography. When they start wanting to connect with you on other apps, different payment methods, they get pushy, they get stop, just stop. It's not worth it.

Ellen: 21:14

It's true. I ended up telling that person you'll drive by a bank and a 7-Eleven, both have ATMs. If you want the stuff, bring cash. And of course I never heard of them again, from them again. But here's another personal experience. I had Tish, and this one was a scam targeting our age group, but really more grandparents, although I know some of us are grandparents. A few years back my father-in-law called me really early in the morning to tell me my oldest son was in jail and I was like what?

Tish: 21:48

What, oh my God, you must have absolutely freaked out. He was calling to tell you Jack was in jail.

Ellen: 21:55

Yes, yes, I mean I was like what? I mean you just start breaking out in a cold sweat, partially because it was like 8.30 in the morning and he had just left, like 45 minutes earlier, for high school in his car and I was like, why do you think Jack's in jail?

Tish: 22:17

So why did your father-in-law think that Jack was actually in jail?

Ellen: 22:23

He got a call from someone claiming to be Jack and the person was panicked and saying grandpa, grandpa, I'm in jail and I need $500 for bail. Please don't tell mom and dad, can you help me? I'm desperate. So that was the thing, and you can see. Every little thing about that would make a grandparent want to help their grandchild right Jump into action before they did anything.

Ellen: 22:50

Exactly now. My father-in-law was in a different state, so it wasn't like he would be like where are you, where are you, let me come and get you. No, it was more like okay. He said okay, you're in trouble, I will pay your bail, but I won't keep it a secret from your mom and dad, jack. And as soon as he said that, the person hung up.

Tish: 23:15

Because, of course, now that when you get other people involved, they're gonna stop the action, they're gonna stop. Exactly. They're gonna start questioning things.

Ellen: 23:25

Yes, and this Jack alleged Jack air quotes. Jack on the other end was crying and begging his grandfather, and so I mean, obviously I knew this really couldn't be true, but my father-in-law was so insistent that it was Jack that I called Jack, and I was like, hey, are you okay? And he said yes, and I said, are you in jail? And he was like what have you? Have you been drinking? It's 8.30 in the morning. Like what the hell, mom? No, I'm not in jail. And I was like, okay, I just had to, you know, just had to check.

Ellen: 24:00

Grandpa got this call and anyway, I let him get off and I Googled it, and what I found is this is one of the number one scams targeting grandparents all around the country, and these scammers make so much money. The hardest part, though, was calling my father-in-law and telling him that it was a scam. He did not wanna believe it, and he didn't wanna believe it, Mostly like for the same reason we're saying a lot of us feel really stupid, we feel vulnerable. He was like I couldn't be scammed. You know, those kinds of things come up, and it was really a hard lesson, and thank God he didn't give any money and but it hurt his pride and I think a lot of these things hurt our pride.

Tish: 24:51

Absolutely. And so many of these scams, alan, play on this idea of secrecy and the older generation they're much better with the secrets than we are at the younger. The younger we are, we just let it all hang out, right. But the older generation is when somebody told them I'm just going to share this with you, don't share it with anyone else. You know they held to their word. So these scams do play on secrecy and they count on the person that they scam being so embarrassed that they're not going to say anything.

Ellen: 25:32

That's right. Yeah, that's right, and it's happening so much.

Tish: 25:38

You know, alan, let's talk about another type of scam, right, the romance scam. They count on people at midlife being lonely, so hence comes in the romance scam.

Ellen: 25:55

Oh, I mean, this one is horrible tish. It's both emotionally and financially devastating. I'm going to say for women, I'm sure if it happens to men too, but we're talking to our tribe here. Yeah, the median individual loss from romance scams for people 50 and over was $9,000 in 2021, compared to 2400 across all age groups. So that's more than three times the amount of money that they scam from us 50 plus population.

Tish: 26:30

You know, again, there are many people being taken advantage of here. But what it is is so fascinating to me is that the reports show that romance scammers often use dating apps to target people looking for love. So they know these people don't have somebody in their life right? But reports of romance scams that start with unexpected private messages on social media platforms are even more common. I know, I get them all the time I do too.

Ellen: 27:09

I'm laughing because I shared them with my boys when I first got out. I'm like, look at all these guys and they're like, do you not get their scammers? I was like, well, I get their weirdos, because who would find somebody that way? But yeah, they're all the time on Instagram and Facebook, so let's think about it.

Tish: 27:29

Somebody who's isolated and lonely and some handsome gentleman reaches out and says I want to know you, you know. In fact, they say 40% of people who said that they lost money to a romance scam last year said they were. The contact had started on social media. Oh well, 19% said it started on a website or an app. So more of these are coming from social media sites. I know it was so funny. Somebody contacted me from my Instagram. I knew it was false. I knew it was, but you know my curiosity, alan. I had to draw him in and I said I know you're not who you say you are. Just tell me who you are and sure enough he comes clean. He's some 19-year-old somewhere in Africa. Please can I help him get an education? Blah, blah, blah. And I said I'm already paying for education. Sorry about that, but it just really speaks to the point of they're out there and they're working 8, 10 hours a day just finding, just looking for that one person who's so lonely that they need to believe this right.

Ellen: 28:53

Oh yeah, yeah, it's so true, and I think what that kind of data says to me is that the dating apps are screening these folks more, because it's 50% less than on a social media app. So I think anyone who just contacts you out of the blue be suspicious, excuse me.

Tish: 29:14

Now, my big thing here is one of the big, huge red flags. Like major, major red flags is when somebody contacts you and now they want to go from one app to another app. Like you're chatting on one dating app, or you're chatting on Facebook or something like that. Now they want you to go to WhatsApp, google Chat or even Telegram. Right yeah, it speaks to me and this should speak to everybody.

Tish: 29:46

They're not from the United States, they're from a foreign country, and that's why they need these different apps to be able to contact you and have regular you know correspondence that's not going to cost a lot of money.

Ellen: 30:01

Yeah, definitely, definitely. Radar should go up. You know what, tish? There are some common factors that are present in romance scams. I'm just going to go through a few of them, but we can put these on. I think one the relationship is only online. You're unlikely to meet. They could be far away, you know they will always ask you for money, even if it's just to be left in your will. Can you believe that Somebody would ask to be left in your will? They also big thing, tragedy strikes and they'll pry you for money. Oh, I need a flight. Or someone died and you know we need to bury them, or all of that, or a relativistic, and money's needed for medical care. And of course, they may be charming. They may be younger and very attractive. So, you know, don't let those things, or at least how they're presenting themselves online.

Tish: 30:57

I was going to say or they're using somebody who's really attractive pictures.

Ellen: 31:03

Exactly. I mean, I have to say I thought you were going to bring up here the guy that said he was an oil rigged driller from like the middle of the US.

Tish: 31:13

Ellen, they're always petroleum engineers. That's right they all are always there. I'm a petroleum engineer and I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina. I don't think we have those here, you know.

Ellen: 31:26

Yeah.

Tish: 31:27

But it's always right. So they're preying on people's loneliness and I know I've had quite a few attempts at being catfished, right. They love to use military profiles, pictures of people in the military, because we are just conditioned to trust them. They're there to protect us, right? So it's very common. But you'll always notice when there's a picture of a military person. You know they always have their last name on a tag on their uniform, but in the pictures they share it's very conveniently blurred out. That is a huge red flag, you know.

Ellen: 32:13

I know.

Tish: 32:14

Or they're telling you they're from the US and the wording that they use is just off. It's not the right wording that somebody who grew up here and I'm not saying that you shouldn't meet people from other places you know, I love people from all over the world, but no matter where you are, if the wording isn't customary to where you're from and the person says that is where they're from, big red flag, just don't even communicate anymore.

Ellen: 32:46

Oh, it's so true. And in addition to like the romance scams, a couple kinds are they ask you to, they're gonna Venmo you money and then could you cash app it to someone else, but after you cash app it, there's no money in your Venmo, right? It's kind of like a check kiting thing. Or they have some. You know great crypto I think this was a few years ago when crypto was on fire and then you open up accounts and then you don't realize until it's too late that it's really all gone. So you know romance and being asked for money or to be left in a will or to you know deposit checks. You know they don't go together. They don't go together, yeah.

Tish: 33:32

And so I think this is a great segue, Ellen, to talk about the banking scams that are out there.

Ellen: 33:38

Oh yeah, I mean these are so many and I've gotten them too. My bank is Bank of America and you get emails and you have to really look at those to know they're not from Bank of America. Like you and I said earlier, with our like fishing, you know attacks at work where they test us and I think it's really, really important you know what do you do. If you think you're being scammed from a bank. Don't send money, hang up. Like you said earlier. I mean you know these folks may have misused the brand name. They may have jimmied with a logo. The web access has an extra letter right, so you have to be aware of all of those things.

Tish: 34:22

Let's. So let's go again one more time. I can't stress how important it is to independently verify with the company directly from numbers that you obtain on your own, not through them, not through their links, but did you obtain before you move forward. So if the bank is reaching out and they're saying there's something wrong and you contact your bank through your own phone numbers that you found and the bank says, yes, there's an issue, then you have an issue, but I'm gonna guarantee that it's not you know Right, right, and you know what.

Ellen: 34:59

You can also get these pitches over the phone, like we said earlier, via email, and you know what? Listen, treat everything as a scam until proven otherwise. I have to say. There's a stat here that victims of banking fraud lost an average of $20,000.

Tish: 35:18

None of us can afford to lose that, and I think there's this misconception that when you're scammed, the bank is going to give you your money back. But if you have allowed yourself to transfer somebody money, you're on your own. Yeah, yeah, they're not gonna ref. The bank is not refunding that money. You willingly transferred the money out of your account to someone else. So again, just kind of, you know, be very careful. You know, I know I have frequently been targeted with shipping scams.

Tish: 35:57

I get them constantly, me too Tesh, yeah, me too I get a text message that is supposedly from the United States Postal Service that says a USPS package has arrived at the warehouse and cannot be delivered due to incomplete address information, and the first thing you think of is I want my package. I want my package. So they asked you to confirm your address in the link within 12 hours. That's sense of urgency, right? Well, what's gonna come next is you're gonna have to send, like money or banking information or whatever. This is the first step at getting more information out of you. Don't do it. I actually one time, when the first one I got, went down to the post office and they go yeah, there's nothing here for you. That's a scam. That's what I'm saying, right? Yeah, it's. I'm always getting packages delivered, of course.

Ellen: 37:02

Right, and I want my packages. I want my packages. So.

Tish: 37:07

I just wanna say, Ellen, they're getting trickier and trickier and as we go into 2024, they're gonna become much more sophisticated with their attempts at scams. So, Ellen, have you heard about the newest scam called the Deep Fake?

Ellen: 37:24

Tish. Is that the one used with Elon Musk?

Tish: 37:28

Yes, so in November just last month a deep fake of Elon Musk, who's the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. His image was used to promote a cryptocurrency scam. Everyone knows Elon Musk was deep into the cryptocurrency, so it shouldn't be a surprise, right? Well, this Deep Fake video showed Musk endorsing a fake cryptocurrency called Elon Coin, and it was shared widely on social media before it was taken down. The incident highlighted the potential for deep fakes to be used to manipulate markets and deceive investors.

Ellen: 38:18

Yeah, that's insane and with this increase of AI out there and the explosion of it here at the end of 2023, moving into 2024, we all need to be much more aware of these next year. I think they're just going to keep going and going. So, really, the Deep Fake, I don't know. That could be the end of it, right.

Tish: 38:47

So, again, you just have to be cautious, even when you see stuff on social media. Again, the use of AI. We need to be that much more cautious, wow. Well, ellen, as we wrap up today's episode, let's really think about empowering each other to stay vigilant and share tips with our friends and family and our communities.

Ellen: 39:14

Well said, tish. And you know what? Together we can make it safer for us and really navigate midlife with confidence and resilience. I think the first thing is to take that pause right. Feel free to hang up, never send money right. And again, when you are getting that feeling that something isn't right, you really need to listen to your intuition around this Again. Go to the AARP site. Look for scams that are happening in your area. Check out next door. In addition to scams, you get a whole lot of stuff about what's happening in your neighborhood.

Ellen: 39:56

That's awesome, I'm gonna go back to our head as well, so I really think this was super informative, tish.

Tish: 40:05

And I just wanna thank everybody for tuning into the Positively Midlife Podcast. We so love you coming along for the ride. Tune into our website, interact with us. We wanna hear from you. So until next time, stay safe, stay positive and we'll see you at the next episode.

Ellen: 40:29

Thank you so much for watching. We hope you enjoyed this. We've got this. Thank you.