Lifestyles over 50 Finance & Money
Counterfeit prescription drugs
Those seeking prescription medication from someplace other than a legitimate pharmacy are at risk in this scheme. The FBI warns patients not to be fooled by fake prescription drugs masquerading as legitimate medicines and using them may worsen your health conditions.
How it works: Fake medicines not produced to the pharmacological specifications of= the drugs they claim to be are sold usually by unlicensed online distributors or those who sell medications without a prescription. The counterfeit prescription drugs may be contaminated or contain the wrong ingredients or no active ingredient. They also could have the right active ingredient but with the wrong dosage.
The loss: Could cause adverse side effects or a condition not improving. The FBI warns alerting a physician or pharmacists immediately if a prescription drug appears suspicious. Reputable online pharmacies have a seal of approval called the “Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site” (VIPPS), provided by the Association of Boards of Pharmacy in the United States. You owe the IRS
Prepaid Funeral Scam
In this scheme, fraudsters take money from individuals who prepaid for their own funerals to ease the financial and emotional burdens on their loved ones.
How it works: According to the Federal Trade Commission, millions of Americans enter into contracts to prearrange their funerals and prepay some or all of the expenses involved. Laws in individual states regulate the industry, and various states have laws to help ensure that these advance payments are available when they’re needed. However, law enforcement says protections vary widely from state to state, sometimes providing a window of opportunity for unscrupulous operators.
In the scheme, a price is agreed upon and payment is accepted. Funds are then placed with a third party, typically a financial institution for a trust or life insurance policy. The scammer then doesn’t put all the funds into the trust or life insurance policy, but instead brazenly alters application documents -- changing deposit amounts, naming itself as a beneficiary, converting whole life insurance policies to term life -- and uses the money for unauthorized purposes like risky investments, payments for existing funeral claims, and personal enrichment.
The loss: In some instances, scammers even removed money previously placed in trusts and life insurance policies and routinely lied to state regulators about its practices. And if that wasn’t bad enough, scammers also purchased large blocks of prearranged funeral contracts from funeral homes that had previously entered into their own prearranged funeral contracts with customers, falsely telling these funeral homes that the contracts would be rolled over into life insurance policies.