Beware if people calling you saying they are trying to deliver legal papers to you and want to make sure you are home to receive the papers. When you ask what it is about or who the papers are from they give you a case number and a name and ask you to confirm your social security number. Do not do it. It is a scam.
I have heard of a lot of scams in recent months, and I have to admit that it often seems as though they are getting cleverer. I don't think that I would fall for a scam like that, however I do worry for older people who might simply not have the knowledge to be able to see when people are simply trying to get their information. They could be far too trusting for their own good, and this could have a huge negative impact on them in the future.
It seems these are experiencing a resurgence, particularly the ones claiming to be the IRS (Internal Revenue Service, also known as the tax man, here in the United States), and people get very scared about the IRS and/or federal government going after them, so sometimes, especially if they're naive, they will provide information such as social security numbers or banking information. My sister recently received a few such calls purportedly from the IRS. On the up side, she got rid of a lot of aggression by cussing them out.
That is terrible! I have heard of people targeting the elderly over the phone. People go on websites and find people who are retired and then call away. Always tell your grandparents, parents and family members to never give out information over the phone. I am so ready to just disconnect my parent's line.
