Take Back Control

• Continue to listen without judgment

• Encourage professional help

• Stay involved

Instead of showing frustration with your loved one and lecturing, it’s important to realize that they are a victim experiencing trauma.  Talk it out and be gentle with the person.

Please see the Re-establish Financial Footing section for specific instructions based on account types.

• Call in a technical resource to clean the device (e.g. Geek Squad at Best Buy or someone trusted in your community.)

Note:  IF the device is really old, consider getting a new device, it may be cheaper than trying to remedy the old device.

• DO NOT mention the incident on social media AND be wary of anyone reaching out on social media to you to ‘help’ you resolve your issue (e.g. ‘attorneys,’ credit services, etc.) - they are very likely scammers, too!

• DO NOT engage with any company touting themselves as a ‘recovery company’ - these are not legitimate organizations.

• BE WARY of anyone who may be impersonating law enforcement (local or federal such as the FBI) promising to trace or recover money- for a fee or various costs.

For a full list of suggestions on how to prevent revictimization, please see “Moment-of-Truth Instructions for the Senior”