Last month I explained some options for our members to add to their retirement savings, but this month I want to talk about one of the biggest threats to your retirement savings: online investment frauds and scams.

Willie Sutton, AKA “Willie the Actor,” famously said that he robbed banks “because that’s where the money is.” Today’s scammers are no different, they go where the money is. And that’s why so many scammers target older Americans with retirement savings. They try to build a relationship with you over time and then convince you to “invest” with one of their partners. And then they exploit your trust to repeatedly take your money.

For example: A retiree in Minnesota lost more than $500,000 to one of these online scams. He developed a relationship with a woman on social media, and he sent her some money to “invest.” She gave him access to a website that supposedly showed his profits. When he tried to withdraw some, the scammer convinced him to send more money to pay for “taxes.” And then they convinced him to send $10,000 for a “wire transfer fee.” And then he sent $25,000 as an “account activation fee.” He never recovered a dime.

In Tennessee, a retiree lost $150,000 to a similar cyber scam. She later met someone on social media who claimed that they could recover the money she lost, so she paid that person another $20,000. But that was just a second scammer taking advantage of her all over again.

The common key scammers use in these situations is trust. Sometimes they will try to build a romantic relationship, and other times a business relationship, but either way the key is building trust with their victims.

Scammers will go to great lengths to help build that trust, even sending some of the “profits” back to you. A retiree in Mississippi sent his online “girlfriend” $1,000 to invest, and she sent him documents that seemed to show that he was making money. He asked to withdraw $300, and the scammer sent it to him. He thought that proved it was a legitimate investment. He eventually lost $76,000.

We humans are wired to be trusting. When we interact with someone online, that contact can create a false sense of security and trust. And scammers know how to exploit that.

When you are dealing with people you know only online, here are some tips to help keep you safe:

• Be skeptical and cautious with any online-only relationship, especially if the conversation turns to money.
• Never send money to someone you know only online.
• Don’t share financial or banking information with people you meet online or to a website that you don’t know for sure is trustworthy.
• Be wary of investing with a financial institution or company recommended by an online-only friend.
• Be especially wary of investing in cryptocurrency through an unknown trading platform. Last year, Americans lost $4.57 billion to online investment scams. Nearly $4 billion of that total was to cryptocurrency scams alone. 

You can find more tips and advice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission at this link: https://www.investor.gov/additional-resources/retirement-toolkit/avoiding-retirement-fraud

And the National Council on Aging offers good resources on scam and fraud prevention at this link: https://www.ncoa.org/older-adults/money/management/avoiding-scams/

ATRS FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

For those members who want to know more about the finances and membership of ATRS, I have put together a four-page summary with charts and graphs to give you a snapshot of our financial condition. It’s based on the data through the end of last fiscal year, so it covers July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. You can access it here: https://www.artrs.gov/Publications/Annual_Financial_Snapshot/ATRS_2024_Snapshot.pdf

MEDICARE OPEN ENROLLMENT

If you are a retired member who is Medicare-eligible, and you receive your healthcare coverage through the state, please know that Open Enrollment is November 1 through November 30. If you want to change your ARBenefits health insurance plan, most changes must be made during the Open Enrollment period by November 30. If you are satisfied with your plan or don't want to change, you don't need to do anything.

For assistance with your healthcare options or to make a change, please contact the state’s Employee Benefits Division by calling (877) 815-1017 or emailing ask.ebd@arkansas.gov, or go to their website at https://www.transform.ar.gov/employee-benefits/retirees/. Although we at ATRS can’t assist with Medicare issues, we are happy to connect you with the folks at EBD who can.

ANNUAL STATEMENTS

If you are a vested member who worked and earned service credit with us last school year, and you have not yet retired, you should have received your ATRS Annual Statement in the mail by now. If not, please email us at info@artrs.gov. 

You can access an electronic copy of your Annual Statement by logging into the Member Portal on our website. Once you log in, click on “Member Portal” in the sidebar, then click on “Annual Statement,” and then click the button on the screen that says, “View Annual Statement.”

If you don’t have an account in our Member Portal, you can register for it at this link: https://www.artrs.gov/registration

As always, if you ever have a question about your retirement options or need information or advice, please reach out to our counselors by calling (501) 682-1517 or e-mailing info@artrs.gov. And if you have any concerns or questions about the System as a whole, please contact me at the email address or phone numbers below.

Mark White
Executive Director, ATRS
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057