Avoiding Senior Scams this Spring

With the coming of spring time, there seems to be an increase of fraud as criminals, too, want to get out and enjoy the sun. Senior citizens, as always, need to be ready and aware of the different tactics that scammers might try to take.

Today, fifty-seven percent of fraud in the United States is perpetrated on people over the age of fifty. Senior scams are not generally very complicated. They rely on intimidation and fast talking. The combination costs seniors millions of dollars every month.

So how can seniors protect themselves? By having common sense and being stubborn. Here are some of the main types of senior scams, and some tips on how to defend yourself.

1) Scams over the Phone

Seniors, telemarketers have your number! And not just the annoying ones. The criminals have telephones, too, and they love to use them. They might call a senior and tell them that they have won a major prize, or they could request a donation to a made up charity via a credit card number or some other form of identification. If they can get that information, they can use it to take big money away from them.

How to avoid Phone Scams:

Get on the Do Not Call list. You can do that here or call (888) 382-1222. This alone can go a long way.

Don’t ever give out your credit card number, bank account number, drivers license number or social security number over the phone. Ever. Just don’t give out personal stuff to a person you don’t know or a company you are not familiar with. Period.

If you don’t understand something that is being communicated, don’t be pressured into making a decision during that phone call. Get off the phone and call someone who is “in the know” first.

Handyman Scams

These are very common in sunny weather. It can start with “Ma’am, you need to fix your roof, or it’s going to cause major damage. I can do it cheap…” and then they give ridiculously inflated prices. And the roof was probably fine in the first place. The do this with stuff outside or inside the home, and they might even start before you have signed anything.

Here’s how you can avoid the Handyman Scam

Say NO.

Find a contractor you trust who will do your handyman work. Don’t let some average Joe stop by and talk you into anything. Because you HAVE a guy who does that stuff.

Don’t ever let someone be pushy and start doing work for you that you haven’t authorized. If they persist in starting to fix something you might get billed for, just tell them to leave. If they don’t, call the police.

Always have someone you trust look over potential handyman needs before you make any agreements.

We will continue to discuss senior fraud and elderly activities throughout the spring and summer, so be sure to check back. In the mean time, here is a more in depth look at some of these elderly scam tactics from Caregiver.com.

A Senior Cell Phone Scam

It happened last week to a friend of mine. She got a phone text from her local bank at, get this, nine thirty at night. She didn’t think much about it that night, but in the morning she pay attention to the message. It said that her credit card account was about to be closed, and it would be unless she called back to a different number (a local number given in the text) to verify her account number. The text listed the first 4 numbers of her account.

We realized right away that this was a scam. And it got me thinking about how much more susceptible senior citizens are to scams that involve new technology. We knew what to look for, so we were protected.

There were a couple of dead giveaways that this was a scam. First of all, banks aren’t in the business of text messaging their customers, especially at such odd hours. Secondly, the text came from an out of state phone number. Third, and most significantly by far, my friend did not even have an account with the bank!

My friend called the local police department, feeling a bit silly about it. Most people think they should only eve bother the police in case of an emergency. But they were not irritated in the least. This is a fraud we’re talking about. It could be a big deal. They said they had already received several calls about it. So they were all over it. In the mean time, they suggested she call the bank and let them know exactly what was happening. The bank had received more than a dozen calls about the same scam that morning. This message must have been blasted to hundreds if not thousands of area residents!

How the Scam Worked

It was really simple. The thief had probably gotten ahold of a huge phone list of residents in that area. Most of the recipients would probably not be from that bank, but it didn’t matter. Some of them would. And those customers would notice that the digits listed in the text did not match their account. So they would panic (their account was going to be closed!!!) and call the number given (a number that was probably from out of the country), and tell the person what their real account number was. They would feel better, and the thief would feel good too, since he has a new credit card number!

Simple, isn’t it? And probably obvious to most people. But if even one person in a hundred obeyed the instructions, the thief will have made out with big bucks.

Scams that Prey on Seniors with Technology

There are many scams that simply play on a senior’s lack of understanding. This one involved technology, but it wasn’t about how the technology worked. It was about societal norms involving technology. Lots seniors know how to text message nowadays. But do they understand how texts are used in the business world? That is an altogether different question.

When it comes to scams involving technology, seniors need to understand how things are generally done in the business world. For instance:

• Banks will usually call a customer if they need to verify accounts
• When a bank or company needs confirmation on an account number, they will read it to YOU.
• If there is any kind of requests regarding financial transactions from a bank or credit card company, those requests will come in an official manner: a personal phone call, a letter on bank letterhead. If they send an email, it will come directly from the bank’s address (with the company’s URL given, and an invitation for you to Log In.)
• Text Messages are still, for the most part, a very informal method of communication. They are not a medium for sensitive information.

The best rule of thumb is this: if a senior is nervous about when it is safe to give information over the phone or some other modern communication method, then they just shouldn’t. Period. They should get someone else’s opinion first. That way they won’t get burned. And it really is okay to call the police and ask them questions about scams. They understand how they work better than anyone else.

Education really is the best way to protect yourself. Not just in working devices, but in understanding how people communicate on those devices. Let’s help care for elders in our lives so they stay financially safe.

Senior Scam Alert: Beware of the Phone

The Consumer Affairs website recently announced their list of the top 10 scams of 2010. We have talked a lot recently about the issue of scams, because protecting seniors from fraud is a good way to care for elders. Today, we want to highlight what might be the most vulnerable area that seniors have to deal with: the telephone.

There are many different schemes which begin with a simple phone call, and seniors are often quick to be taken in. Here are a couple of ways that it happens:

Calls for Charity
This is extremely popular following natural disasters. You’ve heard of the millions of dollars that were lost to scams after Hurricane Katrina? This is par for the course. Fraudsters quickly jump on the phone claiming to be representing some charity, asking for donations to help alleviate the pain wherever a tragedy has struck. They are usually very kind on the phone, and seniors citizens, who are typically far more generous with finances than the rest of the population, are quick to jump in and make a “donation.” They might give a credit card number, or send a check. The delivery method varies, but the idea is the same: talk sweetly and manipulate a senior’s good intentions to get into their pocket book.

Fake Calls for Collections
Here is the opposite phone strategy. Rather than play on a senior’s goodness, they play on their his or her frailness. Debt collectors are pushy, and these phony ones are even more so. They can claim all sorts of things: unpaid tickets or payday loans are overdue. They usually don’t even have to do any homework before hand. They can just claim that the retiree on the phone is delinquent on payments, and then they just pour on the pressure. The caller is usually harsh and threatening. “If you don’t pay right now…” yada yada yada. Many elders will give in and pay whatever is demanded, even if they never took out a payday loan, etc. Why? Because of the threats, and because of the tone.

Seniors can protect themselves on the phone by understanding the way scammers will play on their emotions. It is best to make financial transactions in person and not over the phone. And you can’t go wrong asking for a second opinion from a relative before you agree to do anything.

And most importantly, you should NEVER let someone bully you with meanness or kindness!

Finding the Right Senior Caregiver, part 1

Recently, a scam artists bilked an 89 year old man out of thirty thousand dollars. Of course, this type of thing happens all the time, right? But there was something especially heinous about this story: the scammer was the man’s caregiver.

Here’s the story. In this case, the caregiver was a woman who pretended to cozy up to the wealthy man and start a romance. She was 58 years old. As he grew to trust her, he asked her to go buy a new car for him, which she could drive him around in. So he gave her the money. Thirty grand.

She bought the car, all right! She bought it, and put it in her name…

Thankfully, this time, the woman did not get away with it. She was arrested, tried and convicted for her fraud, and she even has to pay the money back in restitution. Justice has happened!

But the issue raises a larger issue in my mind: How do you choose a caregiver that you can trust? After all, this story took place in an Oregon assisted living home, but seniors who get home health care from an agency or an individual are far more vulnerable, even. When a person begins to get to know them, to understand how they operate, they could be very easy prey for a scam artist. It could happen through a false romance, but more likely, it could happen in far more subtle ways. A credit card disappearing. Old jewelry, lying around, is suddenly gone. Or it could happen in the most drastic ways of all: the caregiver winds up in the will of the senior, receiving lavish gifts. And the family can do nothing.

With this in mind, we will be exploring how we as family members can protect the ones we love when choosing a caregiver. The discussion will move far beyond protecting from fraud. We will look at how to find a person that will encourage your loved one. Someone who can really be able to relate to them. Someone who knows what they are doing.

So stay tuned for our series, “Finding the right Caregiver.”

Scam Education: Another Way to Care for Elders

As we have mentioned, scam artists routinely target senior citizens who live alone. The scams are often intricate and cruel, praying on the best qualities of seniors: kindness, and trust. It is a problem that has probably been around for thousands of years in one way or another, but it is one that can be curbed. Seniors who live with families or who receive full time elder care services might be more protected, since they can always ask somebody for help. And even those who live alone can arm themselves. How? Through education.

Getting educated about senior scams

When any consumer feels he has been defrauded in business, he or she calls the Better Business Bureau, right? So who better to get the lowdown on senior scams than the Bureau themselves? Fortunately, the BBB is now offering their own brand of scam consumer education. One event, for instance is called the “Scam Jam.” The Scam Jam is a seminar that is dedicated to helping everyone (not just seniors and babyboomers, even though they are the primary target audience) about protecting themselves from scam artists around the country.

Currently, the Scam Jam is being making the rounds in the Pacific Northwest: Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. The seminars feature speakers from around the region who are consumer protection experts. There are booths with great brochures and educational materials that will help customers understand some basic principles for watching their money, and get up to date on some of the current ways scam artists are targeting their victims. Information is the best protection!

Since scams against the retired elderly community are so common, we are going to begin to feature more stories and articles on the subject. We are tired of seeing our loved ones lose out on so much! If you want even more information, check out the BBB website and Stop Senior Scams

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