Scams Aimes at the Elderly
And, it’s not just wealthy seniors who are targeted…low-income older adults are also at risk of financial abuse.
It is not always strangers who perpetrate these crimes. Over 90% of all reported elder abuse is committed by an older person’s own family members, most often their adult children, followed by grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and others.
Listed is just a sample of scams.
The Social Security Rip-Off
This scam involves ID thieves stealing personal info and contacting the SSA to change the payment routing info to the thieves’ own bank accounts or prepaid debit cards. Be wary of any calls or emails requesting personal information. One ruse the con artist may use: The say they need a bank account number so then can deposit a lump sum of money in the account. Notify the Social Security Administration to block all account changes not made by the seniors themselves. If you suspect fraud, contact the SSA’s Inspector General.
The Classic Con
Meeting seniors anywhere – at religious institutions, community centers, retirement homes, the beach, supermarket, etc. – old-fashioned con artists envision red bullseyes shimmering on the faces of their prey. The first thing they do is to become your newest best friend. They ask questions to see where your Achilles heel is: Oh, you are a widow. Oh, you love your grandchildren. Oh, your relatives all live out of state. And you are so lonely that you think: Yeah, I’ll talk to this person about my IRA, listen when he needs a loan, or when he is with Goldman Sachs and has a good deal for me that will help fund my grandchildren’s education and retire more comfortably. And, of course, he would not scam me, because he is a member of my church. Keep vigilant and if you need to use your rudeness, do so.
Engine Trouble
“The Fake Accident Ploy”
The con artist gets the victim to wire or send money on the pretext that a family member is in the hospital and needs the money.
“Charity Scams”
Money is solicited for fake charities. This often occurs after natural disasters.
While using the internet is a great skill at any age, the slower speed of adaption among some older people makes them easier targets for automated internet scams that are everywhere on the web and email programs. Pop-up browser windows simulating virus-scanning software will fool victims into either downloading a fake anti-virus program (at a substantial cost) or an actual virus that will open up whatever information is on the user’s computer to scammers. Their unfamiliarity with the less visible aspects of browsing the web (firewalls and built-in virus protection, for example) make seniors especially susceptible to such traps.
One example includes:
Email/Phising ScamsA senior receives email messages that appear to be from a legitimate company or institution, asking them to ‘update’ or ‘verify’ their person information. A senior receives emails that appear to be from the IRS about a tax refund. Investment Schemes
Because many seniors find themselves planning for retirement and managing their savings once they finish working, a number of investment schemes have been targeted at seniors looking to safeguard their cash for their later years. From pyramid schemes like Bernie Madoff’s (which counted a number of senior citizens among its victims) to fables of a Nigerian prince looking for a partner to claim inheritance money to complex financial products that many economists don’t even understand, investment schemes have long been a successful way to take advantage of older people.
Homeowner/Reverse Mortgage ScamsScammers like to take advantage of the fact that many people above a certain age own their homes, a valuable asset that increases the potential dollar value of a certain scam. A particularly elaborate property tax scam in San Diego saw fraudsters sending personalized letters to different properties apparently on behalf of the County Assessor’s Office. The letter, made to look official but displaying only public information, would identify the property’s assessed value and offer the homeowner, for a fee of course, to arrange for a reassessment of the property’s value and therefore the tax burden associated with it. Closely related, the reverse mortgage scam has mushroomed in recent years. With legitimate reverse mortgages increasing in frequency more than 1,300%, scammers are taking advantage of this new popularity. As opposed to official refinancing schemes, however, unsecured reverse mortgages can lead property owners to lose their homes when the perpetrators offer money or a free house somewhere else in exchange for the title to the property. Seniors are frequently targeted through local churches and investment seminars, as well as television, radio, billboard and mailer ads. A legitimate HRCM loan product is insured by the Federal Housing Authority. It enables eligible homeowners to access the equity in their homes by providing funds without incurring a monthly payment. Eligible borrowers must be 62 years or older who occupy their property as their primary residence and who own their property or have a small mortgage balance.
Tips for Avoiding Reverse Scams:
Do not respond to unsolicited ads.
The FBI warns about two types of funeral and cemetery fraud perpetrated on seniors. In one approach, scammers read obituaries and call or attend the funeral service of a complete stranger to take advantage of the grieving spouse. Claiming the deceased had an outstanding debt with them, scammers will try to extort money from relatives to settle the fake debts. Another tactic of disreputable funeral homes is to capitalize on family members’ unfamiliarity with the considerable cost of funeral services to add unnecessary charges to the bill. In one common scam of this type, funeral directors will insist that a casket, usually one of the most expensive parts of funeral services, is necessary even when performing a direct cremation, which can be accomplished with a cardboard casket rather than an expensive display or burial casket.
In a society bombarded with images of the young and beautiful, it’s not surprising that some older people feel the need to conceal their age in order to participate more fully in social circles and the workplace. After all, 60 is the new 40, right? It is in this spirit that many older Americans seek out new treatments and medications to maintain a youthful appearance, putting them at risk of scammers. Whether it’s fake Botox like the one in Arizona that netted its distributors (who were convicted and jailed in 2006) $1.5 million in barely a year, or completely bogus homeopathic remedies that do absolutely nothing, there is money in the anti-aging business. Botox scams are particularly unsettling, as renegade labs creating versions of the real thing may still working with the root ingredient, botulism neurotoxin, which is on of the most toxic substances known to science. A bad batch can have health consequences far beyond wrinkles or drooping neck muscles.