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By Sonya Stinson
It’s a sad fact that crooks look at senior citizens and see dollar signs. And they don’t have to be draped in heirloom jewelry or fumbling with a fat wad of cash to become a mark for scammers and other unscrupulous people.
Several general tendencies make seniors attractive targets for con artists, according to the FBI’s website: Seniors are more likely to have saved up a significant amount of money, more likely to own their homes and more likely to have a good credit record. Scammers will look for opportunities to exploit these assets for their own gain.
Elderly victims also are less likely to report fraud, often because they are ashamed, don’t know how to report the incident or don’t even realize they’ve been scammed, the FBI noted.
Those who live alone are particularly susceptible to financial abuse, said Terry Magady, an elder-law attorney in Los Angeles.
“That increases the risk of elder abuse because there’s less monitoring by someone else,” Magady said.
You don’t necessarily have to take away your parents’ or relatives’ independence to protect them, but both you and they would be wise to watch out for these four signals that someone might be taking advantage of them:
1. The checking account is bleeding money. Before this sign becomes visible, there may be other clues. Maybe Mom has suddenly started going without things she’s used to having, or you notice a stack of unpaid bills piling up on the living room table. If the situation raises concern, start monitoring your loved one’s bank account for suspicious activity, such as an unusually large number of checks written to cash or payments that don’t seem to fit the account holder’s needs and lifestyle, Magady recommended. He’s seen many cases in which scammers conned their victims into writing checks to them on their home equity lines of credit. “If they’re really sophisticated, they’ll go [to the lender], get a home equity line with [the victim] and give themselves check-writing privileges,” Magady said.
2. Someone is isolating your loved one. The worst financial abuse is perpetrated by those who have become close to their victims and gained their trust. The threat might come from a relative, neighbor or caregiver who becomes closely involved in the victim’s life under the pretext of being helpful. Maybe they get access to checking account information by offering to take care of paying the bills. In some cases, financial abusers manage to move in with or even marry their victims, then work to alienate them from caring family members and friends, Magady said.
3. An unsolicited telephone offer sounds too good to be true. Many telemarketing schemers dangle promises of cheap health products, fabulous vacation deals and other offers on unsuspecting seniors. The deals don’t really exist, and the caller’s real purpose is to get the victim’s credit card information. Maybe dad gets a call from someone congratulating him for winning a sweepstakes prize or a free gift, which will be sent along as soon as a tax, shipping and handling charge or some other fee is paid. In some cases, the scammer will send a bogus prize check to the victim after collecting credit card or bank account information for payment of the bogus fee. By the time the check bounces, the thief already has been on a spending spree with the victim’s money.
4. A family member has a secret ‘emergency.’ This is a sign of a scam that law enforcement agencies and consumer protection groups often refer to as “the grandparent scam.” According to the National Council on Aging, the caller plays on the victim’s familial emotions by pretending to be a grandchild in distress. First, Grandpa is invited to guess which grandchild is calling. After affirming that Grandpa has guessed right, the scammer hits him up for some cash to help him out of a jam. With pleas that he not tell anyone else in the family, he’s instructed to send the money immediately through a wire transfer service. That common thread in these schemes prompted the Better Business Bureau to partner with Western Union to promote awareness. They warn consumers never to send money for an emergency without confirming with other family members that the cause is legitimate.
Confronting Abuse
If you discover your family member has been a victim of financial fraud, make your best effort to persuade him or her to let you or someone else trustworthy help resolve the situation. Encourage the victim to report the fraud to police, and offer to help monitor his or her financial affairs.
If you see evidence that your loved one isn’t mentally competent to make those choices, you may need to consider going to court to apply for conservatorship. It’s a complex, last-resort procedure that you want to avoid if at all possible, but it’s also important to act soon if the situation warrants it.
“If you wait too long, the money’s gone, the property’s gone, and the senior has no way to recover those assets,” Magady said.
The best way to prevent such a disaster is to talk to your family members about how to spot risks and remain safe from scams. Being well informed and prepared will help keep them from becoming the next victims of financial abuse.
Sonya Stinson is a writer for print and web publications, businesses and nonprofit organizations. She writes about higher education, careers, small business, retirement and personal finance.
