3 Tips to Protect Your Loved Ones From Elder Fraud
Elder fraud in America is on the rise. An estimated 14,000 illegal telemarketing operations rip off thousands of older people each day. Protect your elderly loved ones from falling victim to these schemes with these three tips.
1. It’s not who you think it is!
Most elder Americans are victimized because they don’t perceive the telemarketer on the other end of the phone as a criminal. For them it’s natural to give people the benefit of the doubt. Most believe the caller is a nice young man or woman trying to make an honest living, and they perceive fraudulent telemarketer’s actions as hard sells, rather than crimes. The elderly need to know that illegal telemarketing is indeed a crime punishable by heavy fines and long prison sentences. Sit down and explain this to your loved one. Your goal is to get him or her to hang up on the caller before getting pulled in to the scheme.
2. You don’t need to buy to win.
Who doesn’t want to win a valuable prize or strike it rich on an investment? Many phone scam artists use cheap prizes or shady investments to pull the purse strings of the elderly. Unfortunately, many seniors get caught up in the excitement of what seems to be a sure thing. Oftentimes, seniors will make a hasty purchase in the hopes of increasing their odds of winning a big prize. You should remind your loved one that by law, you do not need to purchase anything in order to win a prize in a contest or sweepstakes. It’s as simple as that. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to scam you. If an elderly loved one begins to receive a lot of cheap items such as costume jewelry, small appliances, pens and pencils, beauty products or water filters that’s your cue that they could be falling prey to a con artist.
3. Keep the lines of communication open.
The best way to avoid elder fraud is to be aware of what’s going on in the life of your loved one. If you notice that they’re receiving a lot of junk mail for contests, “free” trips, prizes and sweepstakes: take note. Also, if he or she starts acting very secretive about phone calls, they may be too ashamed to admit that they have been scammed. At this point, you should help your loved one report the fraud to the state or local consumer protection agency, or to the National Fraud Information Center (www.fraud.org).
Elder fraud is a serious crime. Encouraging an elderly loved one to hang up on telephone solicitations that seem suspicious is the best advice that you can give to prevent it from happening in your family. For more information on fraud and other personal finance
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