Considered as one of America’s greatest crimes, senior financial fraud has left both the elderly and their children worried. A recent survey found that people in America, who are over the age of 60, are scammed out of 3 billion every year. Elderly people are prime targets for fraudsters since most of them have huge bank balances. They are often written off as low-risk crimes as it is difficult to prosecute the suspects and most cases are often unreported.
But, these crimes are serious in nature and must be avoided at all costs. The sad fact is that majority of these frauds are committed by their own children or grandchildren.
The following are types of senior financial frauds that are rampant in today’s world:
Most sales persons look forward to visiting elderly people as they can swindle them easily. Under the pretence of home repairs and maintenance, these salespersons pile on additional costs on unsuspecting seniors.
Senior citizens can avoid such situations by making sure they question all salespersons before letting them in and always ask for their cards. Try to avoid buying any tangible product from these salespersons unless it is a trusted brand or has been properly certified. You can also help your elders by getting the job done for them or sending your certified salespersons to them to avoid any sort of deception.
Senior citizens can be fooled easily by fraudsters who pose as health insurance officials or Medicare officials and extract all personal details like bank account, social security number and credit card number. They pretend that there has been an error in their health insurance cover and need to rectify it with their details.
What senior citizens need to know is that Medicare officials will never call or mail a person and ask for such personal details. Before divulging any details to the person, the senior citizen can call Medicare to confirm whether they have indeed sent any official to their house. If someone has swindled you, call the police. Children should also check the bank accounts of their parents and make sure there have not been any major withdrawals from their accounts without their parent’s knowledge.
Telemarketers can be a pain especially if you are awaiting an important call and they keep pestering you. For senior citizens they can be a nightmare as they constantly call and tell them about various products and services they can avail and lure them into signing up for the most expensive deals. The best way to deal with telemarketers is to register the senior citizen’s number on the National Do Not Call Registry number or website, which blocks the telemarketers.
The fraudster contacts the senior citizens and tells them they have won the lottery or some massive prize money. They will then ask them to mail a processing fee so that they can collect their prize money.
Such fraudsters will take the processing fee, give you a fake check and leave you with a big hole in your bank account. So therefore, every senior citizen needs to avoid wiring any sort of money to any unknown person. First, verify the existence of that prize that they have claimed you have won and inspect all the details. Ask your children to verify them further, if you are still unsure. Remember most claims of lottery and sweepstakes prizes, which involve wiring money, are fake.
If a senior citizen has been scammed, report it to the Adult Protective services agency or the state securities regulators office.
This is possibly the worst kind of fraud, where the fraudsters call up a person who has recently lost someone, and inform him or her about some debt.
The senior citizen can always ask an estate attorney to check if there is actually any debt, which needs to be paid. They should also always ask for a written confirmation.
Children or any younger adult can also assist senior citizens by constantly keeping a watch on his or her financial statements and e-mails. You can always help them get rid of junk emails by using the Direct Marketing Association website to opt out of consumer mails.
You can also stop any fraudulent credit card calls and emails by calling the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry website or number and opt out of the credit card offer services. You will be required to provide them the senior citizen’s date of birth and social security number.
Cheryl Panattoni Forensic Accounting and Tax Inc