10/16/2006
FAMILY MEMBERS URGED TO HELP "SCAM PROOF" HOMES OF ELDERLY RELATIVES
With the weather turning cooler, many seniors will spend more time at home, which is not always a safe haven. The Better Business Bureau of the Southwest urges the families of older Americans to safeguard their homes against scam artists.
Scam artists aren't looking for items to fence. They seek to steal your personal information (Social Security, bank account and credit card number) and/or your money. And, unlike traditional burglars, scam artists are happy to find someone at home, particularly if that person is a senior citizen.
Con artists consider seniors to be easy prey and choose their entryway accordingly: the telephone, the front door bell or the mailbox.
WAYS TO SCAM SENIORS
To many of us, the following scenarios would seem unbelievable. To the BBB, they are typical examples of frauds that frequently target the elderly.
Sweepstakes/Foreign Lotteries: An elderly man in Ohio was mailed a bogus "Award Notification" from the International Lotto Commission in Spain, saying he'd won $815,590. He raced to Spain, where he was told to meet the manager of the lottery's finance company at a local bank. He would receive his lottery check if he paid 5% of his winnings plus an additional $8,150 fee. He finally realized it was a scam and flew home.
Health-related: Elderly Hoosiers are receiving phone calls from the "National Medical Office" and other official-sounding "agencies." The caller warns their Medicare cards are about to expire. To prevent this, seniors must provide their bank account number so the "agency" can quickly deduct a one-time fee (ranging from $200-$400).
Home repairs: In Houston, elderly minorities are responding to mailbox flyers offering loans for home repairs. They don't realize the loans have a 19-21% interest rate. The contractor later convinces them to sign a "work has been completed" form and disappears without performing the repairs. On the West Coast, an elderly woman reports that she was charged $900 to have her circuit breakers "cleaned."
Door-to-door Scams: In Newfoundland, salespeople went house to house demonstrating "new" vacuum cleaners to senior citizens; the machines turned out to be used. In Toledo, a woman recently knocked on doors in a senior citizen neighborhood, sometimes after 10:00 p.m. If the resident opened the door, she barged in to falsely claim she was selling Girl Scout cookies and needed to collect the money now.
WHY ARE SENIORS AT RISK?
Seniors can be vulnerable due to their age and their living conditions. Their generation trusts strangers who are friendly and appear to have their best interests at heart. As people age, they may require costly prescription drugs. Some seniors are struggling to maintain homes that are as old as they are.
Living conditions may also increase their vulnerability. Older Americans are frequently at home, making them ready prey for fraudulent telemarketers and drive-by "contractors". Seniors who live alone may lack a family member to help them make good choices. Or, they may reside in low-income or senior citizen neighborhoods - common targets for scam artists.
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