3 Scams Against Senior Citizens
Scams Against Senior Citizens Are Pervasive In Today’s Society
The respect your elders directive has been sorely ignored. In fact, we daily see people taking advantage of the elderly. Scams against senior citizens are increasing in number and deviousness. It truly is a sad state of affairs when people are willing to sink to the all-time lows of robbing the elderly!
Unfortunately, this is indeed the case. Since scams against senior citizens are on the rise (perhaps because a larger percentage of our population than ever before is falling into that category), it seems imperative that we alert you to the use of scam websites and social media scams as a means of misappropriating funds from those we are to hold in high esteem–our elders!
1. Call for Help
If you are fortunate enough to have a treasured, dearly loved, grandparent still residing on this side of the grass, then this scam will really infuriate you.
Imagine, someone calling Mammaw (or Granny, or PopPop) and pretending to be you! Now, we all know that hearing is one of the first faculties to decline as we age, so with just a little bit of your personal information, they’ve got Mammaw convinced it’s you. That’s where it gets repulsive.
These con-artists create an elaborate storyline that makes Mammaw believe you are in desperate need. She loves you and is willing to do what she can to help you out of your mess.
The fake you, gives her explicit instructions as to where and how to send the money. She obliges–because she truly believes she’s assisting her beloved grandchild. Unfortunately, you’ve no idea what’s going on and later, when you find out, the money will already be gone. Poor Mammaw will be heartbroken!
2. Prescription Scams
You are certainly aware of the massive medicine bottle collection accumulating on Granny’s kitchen window sill. This is a sign of aging for sure. So, it’s no wonder that some heinous person would create a scam focused on the elderly’s much needed prescriptions.
Scams against senior citizens should make your blood boil–this one specifically. It promises to provide them prescriptions at discounted prices.
If you think about Granny’s mass of meds and the minute amount Medicare actually provides, it’s not hard to understand why she might jump at the chance to decrease that expenditure. However, as soon as she signs up and hands over her credit card information, her money is gone. She won’t see a single Lipitor or Prolia script filled.
3. Internet and Email Scams
Even though he’s 81, good ole PopPop spends a good deal of time online. Heck, you even taught him to text!
He shares emails with his 84-year-old friend in South Florida and corresponds regularly with your father via the same methodology. However, his computer always seem to crash and end up with excessive pop-ups.
The problem of course is that while PopPop is a superb typist, he’s not that computer or internet savvy. Thieves are looking for people just like him.
Somehow you’ve got to teach PopPop to avoid email scams and stay away from counterfeit or phishing websites. The old email scams might be blatantly obvious to you, but PopPop might be confused or convinced by them.
Perhaps you can suggest that he talk to you before responding to any “winning” emails, or anything that asks for personal information. Don’t forget to remind him not to click on email based links that could lead him to virus infested sites.
Protect Your Elders
Sadly, elders will always be an appealing target to scammers, but that doesn’t mean they need to be an easy one. Talk with your favorite senior citizens; help them understand the dangers lurking out there.
If your loved one does become a victim of an online scam, contact eConsumer Services®. We can help retrieve funds lost to scammers. Fill out the form to the right and we’ll get started right away.
