Helen Dennis: The top 10 financial scams targeting seniors

Dear Readers:

Today’s column is a continuation of our discussion of financial scams perpetrated on older adults.

The National Council on Aging, a nonprofit service and advocacy organization for older people, recently published the top 10 financial scams. Perpetrators consider these scams low-risk crimes because they are underreported and can be difficult to prosecute:

1. Medicare frauds: In these cases, the scam artists pose as Medicare representatives and get personal information from the individual. They often provide bogus services at makeshift mobile clinics and then use the information to bill Medicare and keep the money.

2. Counterfeit prescription drugs: These scams often operate over the Internet offering lower-than-normal prices on medications. They are not only a waste of money but also may do physical harm because of unsafe drugs.

3. Funeral and cemetery scams: There are several types. Some funeral homes take advantage of a family member’s unfamiliarity with funeral costs and add unnecessary charges. Another is funeral directors insisting the most expensive casket is needed even for cremation.

And another: Scammers read newspaper obituary pages and contact the grieving spouse saying the deceased has a debt – which is typically untrue – and the scammer wants to collect.

I’d like to add one more that affected my East Coast family. The scammer reads the obituary page noting the time of a funeral; uses the

phone book or goes online to determine the spouse’s address; and during the funeral robs the home.

4. Fraudulent anti-aging products: The search for the fountain of youth continues. Scammers offer fake Botox, such as with the scam in Arizona that netted $1.5 million in less than a year.

Bogus homeopathic remedies that do nothing are also part of anti-aging scamming.

5. Telemarketing: In the “pigeon drop,” the con artist tells the person he or she has found a large sum of money and will split it if the person makes a “good faith” payment from his or her bank account. Sometimes a second scammer is involved posing as a lawyer or banker.

In the fake accident ploy, the con artist gets a victim to send or wire money telling the victim that his or her child or relative is in the hospital and needs money.

And there’s the charity scam: Money is solicited for fake charities, often the case following natural disasters.

6. Internet fraud: Here’s an example: A pop-up browser that looks like anti-virus software will request the user to download it at a substantial cost. The software is bogus.

Or, older adults receive an email requesting an update or verification of their personal information. The source appears legitimate – such as resembling the Internal Revenue Service or AOL. The result is identity theft.

7. Investment schemes: These schemes target older adults planning and saving for retirement.

We’ve all received the email of a Nigerian prince looking for a partner to claim inheritance money. The prince just needs a bank account to make the deposit.

Add the Bernie Madoff pyramid scheme to this.

8. Homeowner and reverse mortgage schemes: A homeowner receives a personalized letter from the county assessor’s office. The letter identifies the property’s assessed value and offers the homeowner a reassessment that will reduce the property tax – for a fee.

Also, reverse mortgages are offered; perpetrators offer money or a free home in exchange for the title to the property.

9. Sweepstakes and lottery scams: Older adults are informed they have won a lottery or sweepstakes. They need to send the scam artist some sort of payment to unlock the alleged prize; in exchange, the scammer sends the older adult a check to be deposited in his or her account. Of course, the check does not clear.

10. The grandparent scam: This is the worst. Scammers call the “mark,” or victim, and say, “Hi Grandma, do you know who this is?”

The grandparent says the name of the child. Now the scammer has a fake identity. The supposed grandchild asks for money for a financial problem to be paid via Western Union or MoneyGram, which don’t always require identification. And then comes, “Don’t tell my parents; they’ll kill me.”

To report consumer fraud contact the National Consumers League’s National Fraud Information Center, at www.fraud.org/contactnfic.htm. Or contact the California Attorney General, at 800-952-5225.

If we all become more aware of such crimes, hopefully we can avoid being victims and also protect our loved ones.

Helen Dennis is a specialist in aging, with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. Send her your questions and concerns in care of the Daily Breeze, 21250 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503, or email to helendenn@aol.com.

Article source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_19769256

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Category: Scams