Out of the blue, you hear from someone who has wonderful news.
August 17, 2018 3:35 PM   Subscribe

The person she talked to on the phone said his name was Sam. The e-mails that he and his fellow-scammers sent my mom were as sloppy and ungrammatical as the ones you get from Nigeria; in a couple of them, even her own name is misspelled. But she fell for everything. There is no national mechanism to track financial exploitation of the elderly , but one report estimates that American seniors lose $36.48 billion each year to financial abuse. The State of New York thinks that estimate is far too low. And it’s growing.

Financial exploitation targets older adults for a variety of reasons. Cognitive decline, depression and isolation, and even lower income can make seniors more vulnerable to abuse. But even healthy and independent adults can be taken advantage of. Numerous scams exist, ranging from Medicare imposters to the notorious ”grandparent scam”, in many variations. Perpetrators can be total strangers or close family. Even trusted financial professionals get some of the action.

The consequences include more than just money. Marjorie Jones committed suicide with only $69 left in her bank account. Edith Russell became homeless.

So what can be done? Being aware of the warning signs can help you and your loved ones. Each state has a Protection & Advocacy System; they provide information and referrals and sometimes even litigate for victims. The AARP and the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Program collect and investigate reports of abuse and publish known scams. Adult Protective Services also investigates and prosecute perpetrators.

It is usually very difficult to recover lost money, trust, and health. Talk to your loved ones (and listen to yourself) about preventing abuse. Educate yourself on prevention. Most importantly, remember that it doesn’t matter who you are; you’re not too smart to fall for a scam yourself.
posted by skookumsaurus rex (5 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Hey, this is an interesting post but a bunch of the links don't work and others are duplicates. Hit the contact form and we'll see what we can do. -- Eyebrows McGee



 
I gave serious thought to coming up with some fake sweepstakes and other scams to distract my grandmother from actual sweepstakes and scams that were taking all her attention/money.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:53 PM on August 17, 2018


Great post! That last link really got me.
posted by smokysunday at 3:54 PM on August 17, 2018 [2 favorites]


Capitalism has created a society where people are either sharks or mere shark bait. There has to be a better way to run things.
posted by monotreme at 4:02 PM on August 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


My husband and I live in fear this is happening or has happened to his parents. They’ve decided recently we’re communists, and we haven’t been let into their house in months; elder care period needs attention in this country, and not just in connection to scams.

It’s ridiculously difficult to care for people who resist the idea they need help.
posted by EinAtlanta at 4:10 PM on August 17, 2018 [5 favorites]


I'm pretty lucky, my parents are nearly 80 and still sharp as ever. My father just sent an email out to the family recounting him leading on a pair of scammers trying the "grandson needs bail" phone scam on him. But not all the scammers are as unsophisticated as that, of course.
posted by tavella at 4:24 PM on August 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


« Older What is this? A bridge for ants?   |   Yo Yo Mas Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments