Senior Citizen Scams – Educating Your Residents
Senior Citizen Scams – Educating Your Residents
As a leader in a Senior Living Community, you may be wondering how to educate your residents about senior citizen scams that may be targeted towards them. This blog post will give you information to educate your communities on how they are being targeted, some of the most common scams, and how you can protect them from being conned.
Scammers’ Favorite Victim – The Senior Citizen
They show up online, over the phone, in email and sometimes even in person; but scammers have a favorite victim. Senior citizens are considered to be an easy target by scam artists. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2020, younger people report losing money to scammers (44% of adults 20 to 29), but older adults are targeted more and have higher losses ($1300 each, on average) compared to their younger counterparts ($324 each). Seniors are often targeted because they are more trusting and often have accumulated wealth. There may also be some cognitive impairment factors that make them more vulnerable to scammers. Concerns like confusion, memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer’s could cloud their financial decision-making abilities and make them easy targets.
How Are Senior Citizens Being Targeted?
Scammers have many tactics, and they are coming up with new ones every day. They often try to befriend seniors in order to find out what they have an interest in or feel passionate about so that they can pretend also to have that same passion. They use this tactic to build trust with their targeted senior citizen. Or, on the other hand, scam artists may try to threaten or create panic in a senior citizen by telling them that they have to “act now” or there will be a serious consequence.
The April 2022 AARP Bulletin cover story “The Bad Guys – Who they are and How to Stop Them” details some of the latest scams – everything from fake Amazon employees to IRS imposters. Below are five of the most common scams that fraudsters are using to con senior citizens.
Five Most Common Senior Citizen Scams
- Imposter Scams: Phone scammers are often demanding and authoritative. They may be impersonating someone from the IRS or posing as a representative from a government agency. These scammers usually explain that there is a problem to resolve or an issue that has been identified, and it needs to be resolved right away. They are usually attempting to create panic in the victim telling them that things need to happen right now or else.
- Grandparent Scam: Another common phone scam is the “Grandparent Scam.” With this one, the caller may ring late at night and say something like: “Hi Grandma/Grandpa, do you know who this is?” and the victim answers with their grandchild’s name. At that point the scammer then pretends to be their grandchild and be in some situation where they need money immediately. They offer just enough info about the emergency that happened to make things seem plausible. It could be anything from a car accident to wrongful arrest. The “grandchild” may ask for an immediate wire transfer and may also add the anxious plea “please don’t tell Mom and Dad.’
- Spoof Robocalls: It’s called “Spoofing.” Scammers mask phone numbers that show up in the caller-id display so that an incoming call looks like a familiar number to the victim. Spoofers often use the area code for the person they are calling so that the call may appear that it is coming from a neighbor or local company. There may be a recording or a live operator following a scam script attempting to get information from their potential victim. They often try to pressure or bully their victim.
- Sweepstakes Fraud: In this case, a fraudster will call their intended victim and claim that they have won the lottery, a contest, or other prize. The catch is that a fee has to be paid in order to collect the winnings.
- Romance Scams: In this case, the victim may “meet” someone online or over the phone; after developing a relationship, the scammer will ask for money.
How Can Senior Communities Work to Protect Their Residents?
- Get the Word Out: Prevention and education are key. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a great resource. They offer free fraud prevention placemats, handouts, and activity sheets to help keep residents informed on different types of scams and how to avoid them. The more residents know what to look for, the better they can protect themselves. Train all team members to look out for red flags. Volunteers, housekeeping, and maintenance workers may be the first to notice warning signs.
- Screen Sales Presentations to Residents: Consider prohibiting sales events in your community or create a meticulous vetting process for these kinds of events. While you want the community to feel welcome, some salespeople may pose a threat to residents. Events described as “educational” or “workshop” should raise a red flag. The true goal may be to sell investment or financial products.
- Monitor Finances: One way to detect if a resident has fallen victim to financial abuse is by monitoring their account. If they fall behind on payment to the assisted living community, this could be a result of financial abuse of the resident. These warning signs must be investigated to protect the resident.
- Financial Caregivers: Residents in your facility may have someone who is handling their expenses for them. It is important for you to have the proper documentation for this person on file. For example, request a copy of a power of attorney instrument, Social Security representative payee authorization, VA fiduciary appointment document, trust documents, or a guardianship court order. If someone tells you that they are a financial caregiver for a resident, ask for a copy of the documentation, or check your records to confirm that they have the legal authority to manage the resident’s money before you disclose any information to them.
- Elder Fraud Event: Consider hosting an event for residents and family members at your facility with a knowledgeable speaker from the local police department or Adult Protective Services office to explain elder fraud and scams that target seniors.
Staying Informed About the Newest Senior Citizen Scams
Scammers are always coming up with new schemes. Once a scam has become well-known, scammers may switch things up just a bit. For more information on scams that are used to target older adults, check out the Better Business Bureau article Top Tricks Used to Scam Older Adults or visit the Federal Trade Commission “scam alert” page to stay up to date on new scams.
If you enjoyed reading this post by Nina Weierman, read her other blog posts for us here.