Panel Experts, l-r: Jody Shadduck-McNally, Mark Fetterhoff, Dr. Sheri Gibson, Emily Heindel, Barbara Bennett, & Jillian Sarmo
Recently, Larimer County Office on Aging held a forum on fraud and scams. Jody Shadduck-McNally, Advisory Council Member, and County Commissioner Steve Johnson gave introductions. Both commented on how today’s scams have impacted their family.
Keynote speaker Dr. Sheri Gibson, a Clinical Gero-Psychologist from University of Colorado gave a presentation, “You Can’t Trust A Handshake,” where a gentlemen’s handshake is a thing of the past. She gave an overview of the different senior generations and their life’s memories and characteristics. She indicated many seniors who lose money from scams will never get their money back if taken out of state or country. Interestingly, 90% of elder abuses are committed by family members. Unfortunately, most seniors will not take legal action on abuse against their relatives.
Dr. Gibson pointed out that the different generations have different values and affects how they are treated and affected by scams in today’s society. According to her,
The top 10 financial scams targeting seniors are:
1) Medicare, which is a multi-billion fraud industry
2) Counterfeit Prescriptions from fake websites
3) Funeral & cemetery additional fees
4) Anti-aging products which many are toxic
5) Telemarketing scams which include all these scams
6) Internet and email related scams which ask for personal information
7) Investment fraud like the Bernie Madoff scam or overseas inheritance scams
8) Homeowners scams with some from fake reverse mortgages
9) Sweepstakes scams requiring seniors to pay advance fees
10) Grandparent scam on receiving a call from a fake relative in jail needing money
For any telephone call asking for your personal information or requiring money from unknown sources, simply hang up!
Here’s how to protect yourself from these type of scams:
1) Be aware of strangers such as home repair asking for payment in advance and even friends or relatives asking for large sums of money
2) Don’t isolate yourself from relatives or the public, stay involved even in volunteer groups
3) Tell unknown solicitors you’re NOT interested if called upon and send me your offer in writing
4) Shred all receipts with your credit card info instead of trashing them
5) Use Do Not Call Registry or no more robo calls via their websites to stop most unsolicited calls
6) Use direct deposit of benefit checks for your bank account
7) Never give your Social Security or Medicare, bank account, or credit and debit card info to anyone you don’t personally know and trust
8) Be skeptical of anyone or any proposal without due diligence research!
If you’re a relative, here are several tips on protecting your loved ones:
1) Look for unusual changes in bank accounts, new added names, or ATM activity
2) Relatives who seem confused, unkept, or afraid including your dementia relatives
3) Be aware of any caregivers who won’t allow access to seniors
4) Watch for unpaid bills
5) Watch for sweepstake mailings, magazine subscriptions, and free gifts that denote a sucker mailing list!
What to do if you’re a victim? Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to report any abuse or crime, even if it involves your caregiver or relatives. Call your bank and credit card companies to cancel accounts if your financial info has been compromised. Contact law enforcement services (police, sheriff, district attorney, state attorney general) and adult protection services for help! And last, contact Elder Locator hotline at 1-800-877-2216 for support and help!
Dr. Gibson hosted a panel of senior abuse experts: Mark Fetterhoff with AARP, Barbara Bennett with Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Jillian Sarmo with Colorado Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, and Emily Heindel with Larimer County Adult Protective Services.
Mark indicated their Elder Watch fraud helpline at 1-800-222-4444, select #2 is for reporting fraud or any scam and support! He indicated several red flags are be aware of proposals that are too good to be true, fake gift cards, deception of older adult surveys, computer tech call scams, sweepstakes scams, grandparent scams, and not checking your annual credit report, which is a free service for all Coloradans.
Barbara said to call the sheriff’s office or your local law enforcement agency if you’re a victim of any type of scam or know of a scam being committed. Also check with BBB Scamtracker’s website for a list of local scams in your area. Her office receives info on fake arrest warrant scams, IRS scams over the phone demanding money for unpaid taxes, and phony inheritance scams.
Emily reported to contact her office if you need help on elder abuse. They have case workers who visit elder abuse victims and help resolve issues. They recommend to review your or your elder’s financial statements and credit reports for abuse, change passwords after any known attack on your financial accounts, and report any abuse!
Jillian indicated to review their Senior Safe program for abuse education tips, beware of family or hired caregivers on potential fraud, and report any scam to your local law enforcement agency.
Overall, this forum had lots of great information for seniors on preventing or reporting scams and fraud.
Article by Robert Larson, photo-journalist.