“My folks were extremely trusting and believed everything those crooks told them — to the tune of $24,000.”
Fraud targeting older adults is rising — and it happened to Sarah Matthews’ parents.
Matthews, whose mother helps look after her elderly parents and monitor their finances, noticed recurring withdrawals of thousands of dollars from their bank account and grew suspicious.
She found out her parents were paying substantial sums for tree trimming and home repair work to strangers who would show up unannounced at the door. Those men ultimately performed little — if any — of the promised work.
Matthews had her father talk with a police officer, who advised him to call if the “tree trimmers” came back.
A few weeks later, a vigilant neighbor phoned after spotting a suspicious truck near the house. Matthews alerted authorities, who arrested the man immediately.
The man posted bond for the charges related to Matthews’ parents, yet he and an associate kept scamming other seniors.
Both are now serving time — convicted for offenses tied to similar schemes.
Matthews’ parents are still dealing with the fallout from the fraud.
Unfortunately, their story is far from rare.
“Older adults lose $36.48 billion each year to elder financial abuse,” a 2015 True Link study reported. That number is about 12 times the amount reported in MetLife’s 2011 elder abuse study.
Scams often begin with small amounts that go unnoticed but can escalate rapidly.
“A senior who lost as little as $20 in a year to exploitation could be expected to lose $2,000 a year to other types of fraud,” True Link notes.
To help protect the seniors in your life, read on for the most common scams aimed at older adults, ways to prevent them — and steps to take if someone becomes a victim.
6 Scams That Commonly Target Seniors
Home Instead Senior Care and the National Association of Triads published a Senior Fraud Protection Kit in 2012.
The resource lists six prevalent scams that frequently victimize older adults.
1. Telemarketing
This category includes phone calls, postal mail and email. Scam artists will send official-looking letters or messages and then follow up with a phone call seeking updated details like passwords or account numbers.
Armed with that information, scammers can drain bank accounts or attempt to steal identities.
Older adults may also get calls from people using deceptive sales techniques to upsell products. A “salesperson” might use confusing language and hidden charges to tack on an extra $20 or so.
Unfortunately, many of these tactics are not illegal.
2. Phony Charities
Retirees may receive a call from someone claiming to represent a charity and requesting a donation.
In reality, the caller isn’t fundraising for a legitimate organization and simply pockets the money.
3. Sweepstakes Scams
Seniors might receive a convincing-looking check in the mail along with a letter saying they’ve won a contest, but asking them to wire or send a few hundred — or thousand — dollars for “processing.”
The check may even mimic an IRS refund.
They’ll be told to return part of the funds and keep the remainder.
The deception unfolds when the check bounces and the senior becomes responsible for all of the money.
4. Identity Theft
A criminal may only need the last four digits of a senior’s Social Security number to begin stealing their identity.
Scammers can combine that detail with publicly available information — name, address, phone number — to open new credit lines or loans, leaving the senior to cover the debts.
They may also run small, unnoticed charges on existing credit cards.
5. Medical and Healthcare Fraud
Fraudsters learn about a senior’s medical conditions and promise to send medication or supplies if the person provides insurance information. They then use that data to impersonate the victim.
This form of fraud, known as medical identity theft, can result in victims being charged for prescriptions or services they never received — and being held accountable for the bills.
The FTC recommends carefully reviewing each medical bill to ensure the provider and service dates match the care actually received.
6. Financial Exploitation
Financial exploitation can take many shapes, from telemarketing to bogus “home repair” offers.
As noted earlier, fraudsters sometimes appear at seniors’ homes offering services and then overcharge — whether they completed the work or not.
Scammers may also persuade older adults to invest in long-term securities or stocks expecting that the victims won’t scrutinize the terms. The Senior Fraud Protection Kit warns that seniors can be tricked into buying investments that won’t mature for decades. If the senior needs money before maturity, they face penalties that benefit the scammer.
6 Practical Steps to Shield Seniors from Scams
If you want to reduce a loved one’s vulnerability to fraud, these actions can help protect them.
1. Put Their Numbers on the Do Not Call List
Register the senior’s phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry.
The FTC says sales calls should stop within 31 days after a number is registered.
“A person who receives just one telemarketing phone call per day is likely to experience three times as much financial loss as someone who receives no or only occasional telemarketing calls,” True Link’s research found. Be sure to register those numbers!
If sales calls persist after registration, hang up and file a complaint with the FTC.
Note: the registry blocks sales calls only — it doesn’t restrict charitable, political or survey calls.
2. Protect Personal Information
“The best rule of thumb is to never provide information in a phone call that you did not initiate,” the Senior Fraud Protection Kit advises.
Make sure the senior understands never to give out personal information or money over the phone. They also shouldn’t mail information to unknown parties, regardless of promises or offers.
This includes sending checks or deposits to claim prizes or accept alleged work-from-home opportunities.
3. Research Companies Using the BBB
Before acting on any offers, donations or investments, look up the company on the Better Business Bureau website.
Be especially wary of communications that seem to come from the Social Security Administration or the IRS. Tax-related scams remain the top scam according to the BBB.
4. Secure Their Mail
If a senior pays bills by mail, don’t leave the payment sitting in an unsecured mailbox.
Bring the check to the post office or a freestanding postal mailbox rather than leaving it where it could be stolen.
Switching to electronic billing is often safer and more convenient than mailing payments each month.
If a senior receives mail that’s clearly fraudulent, take it to the post office so it can be routed to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. You can also file a mail fraud complaint online.
5. Be Skeptical and Ask Questions
Request a caller’s name, business address, phone number and license number. Verify those details before proceeding, as scammers often invent names and credentials.
Don’t take people at face value — scammers may claim to be “law enforcement” trying to solve a crime involving the senior and seek personal information, the Home Instead checklist warns.
Make sure seniors don’t agree to anything they don’t completely understand.
Never respond to sweepstakes, prize or lottery notices by phone or mail — these are frequently phishing schemes designed to obtain personal details.
6. Practice Online Safety
Only make purchases from reputable websites. If you’re unsure about a site’s reliability, research it first to confirm it’s legitimate.
Teach seniors how to spot spam and phishing emails — and stress they should never reply. Personal data, especially account or credit card numbers, should never be shared by email.
If a Loved One Is Defrauded — What To Do
If a senior loses money to a scam, what’s the proper response? How do you report crimes against older adults?
File a police report immediately. You’ll need a copy when disputing fraudulent activity with banks and credit agencies.
Close and freeze any accounts exposed to fraud. Contact the bank, explain the situation and file a fraud claim if unauthorized transactions occurred.
Submit a complaint to the FTC. The agency gathers complaints to aid investigations and shares them with local law enforcement, credit firms and other agencies.
If credit card charges were involved, notify thethree major credit bureaus. Contacting all three ensures the fraudulent activity is reflected on the victim’s reports promptly.
Report identity theft to the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov portal — this covers newly opened accounts, unauthorized charges or false medical claims. The FTC provides step-by-step guidance tailored to the type of theft.
One Last Recommendation: Stay Vigilant
The Baby Boomer generation was “raised to be polite and trusting,” the FBI notes in its fraud against seniors guidance.
“Con artists exploit these traits, knowing that it is difficult or impossible for these individuals to say ‘no’ or simply hang up the phone,” the FBI warns.
Awareness is the best defense.
Make sure older adults are informed about the many scams out there and teach them strategies to safeguard themselves and their finances.
Your Turn: Do you know any seniors who’ve been targeted by scammers? How did you handle it?
Olivia Harper is an Editorial Assistant at Savinly.
