Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

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vnatale
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Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by vnatale » Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:42 pm

Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Scams range from petty theft to embezzlement. Your parents may need your help.

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retir ... d-web.html

"Financial abuse and elder fraud can do more than devastate an adult’s savings, credit or ability to pay for long-term care. Many victims suffer medical and psychological harm, and they experience higher mortality rates than seniors who are not abused.

“Older adults make great targets because they have accumulated assets over time and are living off their savings,” says Larry Santucci, who coauthored a report about elder financial victimization for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. “Some are also very lonely or socially isolated, which makes them susceptible to exploitation.” Moreover, cognitive decline—which hampers your ability to gauge risk or sense that something is awry—starts seeping in as early as your 50s. It may lead to diminished financial capacity, compromising your ability to handle your own money. “When you lose the ability to manage your day-to-day finances and make good banking and investing de­cisions, you are your own worst enemy,” says Santucci. “You start to make financial mistakes before you even realize it.”

Whether you are concerned for your aging family members or want to protect yourself, it’s vital to fortify your finances from crooks before you become a target."
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by dualstow » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:07 pm

It's crazy. They got my octogenarian dad and he hasn't been the same since. I'm going to visit him next week and lend a hand, but this was 3 years ago. Sucks.

Vice did a good piece on it. Those kids just do it for fun and they blow the money on champagne and bs.
RIP Marcello Gandini
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by vnatale » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:21 pm

dualstow wrote:
Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:07 pm
It's crazy. They got my octogenarian dad and he hasn't been the same since. I'm going to visit him next week and lend a hand, but this was 3 years ago. Sucks.

Vice did a good piece on it. Those kids just do it for fun and they blow the money on champagne and bs.
My sympathies to you and him. Sorry both of you have first hand experience with this. When I was putting this here, it was meant to help it not happen. Did not even think that someone here had direct experience with it happening.

Vinny
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by stuper1 » Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:05 pm

dualstow wrote:
Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:07 pm
It's crazy. They got my octogenarian dad and he hasn't been the same since. I'm going to visit him next week and lend a hand, but this was 3 years ago. Sucks.

Vice did a good piece on it. Those kids just do it for fun and they blow the money on champagne and bs.
How did they get him? Just curious so I can warn my parents.
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by vnatale » Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:18 am

Libertarian666 wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 7:56 am
vnatale wrote:
Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:42 pm
Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Scams range from petty theft to embezzlement. Your parents may need your help.

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retir ... d-web.html

"Financial abuse and elder fraud can do more than devastate an adult’s savings, credit or ability to pay for long-term care. Many victims suffer medical and psychological harm, and they experience higher mortality rates than seniors who are not abused.

“Older adults make great targets because they have accumulated assets over time and are living off their savings,” says Larry Santucci, who coauthored a report about elder financial victimization for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. “Some are also very lonely or socially isolated, which makes them susceptible to exploitation.” Moreover, cognitive decline—which hampers your ability to gauge risk or sense that something is awry—starts seeping in as early as your 50s. It may lead to diminished financial capacity, compromising your ability to handle your own money. “When you lose the ability to manage your day-to-day finances and make good banking and investing de­cisions, you are your own worst enemy,” says Santucci. “You start to make financial mistakes before you even realize it.”

Whether you are concerned for your aging family members or want to protect yourself, it’s vital to fortify your finances from crooks before you become a target."
I think I'm still in pretty good shape cognitively, although of course it's possible that I'm really as demented as Joe Biden but don't know it. >:D

But my mother is 94, so she should be very ripe for such issues. Fortunately she always asks me before making any financial decisions. Also, I can see her brokerage account online although I can't transact in it, so if anything weird did happen I would be able to see it.
I'd say your mother is wise and has put herself in great hands.

Vinny
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by pp4me » Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:57 am

When my parents hit their 90's the scammers started hitting them non-stop. Usually it was in the form of a phone call trying to get information from them by telling them they had won some money and either needed to pay a fee to collect the winnings or give them their bank account number so they could deposit it. That never worked but then they started sending them checks for a small amount as the initial payment with the rest to be deposited to the same account later. Obviously, the deposit would have been a withdrawal instead. They tried depositing several of them but the bank teller spotted the fraud and warned them except for one time when the teller said it looked perfectly legitimate. Fortunately, my Mom called me to get a second opinion before she deposited it and it took me two seconds of Googling to prove it was a fraud (they didn't even know what Google was). I told them after that to just throw any checks like that away but they still called and I had to prove it wasn't real.

The scammers never got anything from them but an unscrupulous car salesman sent my Dad into a downward spiral when he sold him the same exact car I had just bought for $5k more than I had paid for mine. If I had it to do over again I would have lied and told him he got a good deal because he was always proud of the deals he made and this sent him into a deep depression that he never really recovered from until he died at 92.
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by Jim Burnham » Fri Sep 11, 2020 10:09 am

pp4me wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:57 am
When my parents hit their 90's the scammers started hitting them non-stop. Usually it was in the form of a phone call trying to get information from them by telling them they had won some money and either needed to pay a fee to collect the winnings or give them their bank account number so they could deposit it. That never worked but then they started sending them checks for a small amount as the initial payment with the rest to be deposited to the same account later. Obviously, the deposit would have been a withdrawal instead. They tried depositing several of them but the bank teller spotted the fraud and warned them except for one time when the teller said it looked perfectly legitimate. Fortunately, my Mom called me to get a second opinion before she deposited it and it took me two seconds of Googling to prove it was a fraud (they didn't even know what Google was). I told them after that to just throw any checks like that away but they still called and I had to prove it wasn't real.

The scammers never got anything from them but an unscrupulous car salesman sent my Dad into a downward spiral when he sold him the same exact car I had just bought for $5k more than I had paid for mine. If I had it to do over again I would have lied and told him he got a good deal because he was always proud of the deals he made and this sent him into a deep depression that he never really recovered from until he died at 92.
I am really sorry about what happened to your Dad. That car salesman should have been ashamed of himself.

Unsolicited phone calls are indeed a problem for older people, particularly when they are combined with stuff like "Publishers' Clearing House" scams. I have known TWO older people, one in her eighties, one in her nineties, who almost got suckered into sending scammers hundreds - maybe even thousands - of dollars to ensure their supposed "Publishers' Clearing House" winnings would be delivered. Fortunately we were able to stop both of those ladies from being scammed.
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by dualstow » Fri Sep 11, 2020 5:52 pm

stuper1 wrote:
Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:05 pm
dualstow wrote:
Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:07 pm
It's crazy. They got my octogenarian dad and he hasn't been the same since. I'm going to visit him next week and lend a hand, but this was 3 years ago. Sucks.

Vice did a good piece on it. Those kids just do it for fun and they blow the money on champagne and bs.
How did they get him? Just curious so I can warn my parents.
We think they might have gotten their phone number from doctor’s offices/social engineering.
It began with cellphones and I have learned from subsequent research that they often have an inside man working in cellphone companies.
While my parents had physical possession of their phones, the number was transferred to another company (metro pcs?) and the thieves had control of that. From there, they used what was supposed to be 2FA security as a backdoor into lots of things.
Forgot your gmail password? No problem, we’ll send you a onetime code via SMS.
Amazon, same thing.
Banks, credit cards...
It was a bad summer.
RIP Marcello Gandini
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by Tortoise » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:10 pm

dualstow wrote:
Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:07 pm
Vice did a good piece on it. Those kids just do it for fun and they blow the money on champagne and bs.
Sadly, that reminded me of this scene from Breaking Bad:
<Jesse and his drug-dealing friends buy bottles of Dom Perignon and lap dances in a strip club using Jesse's stacks of cash>
Friend 1: Yo, Jesse. Man, I gotta ask. Where'd you get all the cheddar?
Friend 2: Must be movin' mad volume!
Jesse: It's totally funny. Wanna know what's funny? This old dude, he gave it to me. He gave it to me, it's like his entire life savings!
Friend 3: What?! Why?
Jesse: 'Cause he's a dumbass, that's why! <Pops champagne cork> Yes!! Okay, livin' large, playas!
<Everyone clinks glasses>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUoMm23J4Xg
Sorry about the situation with your dad, DS. I hope the perpetrators get what they deserve, either in this life or the next.
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by vnatale » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:36 pm

From reading the above it seems that as I age if I continue to keep my landline phone unplugged and have my cell phone turned off I will then not be susceptible to the above described phone calls.

Either phone gets plugged it or turned on only either when I make a call or via email I've scheduled a call with someone. Otherwise no incoming surprise calls to me of any nature.

Vinny
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by Mark Leavy » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:48 pm

vnatale wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:36 pm
From reading the above it seems that as I age if I continue to keep my landline phone unplugged and have my cell phone turned off I will then not be susceptible to the above described phone calls.

Either phone gets plugged it or turned on only either when I make a call or via email I've scheduled a call with someone. Otherwise no incoming surprise calls to me of any nature.

Vinny
I think dualstow was describing a scam that works whether or not you have your phone on. The thieves hijack your number so that all calls and texts that would normally go to your phone, go to their phone. You don't know it. Especially if you aren't trying to use your phone yourself.
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Re: Watch Out for the Elder Fraud Web

Post by vnatale » Fri Sep 11, 2020 7:20 pm

Mark Leavy wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:48 pm
vnatale wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:36 pm
From reading the above it seems that as I age if I continue to keep my landline phone unplugged and have my cell phone turned off I will then not be susceptible to the above described phone calls.

Either phone gets plugged it or turned on only either when I make a call or via email I've scheduled a call with someone. Otherwise no incoming surprise calls to me of any nature.

Vinny
I think dualstow was describing a scam that works whether or not you have your phone on. The thieves hijack your number so that all calls and texts that would normally go to your phone, go to their phone. You don't know it. Especially if you aren't trying to use your phone yourself.
Yes. You are correct on that. I should have responded directly while quoting the post above dualstow's which stated: "Unsolicited phone calls are indeed a problem for older people, particularly when they are combined with stuff like "Publishers' Clearing House" scams."

Vinny
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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