Scams: Targeting Seniors

By: Joe Mancini, CFE

Security Manager, East Boston Savings Bank

What exactly makes the elderly a prime target for scam artists? Unfortunately, there are a number of reasons, but there are also ways for them to protect themselves.

In many cases, seniors are lured by scams involving great sounding deals. Some of the scams that target the elderly include, prize and sweepstakes, travel, loan, mortgage, investment, and life insurance. According to many fraud experts, a fraudulent act perpetrated against a senior is typically completed within a small number of interactions with the fraudster.

It’s no secret that the majority of seniors have saved up some money throughout their working lives to be able to one day solely rely on those earnings. With the obvious goal of a scam artists being to obtain as much money as they can, among other things, this makes seniors a prime target.

The unfortunate part is that once somebody becomes a victim of one of these scams, they get their name placed on a list which is sold around to other swindlers. Falling for any one of these schemes can have a snowball effect; a senior could easily end up becoming the victim of numerous fraud scams. For seniors, this could mean your life savings is gone or severely depleted.

There are a number of ways for seniors to prevent themselves from becoming victimized by these crimes. If a senior is approached with a deal that sounds too good to be true, they must have an avenue to which they can speak to somebody (other than the person making the “offer”) about the matter. Seniors should never feel pressured into making a decision. Be aware that scam artists often rely on aggressive tactics to get money out of their victims, they typically call and/or email their victims many times a day.

As always, never give out any personal information without verifying the identity of who you’re speaking to. It may be best to obtain their name, what company/agency they claim to be representing, and a phone number. Once you have obtained this information, be sure to do some research to verify that the information provided to you is legitimate.

If a senior isn’t sure how to handle or respond to a potential scam situation, they should contact their Bank, local Police or local senior center for some information. For further information, including prevention tips, on some common fraudulent schemes affecting the elderly, visit www.fraud.org. Also, be sure to add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov which can help prevent a number of unwanted telemarketing phone calls.