New Scam Scare Tactics

I have often said that people who scam seniors are among the lowest form of human beings, if even you would qualify them as such. I am proud to say that Home Instead Senior Care has been diligent in their efforts to educate seniors and their families through our Senior Fraud Protection Kit and community education classes.

Sadly, the most painful fraud cases are instances where someone whom the senior knows exploits their trust for profit. More horrendous still are the stories of people who engage seniors and gain their trust for the sole purpose of exploiting them for personal gain. I suppose the theory is that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Not so any longer.

Con artists have now come to the realization that they can more easily rob a senior by scare tactics and intimidation that by bothering to pretend to care. There are three of these new tactics which are worth mentioning and speaking to your senior loved ones about.

The first tactic is a plain and simple death threat. This sounds like something out of mobster movie but it is reality. An extortionist will tell a senior that a contract has been placed on their life and the only way to avoid getting whacked is to pay a premium. While this may sound ridiculously far fetched, consider the more than 1300 people who reported this crime in 2012 at a cost of over $2 million.

Secondly, an official looking person claiming to be from Social Security, Medicare, the police, etc. will show up at a senior's front door and demand immediate payment for a supposed fine. In some instances they use this tactic to simply gather personal data and financial data but most recently it is a direct push for actual payment.

The final and most prominent of the top three is the utility shakedown. A "utility worker" will show up and threaten to shut off utility services. This is an especially devastating threat during the winter and summer months when utilities can be an issue of survival in many parts of the county.

My hope is that one of these con-artists shows up on my front door step and tells me that there is a contract out on my life. On behalf of seniors and their families everywhere, I will happily turn the tables on him. I'll give him one for the Gipper!

http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-08-2013/con-artists-use-fear-to-intimidate.html?intcmp=HP-spot2L