As a family caregiver, one of your primary responsibilities is to protect the well-being of your loved ones. Unfortunately, seniors are often targets of scams that prey on their trust, vulnerability, and sometimes unfamiliarity with technology.
These scams mostly come in the form of phone calls that either attempt to get access to one’s computer and their bank account, social security number and more, but mail email and mail is important to monitor as well.
My father was almost taken twice by scammers. One hit very close to home.
One day my eighty-something father received a phone call from a young lady claiming to be his granddaughter. This woman was very convincing telling my father that she was in jail in college town and needed help to get out. He immediately said he would call her mother, and the woman quickly said, “No, please. I don’t want her to know.” But the form of payment to get her out of jail was questionable.
Within a few minutes he had driven to Target and begun the process to purchase a $2,000 gift card. The woman checking him out began asking about the gift card and my father told her the story. We’re thankful he was a chatter. The woman at checkout immediately terminated the purchase and told him he was being scammed. It made him very upset.
He went home and told my mother before picking up the phone to call the number the woman claiming to be my niece left. When he began to question her, she hung up the phone.
This experience really shook my father. Little did we know that it’s called “Grandparents Scam” (read more below) and it’s quite common.
The second was after my mother passed away. He had been down and isolated in his independent living building due to Covid. While my mother was sick, we had them hire in home help. My father could no longer drive and due to treatment, sometimes my mother didn’t want to. The women who came in were companions and helped with household activities like laundry. We kept them on after my mother passed to provide comfort and companionship to our father.
One day, he received a phone call. He often slept in his chair and the ringing woke him. The companion was in the living room folding laundry and was listening to the conversation. When she heard my father say, “How do I give you remote access to my computer?”, the companion walked into the office grabbed the phone and hung up. It was a Tech Support Scam (read more below).
My father is an intelligent man but did not love technology. He loved his family and would do anything for them. These are how scammers get to seniors and the elderly and thanks to information readily available online, scammers can learn more about an individual to customize their approach to theft.
Understanding the most common types of scams can help you better safeguard the seniors you care for.
Below are some of the most important senior scams to watch out for:
1. Medicare and Health Insurance Scams
Medicare is one of the most targeted programs by scammers. Fraudsters pose as Medicare representatives to obtain personal information, which they can use to submit false claims or steal the senior's identity. They may offer bogus medical services, free health equipment, or unnecessary tests.
According to Senior Medicare Patrol, “Medicare fraud is big business for criminals. Medicare loses billions of dollars each year due to fraud, errors, and abuse. Estimates place these losses at approximately $60 billion annually, though the exact figure is impossible to measure.”
It comes in the form of:
Charging for services or supplies that were not provided
Misrepresenting diagnoses or services to justify payment
Prescribing or providing excessive or unnecessary tests and services
What to Watch For:
Unsolicited phone calls or visits offering free medical equipment or services.
Requests for Medicare numbers or personal information over the phone.
How to Protect Seniors:
Advise seniors never to share their Medicare number or any personal information with unknown callers.
Remind them that Medicare will never call unsolicited to offer services or products.
2. IRS and Tax Scams
Scammers often impersonate IRS agents by phone, threatening seniors with arrest, deportation, or fines unless they pay "back taxes" immediately. They may also send an email requesting personal information, taxes associated with a large investment, inheritance or lottery. These scams typically demand payment via wire transfers or prepaid gift cards. The IRS recommends that you don't reply. Don't open any attachments. They can contain malicious code that may infect your computer or mobile phone.
What to Watch For:
Phone calls, emails, or letters claiming the senior owes back taxes.
Requests for payment through gift cards or wire transfers.
How to Protect Seniors:
Educate them that the IRS never demands immediate payment or asks for personal financial information over the phone. The IRS will never call or email. All communications come via mail.
Encourage them to verify any claims by contacting the IRS directly and report phishing scams.
3. Sweepstakes and Lottery Scams
According to the FTC, in these scams “You get a call, email, or letter saying you won a sweepstakes, lottery, or prize — like an iPad, a new car, or something else. But you can tell it’s a scam because of what they do next: they ask you to pay money or give them your account information to get the prize. If you pay, you’ll lose your money and find out there is no prize.”
After sending money, the scammers either disappear or continue asking for more under various pretenses.
What to Watch For:
Letters, emails, or phone calls claiming they’ve won a large prize or lottery.
Requests for payment in order to claim a prize.
How to Protect Seniors:
Remind seniors that legitimate sweepstakes do not require payment to claim a prize.
Advise them to never give out personal information or send money to unknown entities.
4. Grandparent Scams
In this emotional scam, a caller pretends to be a grandchild in distress or a lawyer claiming the grandchild is in trouble, and a worried grandparent rushes to help. They will claim to have been in a car accident, or they've been arrested, and need money sent right away, insisting on secrecy. Sometimes payment may be in the form of a gift card. And the FTC notes that the scams are becoming more sophisticated.
What to Watch For:
Calls from someone claiming to be a relative in need of urgent financial assistance.
Requests for secrecy and fast payments via wire transfers or gift cards.
How to Protect Seniors:
Encourage them to hang up and verify the situation by calling family members directly.
Remind them to never send money without confirming the identity of the caller.
5. Tech Support Scams
Tech support scams involve fraudsters calling or emailing pretending to be from legitimate companies like Microsoft or Apple, claiming the senior’s computer has a virus or security problem. They trick seniors into providing access to their computer and files or paying for fake services.
What to Watch For:
Pop-up messages or unsolicited calls warning of a virus or security breach.
Requests to install software or provide remote access to the computer.
How to Protect Seniors:
Tell them to ignore unsolicited tech support calls and to never grant remote access to their computer.
Encourage the use of reputable antivirus software and regular updates to ensure computer security.
If possible, take the phone away and hang up on the person and reboot the computer.
Scammers often pose as representatives of charities, particularly after natural disasters or around holidays, asking for donations. The organization names sound familiar and legitimate, but they’re fake and there is little to no information available on them. They refuse to answer questions about the charity and how the money will be used. They take advantage of seniors’ goodwill, using the donations for personal gain by requesting cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfers.
What to Watch For:
Unsolicited calls or emails requesting donations.
Pressure to donate immediately or provide personal information.
If they say that your loved one has already made a pledge to donate.
How to Protect Seniors:
Advise them to donate directly through well-known and established charity websites rather than over the phone or email.
Encourage research into any charity before making a donation.
7. Romance Scams
Loneliness makes many seniors vulnerable to romance scams, where scammers build an online relationship with a senior, eventually asking for money for a fabricated emergency or travel expenses.
According to the FBI, “In romance scams, a criminal uses a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim.”
What to Watch For:
Online relationships that progress quickly to requests for money.
Excuses for why they cannot meet in person or talk via video chat.
How to Protect Seniors:
Warn them about the dangers of sharing personal or financial information online.
Encourage skepticism of online relationships that request money or personal details.
Be careful of the posts and information that is shared online.
Conclusion
As a caregiver, you play a vital role in helping seniors avoid these common scams. Educating them on the warning signs, encouraging open communication, and being vigilant yourself can go a long way in protecting their financial and emotional well-being.
By staying informed, you'll be able to detect suspicious behavior and stop scams before they cause harm. Remember, prevention is the key—when in doubt, investigate and verify.
In the case of my father, I purchased and set up a phone with a high spam filter for my father. This meant that only the calls from known phone numbers could get through. The downside was coordinating with doctors’ offices, which typically have a different outbound number than inbound, and they are often given out. This did require more diligence from caregivers and tracking of appointments and test results to ensure nothing was missed, but it was worth it.
This is why it’s important, if possible, to create a village of caregivers around your loved one(s) who can be present when you’re not able or use an app to help manage appointments and important contact information.
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