By Mike Cooper

Would you know if your mom or dad (or grandmother or grandfather) was being scammed? Wouldn’t they say something to you before they transferred large sums of money to a complete stranger over the phone? You would think so, but that is not always the case. During National Awareness Month, we want you to be aware of some facts about elder financial abuse.

A recent study showed that about 1 in 20 seniors said they have been financially abused.  If a medical condition struck that many people, it would be considered a crisis! Many seniors are getting scammed by unscrupulous callers claiming to be with the government or other official authority. Sometimes they are hit by scammers claiming they won big prize or sweepstakes money.

Here are 3 ways to keep your loved one safe from elder financial abuse:

• Talk to your loved one about scams. There are certain scams that we have heard about before: a friend or loved one suddenly in another country and has been hurt or arrested and needs money right away; you’re the ‘big winner’ in a sweepstakes, but taxes need to be paid upfront; the IRS (or other government agency) is called because you owe money and if you don’t pay now you could go to jail.

My Dad, 91 and still golfing, got a call from a scam artist claiming to be a grandson. “Grampy, I’m safe, but the car I’m in got pulled over by the cops. The driver had some drugs on his body and there was a gun in the glove box. Can you send money so I can post bail?” My crafty ole man asked the young perp if he could tell him the names of his oldest daughter’s children; the bad guy hung up. “I might be old… but I’m not stupid,” exclaimed Dad.

Make sure you talk to your loved one about these scams multiple times so they remember them. Assure them that if there is an issue with a family member, someone from the family will talk to them about it, not a stranger over the phone!

• Help your loved one pay their bills. Between online billing and banking, it is easy to help your loved one pay their bills without having to sit with them to look at statements and write out checks. If you (or a trusted family member or friend) can see transactions as they happen, you have a better chance of stopping a payment to scammers.

• Visit your loved one or make sure they socialize with others. Seniors who are alone make great targets for scammers. The more isolated they are, the more they will potentially believe a scammer’s story and go along with it. If your senior can socialize with others, the will be less isolated, more confident and less likely to believe a scammer.

There are a few sites you can visit to get more information about scams or to report a scam:

• AARP has a scams and fraud page that provides information on the latest frauds against the older people: member.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans will investigate consumer fraud complaints: consumerfinance.gov/older-americans.
• Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force – to report a scam and a resource center for seniors and their loved ones about scams: stopfraud.gov/report.html.

Naperville Senior Center is a great place for seniors to come and definitely not get scammed! Our Members socialize with other seniors eliminating that isolated-at-home-alone feeling. Members are welcome to be as independent as they can safely be while they are with us. In addition to socialization, we encourage exercise, games and puzzles, singing, clapping, dancing, computer time and a host of other activities to provide mental and physical stimulation for our Members.

Contact us to get schedule a FREE 3-hour trial at our facility so you can see what we have to offer and understand the Naperville Senior Center experience, “Home Away From Home”.