Avoiding Scams For Seniors

In recent years, seniors are increasingly becoming the targets of scams and other fraudulent activities. Retirees nowadays are more well-off compared to those of the past generations.  In fact, United Income reports that the average wealth a retiree holds has risen by more than 100 per cent to almost a quarter of a million dollars. Majority of their assets are also liquid making it easy for them to access it whenever they need it. While this is great, the downside of the fast access to cash makes them a vulnerable target of scammers. Dorothy Lambing from Louisiana are among the cases, who unfortunately lose valuable assets to fraudsters. Dorothy received a notice saying she won thousands of dollars and can only claim them if she sends them $2,500 as processing fee. This is just a small fraction of the $3 billion stolen from seniors each year, as the Justice department estimates.

So how does one avoid to be part of this staggering statistic? A good first step is to be aware of the ongoing scams targeting seniors. The list below outlines the most common scams targeting seniors.

The most recent to hit seniors lately is the new Medicare Card scam that coincided with the release of new Medicare cards last April. As the mailing of these cards are still ongoing, scammers have capitalized on this and have tried to confirm personal information about beneficiaries that could have been found online. In one instance, scammers called beneficiaries telling them they need to provide their old Medicare card number to receive the new one. With this valuable information, fraudsters can bill Medicare for services they consume.

Another regular incident is counterfeit prescription drugs. Seniors wanting to get a good deal on their prescription flock to the internet for cheaper drugs only to find themselves with fake medication. On average, 20 cases are reported per year and is steadily increasing. What’s worse about getting useless medicine is getting one that can do more harm as the substance in it are unidentifiable. If in Kansas, make sure that the home you choose from the many senior apartments available in Kansas City, MO is close to your trusted doctor, so you can check with experts about the medication you bought.

Scams related to funerals are also commonly targeting seniors. A popular scheme involves fraudsters contacting the deceased person’s family and asking them for payments for an outstanding debt that the deceased never even took.

Anti-aging product, a popular commodity among seniors, have also been used to capitalized on seniors fretting about their appearance. Unlicensed practitioners offer botox to unsuspecting seniors that may cause serious health problems down the road. Some of these scammers use toxic ingredients like botulism neurotoxin that will result to shapeless facial features after a while.

The hardest to untangle would probably be telemarketing scam that is also common not only with seniors but with younger people as well. However, it is more effective with seniors as this demographic makes significantly more purchases over the phone compared to other age groups. What makes it harder to resolve is the lack of paper trail so police finds it hard to trace. Added to the complication is the fact that scammers trades the information they collect in the black market with other scammers.

With more seniors using the internet, fraudsters have also targeted this group as most seniors are not fully familiar about firewalls and virus protection that scammers  usually disguise themselves as. Furthermore, phishing scams are also used where, like the Medicare scam, fraudsters would try seniors to confirm personal information. Popular ones are related to tax refunds from IRS.

These are just some of the most widespread fraudulent activities you need to keep an eye on. While still being in one of the independent senior apartments in New Hampshire makes you independent enough to do your daily tasks on your own, it doesn’t hurt to ask if you are in doubt or are suspicious of anything that has been offered to you. However, if you are in Iowa, it helps if you are surrounded by a community that are familiar with the common scams targeting seniors such as 55+ apartments in Des Moines, IA.