Con artists target seniors

Tips for avoiding scams

It’s very difficult to get your money back if you’ve been cheated over the telephone. Before you buy anything by telephone, remember:

• Don't buy from an unfamiliar company. Legitimate businesses understand that you want more information about their company and are happy to comply.

• Always ask for and wait until you receive written material about any offer or charity. If you get brochures about costly investments, ask someone whose financial advice you trust to review them. But, unfortunately, beware — not everything written down is true.

• Don't pay in advance for services. Pay for services only after they are delivered.

• Always take your time making a decision. Legitimate companies won't pressure you to make a snap decision.

• Don't pay for a "free prize." If a caller tells you the payment is for taxes, he or she is violating federal law.

• Before you receive your next sales pitch, decide what your limits are — the kinds of financial information you will and won't give out on the telephone.
• Be sure to talk over big investments with a trusted friend, family member or financial adviser if you get an offer from telephone salespeople. It's never rude to wait and think about an offer.

• Never send money or give out personal information such as credit card numbers and expiration dates, bank account numbers, dates of birth andSocial Security numbers to unfamiliar companies or unknown persons.

• Tear up or shred credit card receipts, bank statements, solicitations and financial records before disposing of them.

• Get on the National Do Not Call Registry to reduce telemarketing calls. Visit www.donotcall.gov or call 888.382.1222 to register your phone number.

• Keep in touch with others; isolation can make you more vulnerable.

Tips for avoiding identity theft:

• Never throw away ATM receipts, credit statements, credit cards or bank statements in a usable form.

• Never give your credit card number over the telephone unless you make the call.

• Reconcile your bank account monthly, and notify your bank about discrepancies immediately.

• Keep a list of telephone numbers to call to report the loss or theft of your wallet, credit cards, etc.

• Report unauthorized financial transactions to your bank, credit card company and the police as soon as you detect them.

SOURCE: Eldercare Locator, a public service of the U.S. Administration of Aging and the FBI. For more tips, go to www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/seniors.

Scam Alert: beware of the latest health care cons:

• If you're on Medicare, you don't need a new card or additional insurance because of health exchanges or other Obamacare initiatives.

• You can change your Medicare plan and prescription coverage during Medicare open enrollment from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, but no one from Medicare — or any other federal office — will make unsolicited contact via telephone, email, fax or front-door visit asking for money, or personal or financial information, including your Social Security/Medicare number.

• If you get health insurance at work, your employer should notify you — via official workplace correspondence — on what if any changes may occur. People with private insurance should contact their providers if they have questions.

• Keep up your guard. It's expected that most people needing insurance will shop on the federal or state websites, but legitimate vendors — along with scammers — may reach out to you via phone, email, personal visits and especially websites. To help answer questions about plans you may consider, as well as vendor and product legitimacy, you can contact trained "navigators" at the federal government's hot line, 800-318-2596 (TTY 855-889-3425), or visit healthcare.gov. Do this before you provide sensitive details or sign anything.

• Although some states have enlisted advertisers and translators to help educate residents about new benefits for the uninsured, their role is strictly to educate consumers — not to sell policies.

• Scare or rush tactics signal you're dealing with a scammer. Preapproved rates in the exchange won't change during the initial enrollment period, which ends March 31. Claims of "limited-time offers" and "act now or lose benefits" are lies.

• Now is a particularly opportune time for scammers to go after your medical records, called "fulls" in scammer jargon because they provide everything in one place for ID theft — and more. Fetching as much as 50 times the rate of a Social Security number on online black markets, stolen medical records open the way for scammers to pose as you and to buy medications or to pay for medical treatments. Believe it or not, victims may be responsible for these charges (unlike in the case of credit card theft) and may lose their coverage. So guard details of your medical history, treatments or insurance — no matter what you're being offered in return.

SOURCE: AARP’s scam alert expert Sid Kirchheimer

Scams come in many forms — sweepstakes swindles, shady telemarketing pitches, bogus charity fundraisers.

And then there’s a new one making the rounds related to the Affordable Care Act. Using confusion over the new health care law, con artists are pouncing, trying to get people to reveal their Social Security numbers to sign up for the law known as Obamacare.

Anyone can be victim to financial scams, but one segment of the population is an especially popular target — senior citizens.

Scott Morrison, the owner of three local franchises of BrightStar Care, a national company that provides medical and nonmedical care to people in their homes, called this health care scam “the flavor of the day.”

“We are having to continually educate caregivers on a number of issues,” said Morrison, who said his company sends out email blasts and training to ensure nurses and personal care workers discuss financial scams with their clients

In 2010, Americans age 60 and up lost $2.9 billion in financial abuse (which can include everything from credit card theft to Medicare fraud). That’s up 12 percent from 2008, according to a MetLife study. Sham telemarketers direct between 56 percent and 80 percent of their calls at older people, according to studies by the Consumer Law Center.

On a recent morning in Canton, a handful of community leaders — from Cherokee County law enforcement to a victim’s advocate to a woman who runs a senior center in Woodstock — discussed ways to raise awareness and help protect seniors. About six years ago, they created SALT (Seniors and Law Enforcement Together). Forsyth County also has a SALT.

Meeting monthly, the community leaders plan seminars and an annual Senior Extravaganza, and they talk about getting the word out to senior centers about new scams and ongoing ones: Con artists call by phone, saying you’ve won a big prize — but you must pay (and pay now!) for postage, handling and other fees. They show up on your doorstep, pretending to be with the utility company. One person distracts the homeowner, asking about the property line or about power lines or water pressure in the house. The other person goes inside the house and grabs a few items — cash, jewelry — and then they take off.

Jan Masey, a coordinator for the senior center in Woodstock, posts information about scams on the center’s bulletin board.

“They will come in and say, ‘I got one of those calls again,’ ” Masey said. The calls that say you must act now or the offer won’t be good, the ones that demand money, a credit card number or bank account number.

The senior center also plays host to insurance company representatives and other financial experts to help seniors avoid falling prey to fraudulent scams.

Experts say seniors are targeted because they most likely own their own home, possess excellent credit and have a “nest egg.” Today’s seniors were generally raised to be kind, helpful and trusting — qualities exploited by con artists. (In other words, seniors are less likely to just hang up on someone).

Age can affect memory, which can make seniors poor witnesses. They are also sometimes embarrassed to report the crime. They may worry that family members will think they no longer have the mental ability to live on their own.

Cherokee County Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Baker said financial scams can be hard to prosecute. Often, an elderly victim doesn’t have a name or tag number; the physical descriptions are nonspecific.