Scams Targeting Senior Citizens

Senior Citizens are probably the most trusting of all adult age groups which is why they are targeted more than any other. It is for this reason that we must protect them. By telling the senior citizens ion your family about these popular scams you can help them avoid potentially devastating dangers.

There are so many that I can not list them all here, I wish I could, but the fact is that there is a new scan born every minute. We can all do our fair share and protect those that need it. In this case... the elderly.

Scams Aimed at Senior Citizens: Are People Really THAT Low?

For all of those trusting and quite sheltered people that ask this question: "Wow, are there really people that low to steal from the elderly?" The answer is YES!! Every day! But the good news is, you can help stop it from happening to your friends and family. If we all did our part then there wouldn't be such a thriving business in it for these evil sharks. Take a look below and see a few of the scams that are specifically targeting senior citizens and be sure to talk to all those in your life about being safe.

A con man follows an elderly woman home from a local bank, knocks on the door and tells her that he is a Bank Examiner launching an investigation on the branch where she is a customer. He convinces her by telling her of the last time she banked and how he wouldn't know that she was a loyal and trustworthy client if he wasn't in charge of the records. Next he tells her that there is a huge problem with one of the tellers stealing from the bank and making counterfeit documents to cover her tracks. That's when the scam artist goes in for the kill. He says that he needs her help to catch the thief- by making a withdrawal from her account and giving him both the money and the bank statement he will then accredit the amount back into her account where it belongs and he can enter it into evidence. Yep, it is that easy. This is one scam that has worked so well and has various different elements that the con man can go with, depending on how elaborate he feels like lying to the victim, that it has been used for many years.

Fake charities are also a big deal. Senior citizens are very susceptible to the pleadings of fake charities claiming to help their favorite cause. It is always important to check out the charities listed on the flyers, pamphlets, etc. to see if they are a real and reputable non-profit organization. In some cases they will be a very good charity but they know nothing of the flyer, brochure, etc that had been sent. This means that the con men are using the charity name but are giving a false address to collect the generous donations.

Medicare and Medicaid fraud is an easy scam to fall for. The con artists will call senior citizens and tell them that they will get FREE check ups and tests or they will convince them that they 'need' certain equipment. All that is required is the health care card number to verify that they are indeed a member and presto they have pulled off a fraudulent, yet profitable scam.

Living trusts and burial plots are very common because the conniving, lying, manipulative swindlers know that the elderly worry about these things as they near the end of their lives.

Scams Aimed at Senior Citizens: Closing

Now that you know the most popular ways that senior citizens are targeted every day perhaps you could spend a few moments talking with those in your life about the importance of being cautious. It only takes a moment and you could save someone from being ripped off beyond belief.