Losses mount from scams targeting older Americans [Charleston Gazette, The (WV)]
By David Crary; David Crary The Associated Press | |
Proquest LLC |
"The true con artists, who are in the business of making money off older folks through devious means, are very good at what they do," said
Elder financial abuse encompasses a wide range of tactics, some perpetrated by relatives or trusted advisers, some by strangers via telemarketing and Internet-based scams.
Researchers say only a fraction of the abuse gets reported to the authorities, often because victims are too befuddled or embarrassed to speak up. Even with the reported cases, data is elusive because most federal crime statistics don't include breakdowns of victims' ages.
Nonetheless, there's ample research to convey the scope of this scourge.
A federally funded study conducted for the
A report last year by insurer
"Elder financial abuse is an intolerable crime resulting in losses of human rights and dignity,"
Older Americans are by no means the only target of schemers and scammers, but experts say they have distinctive characteristics that often make them a tempting prey.
Some have disabilities that leave them dependent on others for help; others are unsophisticated about certain financial matters or potential pitfalls on the Internet. Many are relatively isolated and susceptible to overtures from seemingly friendly strangers.
"That's why telemarketing scams are so successful," said
Coupled with these factors, most older Americans, even in these troubled economic times, have tangible assets in the form of homeownership, pensions and
Another factor is the older generation's patriotism and respect for authority, according to
"A lot of the scammers pretend to be with the government - they say they're calling from the
There's a multitude of scam scenarios, some of them new twists on old ploys.
Among the current variations:
* The Grandparent Scam: Impostors, often calling from abroad, pose as a grandchild in need of cash to cope with some sort of emergency, perhaps an arrest or an accident. The grandparent is asked to send money and urged not to tell anyone else about the transfer.
Police in
In another version, scammers pose as soldiers who've been serving in
* The Lottery Scam: Scammers inform their target that they have won a lottery or sweepstakes and need to make a payment to obtain the supposed prize. The targets may be sent a fake prize-money check they can deposit in their bank account. Before that check bounces, the criminals will collect money for supposed fees or taxes on the prize.
Police in
Many recent lottery scam calls have come from
* The Toilet Paper Scam: Fraudsters often try to convince gullible targets into paying exorbitant sums for unneeded products and services, as exemplified by a scam uncovered in
According to U.S. investigators, salespeople claiming their company was affiliated with federal agencies told their elderly victims that they needed special toilet paper to comply with new regulations and avoid ruining their septic tanks. In all, prosecutors said the company scammed about
Three suspects in that case, all from
"It's very hard for us to investigate overseas - the likelihood of us finding them and extraditing them is slim," said Turner, the
Greenwood says he's often spoken by phone with overseas scammers, initially pretending to be a potential victim, then revealing who he is.
"They're not in the least affected. They just move on to the next call," he said. "If they're outside the U.S., they're home free."
Nonetheless, Greenwood hopes his fellow prosecutors nationwide will become more aggressive in pursuing charges when they can catch a suspected scammer.
"The cliche is that these are victims with poor memories or who are reluctant to testify," Greenwood said. "We've found we can overcome that. Once you get them into court, the victims have such strong jury appeal that most of time the defense just pleads out."
Cases of financial elder abuse surface at all levels of U.S. society. For example,
"I felt trapped, scared, used and frustrated," Rooney told a special
For elderly scam victims of modest means, the results can be catastrophic.
"The abuse can leave a person devastated," Turner said. "They're not young enough to grow a nest egg again - the nest egg is gone."
Even small-scale scams can have long-lasting impact.
Now in her mid-80s,
Delighted at the chance to give her brother and his wife the cruise as a gift, Langa agreed to mail off more than
"I just took them at their word," she said. "There was no such thing and no way of tracking it."
Since then, Langa, who has a master's degree and work experience in broadcasting, teaching and public relations, has updated herself on potential exploitation and how to avoid it. Among other programs, she participated in two workshops developed by the
Her advice to others: "Don't get excited with an offer and jump into anything without thoroughly investigating first."
For prosecutors and other anti-scam experts, the most wrenching cases often involve financial abuse by an older person's adult children or other family members who'd been put in positions of trust.
"These people think they're entitled to something - they say, 'I just wanted an advance on my inheritance,'" said
She says this type of financial exploitation is often accompanied by physical abuse, and yet many elderly victims balk at reporting it.
"There's the embarrassment factor - no one wants to see relatives prosecuted," Markarian said. "And there's fear of losing your independence - being put in a nursing home. A lot of the times, it's the offender making that threat."
Markarian added another note of caution.
"We're seeing not just older victims but older perpetrators," she said. "Not all old people are sweet."
A case in point: The estranged father of actress
Financial abuse by family members and trusted advisers will be among the targets of the federal
"You ask if there's someone in the audience who had something like this happen, someone will stand up and have the courage to tell their story, and you'll see others nodding their heads in recognition," Humphrey said. "It's out there - and people are beginning to have a greater confidence to speak out about it."
One of the policy advisers working with Humphrey is
She said most states have developed appropriate laws for dealing with elder abuse, and the key question is whether there are enough investigators and other resources to carry them out effectively.
She likened the challenge to a whack-a-mole game.
"As soon as law enforcement or regulatory agencies go after one scam, it's so easy for the con artist to morph with the next best one," she said.
One needed step, according to abuse-prevention advocates, is getting money for the federal Elder Justice Act. It was passed by
The
Special Agent
Among older victims, Savage said, there's often a hesitancy to report the crimes.
"A lot of people are ashamed of the victimization and don't want to come forward for fear that they'll be seen silly, that they should have known better," he said.
Savage acknowledged that local law enforcement agencies are sometimes reluctant to pursue scam investigations if the perpetrators are abroad. He said the
Looking ahead, there are mixed views on whether the Baby Boomers, now mostly in their 50s and early 60s, will be less prone to scams and exploitation than their elders.
"They're more assertive, questioning - certainly they've grown up on computers and are more savvy with them, so there is hope," Hurme said. "But I don't think the bad guys are going to go away - they're going to adjust their pitches as the demographics change."
"They may be Boomers," she said. "But financial capacity is the often first kind to decline."
AP file photo
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