Tips To Fight Senior Fraud

We all want our loved ones to be safe and happy but there are times that we simply aren't able to make sure that this happens. A big problem that people face is fraud however when it comes to the elderly, fraud is a much greater risk. It's difficult to know the full financial cost of elder fraud as much of it goes unreported, however it's estimated that it's in the region of $40 billion in the US alone. Unfortunately fraud is actually going up and therefore we need to understand what we can all do to stamp it out. So here are a few tips to help you:-

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True...

Be very wary about who you give your financial details to. Bank accounts, credit cards and social security numbers should all be considered delicate. If anyone is trying to "give" you money in the form of a bank transfer or check be very wary if you don't understand why they want to do this. This is especially true if the money comes with some conditions such as transferring part of the amount to a different account or involves meeting or phoning someone.

Avoid Cold Callers

If someone you don't know phones you up or knocks at the door, try to spend as little time talking to them as possible. This might sound tough but they could be trying to get information out of you. Alternatively they could be pushing a product that you don't want or need and it might be way over-priced. This can be the case with mobility scooters and home repairs. You should never buy anything that you don't feel comfortable and you are entitled to some time to think about it. If the sales person says they will take you to the bank to withdraw money to pay for the product or service then this should cause major alarm bells to ring in your mind. Threaten to phone the police if you can't get rid of them. Also, if you live on your own, never say so because you might be taken advantage of even more.

Take Time With Forms

If you are ever asked to sign any forms then make sure you are allowed plenty of time to look them over. Ask a friend or family member to look at it too just to make sure. Otherwise you could end up being locked into a contract for a product or service you don't want. You certainly shouldn't invite door-to-door sales people into your home because it's very difficult to get them to leave. They will try every trick in the book for you to buy their product and many people simply agree to whatever they say just to get rid of them.

Know Who You Are Letting Into Your Home

A scam that is sometimes employed involves the criminals driving around an area looking for a road where there is working going on in terms of digging up the road etc. The criminals will then turn up at your home wearing a high-vis jacket claiming to be doing work on the water pipes and could they come in to make sure that everything is working OK. Because you can see that road is being dug up you automatically assume they these people are genuine. Unfortunately whilst one of the criminals is distracting you upstairs by running the water, the other one is stealing your possessions.

There are so many different things that we can all do to help prevent senior fraud and ultimately knowledge is power. So make sure you learn everything you can on this subject to increase your chances to fighting off those scammers.