I apologize for the repetition of some of my recent posts. I have been experiencing some technical glitches with the systems that share my blog posts across different platforms, especially to Facebook. My Facebook account was hacked in January and this resulted in several posting failures. As a result, I am reposting a few articles from my blog, Elderly Fraud Recovery Help. I appreciate your understanding and patience!

 The following is from January 30, 2012:

 Sometimes I wondered if it would really happen.

 I'm happy to report that I have reached a big milestone in my work with elderly fraud victims and their families...

 I finished the book! Yes, Scammed! Three Steps to Help Your Elder Parent and Yourself will be available this summer.

 I got it done on February 10, and then went on a cruise the next day to rest, recover, and celebrate the book and my birthday. I am delighted with how it turned out, and I hope you will be as well. A good friend of mine who is a professional author and publisher gave it high praise, and my own publisher is thrilled. We both think it will help many people who are dealing with the aftermath of their parent's fraud victimization. We've already started the editing process, and all the other work to get it ready will take until June or July.

 I'll keep you posted on how it's going, and thanks for your patience while I worked very hard to finish this up.

 Art            

 It's called the "'Well, okay' Syndrome."

 The report describes how certain implicit dynamics can work against an elder. Many times a grandparent or other senior has a natural, strong desire to help out a younger family member who's having a hard time. Almost every parent and grandparent I've known has been glad to help out when they can, and I admire this generosity of spirit. Problems can arise, however, when the elder keeps giving more and more money to a family member, using phrases like, "Well, okay, I'll give you more money this time, but that's it." Before long, the elder is being hit up for more money, and the cycle starts over again: "Well, okay, but this is the last time." And on and on and...

 Over time this becomes a form of serial financial exploitation, or even abuse. Elders may end up giving more money than is prudent for their situation and have to do without something important to their wellbeing. Their admirable quality ends up getting them in trouble, and usually doesn't really help the struggling person in the long term.

 I encourage caregivers and concerned adults around elders to watch out for this pattern. Help your senior understand the difference between genuine help for a struggling but deserving person, and enabling bad behavior and choices. Teach them about setting good boundaries on requests for money, and how to offer alternative forms of help and support.

 Help our seniors be able to say "no way" to the "Well, okay" Syndrome.

 Thanks for reading,

 Art 

 According to an article by Sid Kirchheimer on AARP's website, researchers and experts describe the negative effects of well-known problems such as memory loss and loneliness in making seniors more vulnerable to frauds and scams. In terms of memory loss, the article points out how scammers can use memory loss against a victim by repeating a lie to them so often they believe it. For example, telling a person repeatedly, "You forgot to pay me!" can cause them to doubt themselves and end up paying double. Mr. Kirchheimer also writes about how an older person's cognitive ability often wanes after 2pm or so, which is why crooks so often seem to call their marks in the late afternoon or evening. Sneaky and exploitative, isn't it?

 Loneliness is another big factor in scam victimization, as I've written here and in my book. I thought this quote was particularly interesting:

 "It's loneliness or feeling undervalued that boosts a senior's risk of falling for scams by 30 percent, suggests new research by Peter A. Lichtenberg of Wayne State University's Institute of Gerontology. Both states of mind, he says, 'fall under the need of having status in society and those needs not being met. It comes down to feeling socially isolated.'"

 30 percent is a huge increase in risk for scam victimization, and it points yet again to the importance of making sure elders feel connected and valued in their social systems.

 The most intriguing part of the article for me, however, was the section in which the conventional wisdom that elders' tendency to be more trusting makes them vulnerable to victimization may not be as accurate as we thought. Here's another quote:

 "...studies find that many older people are in fact better at detecting lies than younger folks. Still, older people 'tend to be more patriotic and more religious,' says neuropsychologist Stacey Wood of Scripps College, traits which the bad guys can sometimes exploit. Patriotism can open the door to scammers who pretend to be from a government agency or a veterans group. Being religious, meanwhile, can make people vulnerable to cons involving fake charities or other supposed good causes."

 I still observe, based on my own interactions with seniors in scam prevention trainings and other settings, that they often are more trusting of people. It may be they just aren't as trusting as we've thought, and the real reasons for their vulnerability are more complex than we've realized. Mr. Kirchheimer goes on to write that research shows that age can impair a person's ability to spot red flags for fraud that are more obvious to younger people. He cites a possible explanation: "Compared to other age groups, older adults tend to have a more positive outlook." It just goes to show that an optimistic outlook isn't always a good thing, especially when dealing with criminals.

 Here's the link to the full article: http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-02-2011/scams-trap-older-adults.html

 Thanks for reading,

 Art 

 Yesterday I was giving a talk about identity theft against elders for a group of hospice nurses. As I was talking about the importance of making sure the elder's private information and credit cards are locked up when caregivers or home repair people are coming over, I had a sudden flash of insight. It occurred to me that my cool new smartphone, with its easy-to-use and remarkably clear camera, could potentially be used to take pictures of a credit or debit card. I took pictures of a couple of my own cards to see how clear the images would be, and they were very readable with no effort at all.

 I did some research on this, and found that people have been writing about this on the internet. Sometimes a warning email circulates. A hoax-debunking website I looked at said there were no reports of fraud of this type happening. However, this was all based on the idea that someone in a store could casually walk by and snap a picture of an unsuspecting victim's card and then use the image to go on a shopping spree.

 What I'm referring to is the ease with which a dishonest caregiver or other visitor could snap a photo of a carelessly stored debit or credit card, front and back, while an elder is in a different room or asleep. This could possibly happen in a case with an elder who has some sort of medication-induced fuzziness, too. The image of the card would be useful for online shopping, among other things.

 What this means, then, is it's that much more vital to keep your parent's credit/debit cards locked up if someone is coming over. A criminal could easily take a photo in the right circumstance and the card would never go missing. A huge balance could show up on an account very quickly. Thankfully, I'm certain the credit card companies would view this as credit card fraud and not hold the person liable for more than $50, but they could clean out a person's account if the crook got a photo of a debit card. Beyond that, there's the "hassle factor" of having to clean up the mess.

 Thanks for reading,

 Art  

 "My first suggestion to others would be to try and get as involved as they can in their parents' business. I know it is difficult at times as it may seem you are taking their independence away, but hopefully they know you mean well and are looking out for their best interest. In the case of (a recent identity theft case) it was a home health care worker who was only there one day to take care of the mother. The daughter found out and then requested credit reports and filed fraud alerts, and it turned out the suspect attempted to open numerous other accounts in her mother's name. Since then she has told the home health care people that she needs the names and any other possible information on the workers that are coming through her parent's house. I believe she has also started a sign up sheet at her mother's residence where the worker must sign in and out with the date and times they were there as well as their name so she knows everyone who is coming in contact with her parents."    

"Her mother’s personal information was in the nightstand drawer in her bedroom next to where her mother was staying.  Whenever possible, leave all identifying information out of view and reach of others.  Unfortunately a lot of people get into this business just for the opportunity to commit fraud. Numerous people who work in this industry have criminal records, and people can get copies of their own criminal backgrounds for a fee.  I suggest to Missouri residents that they look at a website called Casenet at https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/base/welcome.do. , which is also free and easily accessible.  It provides both civil and criminal case information brought against people in the State of Missouri." (Note: If you live elsewhere, take a look at www.criminalsearches.com). 

"My other suggestion to children/family of the elderly is to contact the local police department where their parents/elderly family member lives and leave their information (name, relation, address and phone numbers, and the more people the better) for contact.  We can log that information into the computer so that if anything would come up with their parent, whether it be fraud or a health emergency, we would have that information readily available to contact them." 

Another detective, from North Carolina, said in a recent news article that it's very important to report suspected scam phone calls: "If it was me, I would contact my phone company immediately and see if they can start a trace on the line,” she said. “Then I would call my local police department and have them file a report.” This may help prevent others from being ripped off.

In addition, I encourage elders to share the news with their neighbors and friends. This is the third "R" I talk about in my "3 R's of Scam Prevention": Reaching out. I vigorously encourage elder targets to share the story of the scam call, email, or any other contact they have with unknown people who ask them for personal information or money. Spreading the word to their friends and neighbors helps them feel good about trying to help others, and reinforces their sense of competence in resisting scams and frauds.

Thanks for reading,

These kinds of situations are excruciatingly painful and difficult. The sense of betrayal and violation, anger, loss, and sadness can be overwhelming for everyone touched by elder financial exploitation and abuse. Families can be torn apart, resulting in broken relationships and years of estrangement. There may also be irreparable damage to the victim(s), both financially and emotionally.  

According to research from the National Criminal Justice Reporting Service, about 60% of perpetrators were relatives of the victim, most often an adult child. It’s sad to me that the very people who are supposed to be looking out for an elder in their time of need are often the ones exploiting them. The quote about the banality of evil comes to mind.

In terms of prevention, each situation is different, so I can’t suggest a simple formula. Nevertheless, there are some general ideas to consider:

As I've been working on my book, I talked to my own financial advisor about my interest in this subject, and he told me about a couple of examples he had seen recently. The take-away message in both of them was “The more eyes on the money, the better.” He also spoke, as have other financial advisors and estate planning attorneys with whom I’ve talked, about the idea of “layers of protection.” This can mean practices like one sibling being the joint owner of a parent’s bank account, but a different sibling or other trusted party watching the account statements.

A big source of problems can come from providing financial assistance and loans to family members. While most elders want to help out a struggling child or grandchild and find this gratifying,  I encourage the elder and their family to think very carefully about what they’re getting into. I recommend a written agreement which spells out the details, and that the giver’s needs for reimbursement always be among the top considerations. Think of this as a contract of sorts, which may carry with it rights to seek legal remedies if need be.

I think it’s also important to pay attention to who has access to the senior. Think about them and their situation in terms of potential risks, which could include things like financial problems or excessive debt, drug/alcohol abuse, overspending, or gambling addiction. Remember: The more (trustworthy) eyes on your parent’s money the better.

This is a very complex subject, and I hope this will get you started thinking about it for your own situation. Remember, for more good books about preventing financial abuse and exploitation, along with scams and frauds, see my Elderly Fraud Recovery Help Resources Store on Amazon. 

Thanks for reading,

Art

• Recognizing

• Responding

• Reaching out

 Part of the problem which contributes to elders' scam victimization is their too-frequent isolation from others. If your Mom or Dad doesn't have someone with which to check things out (" I got this weird call telling me I was in line to inherit a bunch of money from a long-lost relative. What do you think?"), the chances of their being ripped off rise dramatically. They can buy into the criminals' destructive bogus belief system they are using to manipulate the victim into doing what the crooks want.

 Another way reaching out can help an elder avoid victimization is through letting someone know they need some help with a situation which may be getting out of hand. For instance, a lady at a recent talk I gave told me about a handyman she's been employing who has been pressuring her to give him more money. I helped this lady figure out some ideas for how to handle it and who she could turn to in her family for more help.

 We're social creatures, and we all need people to help us out sometimes. Even dedicated introverts need a person or two they can call on when things get confusing or overwhelming. Our trusted family and closest friends want to be there for us, and if an elder doesn't have family or friends then they need one of the many dedicated professionals out there trying to help them. Reaching out when facing a potential scam draws on the power of the human need for attachment to help keep a senior safe. I hope you will regularly ask your parent to be sure to let you know if someone sketchy tries to get their attention.

 Thanks for reading,

 Art