No one ever wants to become the victim of a scam; but with criminals using increasingly sophisticated methods to dupe people out of their money, it’s becoming harder to protect those assets. This is especially true with elderly people who rely on a fixed income when making financial decisions. A scam targeting their bank accounts or credit cards can have a devastating effect and can even constitute as elder abuse in some situations.
But scams targeting the elderly do not just occur here in California, as you’re probably already aware. They happen in states across the nation, often with the same devastating results. Such was the case for a 78-year-old Florida woman who is still trying to sort out her bank accounts after becoming the victim of an aggressive phone scam.
The woman says she was contacted by a person claiming to be from the IRS. He convinced her to load prepaid cards with money then give him the numbers over the phone. Once she had transferred more than $5,000 to the man, the call ended. It wasn’t until afterwards that she learned that it was all a scam and that he hadn’t been from the IRS at all.
A scam such as this can put a person at high risk of becoming a victim because scammers often pretend to be in positions of authority and threaten people with jail time if they do not comply to their demands.
Those trying to actively avoid becoming a victim of nursing home abuse would be wise to consider financial scams as a form of elder abuse as well. Because while protecting your physical well being is important, so too is protecting your assets, especially considering how important they are in your day-to-day life.
Source: WSVN News, “Elderly woman targeted in IRS impersonation scam,” June 3, 2014
