How to Protect Older Adults From Scams: A Guide for Families

BE aware! Scams can happen to you! How to protect yourself and your parent, grandparent.

Why Older Adults Are Often Targeted by Scammers

Scams tend to target older adults for these reasons:

1. Older adults are thought to have more financial resources
2. They are more trusting and polite
3. Greater likelihood of cognitive decline, which makes them more susceptible to the scam
4. Less technology savvy
5. Less likely to report the scam due to embarrassment
6. More likely to respond to urgency and
7. Loneliness.
   

While all of this is true, on any given day, anyone one can be a victim of a scam. It is wise to stay up to date and review the increasing threat of scams. I recently learned from a friend of mine that her husband fell for a scam. At age 72, “Bob” does not have cognitive decline but was pulled into the phone call by the urgency of the caller. Bob’s adult son, a police officer was shocked to learn from his mother that his father was scammed and was upset that he did not tell him. Bob felt embarrassed and humiliated by falling for this scam that he kept it from his son for a long time.

How We Can Help Protect Older Adults From Scams

It is our duty as Aging Life Care Managers, adult children, and grandchildren to maintain a trusting relationship with our older family members. We can be the “safe” person to talk to about these issues. We can provide reassurance that they can talk to us about many issues, such as money, feeling uncertain from phone calls and mail they receive. And most of all, how different it is now from when they grew up. It is beneficial to remind older adults:

1. Do not give your Social Security number to anyone over the phone, even if they ask you
2. Do not agree to buy a gift card for someone
3. Do not believe you won a sweepstake or lottery
4. It is best not to answer an unknown number, let them leave a voice message so you can be safe.

Remind them how they can stay safe: If someone calls and you don’t know them or the phone number, you can just hang up. You do not have to be polite and be kept on the phone. It is recommend having a “safe person” in your life. This is the person you know you can turn to for advice, and to discuss your feelings after a phone call, text or mail you received that made you feel uneasy. This is a wonderful way to provide a safety net for older adults.

From my own experience, my son is my safe person. I have been driving to Ohio monthly to care for my mom on the Ohio and Pennsylvania turnpike. After one of the trips, I received several texts from Pennsylvania Turnpike that I had not paid the tolls. I was tired and worried that my EZ pass did not work. During a phone call with my son, I told him that I owe money for unpaid tolls. He told me about the new scam alert about Turnpike tolls and not to respond to the texts or pay the fine. I am relieved and safe.

Keep the dialogue about scams a frequent conversation, updating them when you hear of new scams. This normalizes the conversation and lets them know we are all at risk. I have told older adults that the people who are perpetrating the scams excel at scamming people out of their money. While their goal is to devise new scams, our goal is to stay vigilant and prevent falling for scams.

Statistics show that older adults who experience loneliness are more likely to be scammed. This is a good reminder for all of us to check in on our family members and neighbors with regular visits, texts, and phone calls. Share what you have heard about recent scams to open up a dialogue with the older adults in your life. It is best to normalize that we are all at risk of being scammed in today’s world.

If you want added support protecting your loved one’s safety and independence, contact Corewood Care today. We are here to help families navigate challenges like loneliness and changing care needs every step of the way.