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District attorney offers warning about scams targeting the elderly
Incidents of con artists targeting the elderly are increasing in numbers and severity in Lake County and throughout the state, and Lake County's district attorney is urging seniors to be on the alert.
Anderson said that in recent months several local seniors have been the victims of fraud and financial crimes by con artists, resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars.
Among the reasons seniors are targeted by con artists is that they have built substantial assets, are trusting and like to talk to people, they are easy to find at home, and they can be swayed by fear and fast talking, Anderson said.
Often times the scammers are criminals posing as legitimate businessmen, government officials or trusted people and companies, he explained.
Anderson said the following are just some of the most common scams that not only target the elderly but all consumers into giving up money property or valuable personal information:
– Prize or lottery frauds: The consumer will receive a call informing them they have won a prize or lottery, all they have to do is send money to pay for fees, taxes, shipping and handling or other charges. Of course the consumer has not won anything.
– Charitable donations: Con artists disguised as charities collecting donations or money when in actuality they have no connection to a legitimate charity.
– Friend or relative in distress: The caller or Internet con artist will contact you posing as a friend or relative that is stranded in another state or country. They ask for you to wire them money so they can get home. This is frequently used against seniors by the con artist, who poses as a grandchild.
– Counterfeit checks: The consumer would sell an item over the Internet and the buyer will send a fake or counterfeit cashier check for an amount over the purchase price. The con artist would then ask the consumer to send or wire the difference back to them.
– Medicare Scam: The caller will promise to help seniors enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan that does not exist; all the senior has to do is pay them a fee for this service.
– Bereavement scam: The con artist will call a senior who has recently lost a spouse saying that the deceased spouse has a debt outstanding. The caller asks for a blank check or credit card to pay off the debt.
– Online dating or social networking: In this scam the con artist will contact you on the Internet and develop an Internet relationship. Once the relationship is developed he will ask you to send him money for various reasons, in the name of love.
– Facebook or Craigslist scams: Items are placed on Facebook or Craigslist for sale using big bold letters, such as free computers. However, after reading the fine print the item often costs a lot more than expected.
– Need your help scams: Here the caller poses as a police officer or bank officer asking for help investigating a possible fraud. They ask you to withdraw cash from your account or provide your banking information.
– Foreign government officer: In this Internet scam the con artist will report he is a former government official from another country and ask the target to deposit millions of dollars into their account. The con artist will ask the person to send money necessary to complete the transaction or ask for their banking information.
– Make money from your home: The advertisement will read that the consumer can make a lot of money from the comfort of their home. However, once into the scam it may cost the consumer a lot of money without any profit.
– Home improvement scams: Someone calls or knocks on your door offering to fix your roof, driveway or car, but never returns after receiving a deposit.
– House rental scams: The consumer will answer an ad for rental houses, often time seeing pictures of beautiful homes at low rent. The consumer will send them money for deposits or rent. However, either the house does not exist, is not for rent or the call is not the landlord.
These are some of the hundreds of scams being used on seniors and consumers on a daily basis, said Anderson.
“We urge seniors and consumers to never send or wire money to anyone unless you are sure of the source, especially if the money is to be wired to another country or state,” he said. “People should be extremely skeptical of anyone wanting personal or financial information from you. If the call or offer seems too good to be true, it probably is a scam.”
Anderson said he strongly suggests that people keep the line of communication open with their senior family members. “Have conversations with your parents and seniors about how they are managing their money and the calls they are receiving.”
He encouraged anyone with questions or concerns about these scams to call his office at 707-263-2251 and speak to an investigator.