Is Your Loved One A Victim Of A Scam?

Unfortunately senior citizens have always been a target of scammers. We all have been privy to too many stories about a senior citizen who was duped out of their life’s saving, or paid way too much money for a product they never needed. And now, with the Internet, these types of criminals have another way into the lives and financial information of our Seniors.

There are a multitude of scams aimed at senior citizens; too many to count. But these professional con artists have found many scams that seem to have a higher rate of success.

Modern day scammers are savvy, and it’s difficult to keep up with all of their inventions; but we can warn our senior citizens of some of the most common fraudulent scams that could be headed to their front door, their email inboxes, or in the next cell phone call.

There a few common sense reasons why seniors are a huge target for scammers:

• People over the age of 60 are more likely to have a savings, or what they call, a nest egg; money stashed away for a rainy day.

• Senior citizens were raised in an era where politeness was of utmost importance. So unlike many of us, they will be less likely to hang up on a caller, or say no to a request.

• Older citizens are less likely to report fraud because they are unsure of how to report it and to whom; but many also feel ashamed that they were “taken” by these scammers.

• Many con artists know that it is often true, that a senior citizen will find it more difficult to be a credible witness. They will be more scrutinized because of age-related illnesses, like dementia, poor eyesight, and poor hearing.

The Rolling Lab Scam The “rolling lab” scam targets senior citizens by telling them that they are required to take medical tests for doctor’s evaluations.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, these are some of the most common scams geared towards seniors:

Many seniors fall for this scam because they are often under the care of many doctors and specialists, and will not know one medical test from the next. These fake tests are then billed at high costs to their medical insurance providers.

Medical Equipment Scams Medical equipment companies will call seniors and offer them “free” use of, or a “trial” use of a medical product or piece of equipment, and then bill the insurance company for the costs. Many of these products are unneeded by the senior, or worse yet, never even received.

Medicare FraudThe scope of Medicare fraud encompasses all of the scams above. Medicare fraud is the largest category of scams that target senior citizens.

Medical product and equipment companies have a wide range of opportunities to connect with seniors; and unfortunately this gives them more access to their targets.

All seniors should be wary of products being pushed upon them via email or telephone, or callers who can’t accept “No” for an answer. Rechecking and verifying all medical requests and testing is crucial, if seniors are going to avoid being violated by these persuasive con artists.

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