Seniors are always popular targets for scammers, but the attempts to scam seniors can really increase during the fall and winter. If your senior parent is living at home and you’re worried that they might be the victim of a scam one of the ways you can prevent that is to share these tips with them. Also, if your senior loved one has senior home care services, always have the senior home care provider answer the phone or answer the door. When scammers realize that they’re not dealing with a potentially vulnerable senior they usually give up quickly and try another victim.
By recognizing that something is a scam right away seniors lower the chances that they might give away some valuable piece of information by accident. Four ways seniors and their senior home care aides can spot scams fast are:
Asking For Money
No reputable company is going to ask for money on the phone or by text. If your senior loved one gets a call or a text saying that they have won a trip or some big prize and they need to put down a credit card or some money to hold that prize or pay for processing fees it’s a scam. Explain to your senior parent that they should never have to give a credit card number or give money in order to get a prize or something that is supposed to be free.
Asking For A Social Security Number
No company like a bank or Amazon will ever ask for a Social Security number or personal information like that on the phone, in an email, or through a text. A company may ask for an account number which means the account that your senior loved one has with that company not a bank account number, credit card number, or Social Security number. It’s never a good idea to give out that information.
Claiming To Be From A Government Agency
Another popular scam is for someone to call a senior and say they are from the IRS or Social Security or some other government agency and claim that the senior owes money that they have to pay right away or they will be arrested. No government organization will ever ask for financial information or payment over the phone. The IRS, Social Security Administration, and other government agencies will always send letters in the mail if a payment is due.
Asking For Gift Cards
This is a scam that happens a lot during the holiday season. Someone will call claiming to be a friend, cousin, or even a grandchild and say that they need gift cards purchased for them. Your senior parent should understand that no one that calls and asks for gift cards is their relative or friend. They are scammers who want gift cards because the gift cards are untraceable and impossible to get refunded. You can prevent your senior parent from falling for this scam by telling them you will purchase all the gifts for friends or grandchildren or their senior home care provider will do it.