Elderly Americans are too often the targets of financial scams. Although people of any age may become victims of fraud, scammers often specifically target seniors because they are frequently more trusting and may not be as cognitively aware as younger people. Whether the fraudsters enact their schemes via phone, email, or in person, it’s important to be aware of the most common types of scams so you can recognize and prevent them.
Different Types of Scams
Some of the most common scams that target seniors include:
- Charitable donations. A scammer may play on an elderly person’s philanthropic nature and elicit a donation to a fake “charity.” In some extreme cases, they may even get seniors to include dubious organizations in their wills.
- Impersonating loved ones. In this devious scam, the perpetrator will call an elderly person and pretend to be their grandchild, or another loved one. Once they’ve won the person’s confidence, they will say that they are in trouble and need money. What grandparent could refuse their grandchild?
- Internal Revenue Service. When you get a call from someone claiming to be the IRS, chances are you’ll take notice. But the Internal Revenue Service never makes direct phone calls, so if an elderly loved one gets such a call, it will always be a scammer trying to wrest some money or sensitive information from the person.
- Internet fraud. Because seniors may not be as savvy when it comes to using the internet as younger people, they are more likely to be the target of various online schemes. These may include email or phishing schemes that ask the person to reveal personal information, or to send money (sometimes in the form of pre-paid gift cards). They may also include pop-ups that ask the person to download a fake anti-virus program. Once they download the program, it will steal all of their information.
- Lottery scams. A common scam preying on seniors involves informing the person that they have won a lottery or a sweepstakes. The scammer tells the person that they just need to collect a certain amount of money first to cover the taxes, or that they need sensitive information. Needless to say, the person ends up paying dearly, and never collects a penny of their supposed winnings.
Hiring a Professional Fiduciary to Stop Scams in Their Tracks
With all these scams threatening the financial well-being of our beloved seniors, it’s important to do everything you can to protect your elderly loved ones. Educating them is a great first step, but for more protection, hiring a professional fiduciary can be a great option. A fiduciary is an individual who is charged with assuming responsibility for the affairs of another person. Although a fiduciary can be a loved one or trusted friend, in many cases the safest bet is to hire a professional fiduciary. A professional fiduciary has the time, availability, systems, and insights to ensure loved one’s assets are protected and preserved. Hiring an objective professional fiduciary can also help ease any family conflict that may result from choosing one person over another.
By naming a professional fiduciary as your loved one’s financial power of attorney, you can rest easy knowing that their finances and personal affairs will be looked after by a knowledgeable, accountable, and ethical professional. With the elderly population so vulnerable to financial scams and fraud, hiring a professional fiduciary is a great way to protect them.
At Santa Barbara Fiduciary, we have many years of experience looking after the finances of elderly individuals and acting as agents for clients of all ages. Call us at 805-308-6842 and get started protecting your loved ones today.
Contact Santa Barbara Fiduciary
As you make progress towards reaching your estate planning resolutions, you’ll be faced with some challenging decisions. Let us help make those decisions a bit easier! Contact us to schedule a consultation and learn more about how Santa Barbara Fiduciary can help safeguard your life’s work.
