As more scams are reported in the media, new perpetrators take steps to start a new grift to take advantage of the elderly. The cons are often used to collect financial data to get into bank accounts, credit card accounts, and acquire the senior’s Social Security benefits. Elderly individuals who live alone and don’t have many visitors are the perfect targets for the criminals. By learning new ways to protect seniors, families can stop an elderly loved one from becoming a victim.
Preventing Outsiders from Getting onto the Property
In senior living communities, measures are used to prevent unauthorized individuals from entering the property or scamming any residents. Many scammers that target seniors come to their property and present false claims to get financial details and take advantage of the elderly individuals.
Avoiding Isolation at Home
Seniors who self-isolate are often victims of scams because the individuals are easier to fool. The scammers exploit the person’s anxiety for financial gains and manipulate the individual. By living in a community, seniors have new friends and companions residents they see frequently. By staying social, the seniors can learn more about current scams from others and know what the scammers will say in these attempts to get money or confidential data from the person.
Shred All Papers That Have Financial Information
Criminals are likely to go through a senior’s trash to find bank or credit card statements. The financial details allow the perpetrators to use access to bank or credit card accounts, and the individual can steal money from the account holder. A better strategy for avoiding these scams is to shred all receipts, invoices, and statements that have current account numbers or other financial data. Some senior communities may offer paper shredding services for residents that prevent the individuals from becoming victims of these scams.
Set Up Direct Deposit for Social Security Benefits
With a direct deposit, the resident’s Social Security benefit checks or pension plans are not mailed, and scammers cannot steal the checks from mailboxes. The strategies can cut down on the number of seniors who become victims of scams and secure the individuals’ money.
Never Give Out Any Confidential Data
Scammers call and ask the senior to confirm data in the same way that creditors will when a customer calls for services. The scam allows the perpetrator to collect financial and personal information that is required to start new accounts and access bank or credit card accounts. By becoming educated about these scams, seniors will know to refuse to provide the information and hang up. By reporting the number used by the criminal to the police, the seniors can protect themselves and others from these scams.
Allow a Family Member to Manage Finances
After a diagnosis of dementia or related cognitive disorder, many seniors seek help from a trusted person using a power of attorney and a healthcare directive to protect their assets and manage their care. A family member can receive the power of attorney to manage the senior’s finances and organize the person’s care. The individual can keep all the senior’s confidential information safe and away from the senior’s apartment. If there’s no access to the details, the senior cannot mistakenly give the information to a scammer.
Amazing Homes for Seniors
At Cypress Court, we offer beautiful apartments for seniors and provide numerous amenities for all residents. Our community helps residents avoid scams and keep unauthorized visitors away from all seniors. Families and seniors who want to learn more about our community get started by scheduling a private tour of our community now.
Financial scams are used to target seniors, especially individuals who live alone and isolate themselves from others. The family members cannot protect the elderly loved one at all times, and if the person doesn’t have friends, perpetrators are likely to come to the elderly individual’s home.
Many of these scams involve robocalls that use scare tactics to manipulate the senior into believing a loved one is either in financial trouble or facing jail time. The best defense against these scams is to educate the seniors about the scams and show the individuals what to do if approached by these criminals.
Seniors who live in a community have more protection against the scammers, and many of the seniors discuss these issues to warn each other. By learning about the advantages of living in a senior community, families can protect their elderly loved ones more effectively.
