Senior Fraud Hits Home

By Steven Mattingly

We all hear about and read about fraud committed against seniors and it’s exactly that, something that we hear and read about.  Most of us pay little heed to the discussion most of the time. Even though I work with seniors each and every day like most of us I tuned out the various commercials and internet pop ups thinking them little more that auditory and visual pollution.

I have changed my nonchalant attitude rather quickly in the past couple of weeks when our community was called upon to assist one of our own residents fight an ongoing case of identity theft and financial fraud.   A former business acquaintance of the resident had gathered enough information ranging from bank statements that were altered to included additional names, copies of a state issued ID, and other personal information.  This individual was using the information to represent herself as the caretaker of the resident and was attempting to lease an expensive home in the bay area in the resident’s name. 

The good news is that an alert property manager for the potential rental property sensed something out of the ordinary and reached out to our community for help.  Because of privacy laws we do not respond to questions asking if a resident or staff member is part of the community.  Our standard response is that we cannot confirm or deny that information.  Fortunately in this situation the property manager was persistent and a manager on staff made the appropriate decision to cooperate once she learned a bit more about the nature of the inquiry. 

With cooperation from our community, the resident affected, and the property manager, the police with jurisdiction over the case set up a “sting” operation to apprehend the individual.  It was somewhat surreal.  It was like being involved in a scene from “Law and Order”.  The good news is that the sting worked, the individual attempting the fraud was apprehended and will be prosecuted.  The bad news is that our resident has to do the leg work to restore her good credit status with the various with the credit bureaus, no small feat, but she is determined to put things right.

There are numerous sources where you can get information about how to prevent senior financial fraud.  Most of it is simply good common sense.   Here are some suggestions you might want to consider:

·        Identity thieves love aging parents because they think they are so vulnerable. Social isolation, loss of a spouse, early dementia, general memory loss or confusion set up our elders and aging parents an easy mark. Add to that, seniors tend to be friendly and trusting, and you have a combination that can make your aging parent a sitting duck.

·        How can we help them protect themselves?    We need to educate our aging parents that trusting strangers on the phone is very dangerous. We need to warn our aging parents that even their own children can rip them off if they are desperate. Drug and alcohol abuse, serious financial trouble and mental illness can lead an adult child to steal account numbers when visiting and later raid his own parents' bank account and steal from the ones most likely to trust him or her.    Can we thwart the attempts at stealing our aging parents' identities? We can at least take protective measures. Some of the simplest protections are the best.

·        First, buy a cross-cut shredder. Shred or have your aging parents shred sensitive mail, credit card solicitations, and outdated personal documents such as bank statements, rather than throwing them in the trash. Thieves go through the trash looking for anything they can use to steal.

·        Guard credit cards. Watch sales people, staff in restaurants, and anyone who asks for your credit card. Thieves use tiny scanning devices called skimmers to steal the numbers and then use the cards. Get rid of any rarely used or unused cards. The fewer your parent has, the better.

·        Mail letters at a mail box or the post office, rather than leaving outgoing mail in the mail box in front of the home. Thieves steal checks and payments slips, taking the information and using it to attempt to steal the entire identity. They take out new credit cards in the victim's name and rob them of everything they can.

·        One should never, ever give out personal information or financial account information over the telephone. Telephone solicitors offer prizes and rewards to trick the person into telling the solicitor his bank account number, social security number, and mother's maiden name. With that, the thief can wipe out a bank account in minutes.

·        Don't let anyone copy your aging parents' driver's license. Anyone doing this can get access to bank accounts, personal data, and anything else you would want to protect. Getting the license number to verify a check is one thing. Letting someone take the entire license and have the other information on it is rarely necessary.

Senior identity theft and fraud are crimes perpetrated by individuals who see seniors as easy prey.  It is estimated that 1 in 7 seniors at some point is a victim of fraud.  You’ve been warned!

As a footnote to this recent incident, the resident involved has just gotten her fourth “check” from the Nigerian Lottery, all she needs to do to cash the check is call a listed number.  Our wise and cautious resident has given this information to the police. 

Contributing author Steven Mattingly is the Executive Director of Pacifica Senior Living in San Leandro, CA.