Elder abuse can come in many forms, and it’s not always abuse of the physical kind. Many scams are designed to gain access to an elderly individual’s financial accounts. As a representative of the Kansas Plains chapter of the Better Business Bureau explains in a new report, frauds prey on senior citizens because they’ve had years to build up their bank accounts and investments. It’s important, then, to be aware of some typical scams as described in that same report.
If you ever receive a notification that you’ve won a lottery in a foreign land that you never entered, don’t trust it. This type of lottery scam will typically find the target being asked to pay some sort of processing fee or tax in order to gain access to the actual lottery amount. The persons responsible for the fraud will attempt to bully the target into giving them what they want.
This type of bullying is typical of most scams, with the fraud getting angry when called out for their scams. The same kind of behavior is typical of someone claiming to be a grandchild in a foreign country who needs a money transfer. If you ever receive such a phone call or email, ask around to your family members to check out the legitimacy of the request.
Finally, be wary of anyone who says they just need to “confirm” your Social Security Number of other information.