With the advent of the internet, it's been easier than ever for scam artists to try and convince older adults to give them money. These crooks lie through emails, phone conversations, snail mail or just in face-to-face interactions. It can be hard to protect a parent from one of these schemes, but it's not impossible.
The Complete Eldercare Planner by Joy Loverde suggests that the first step is to check whether a con artist may have already struck. Parents may be hesitant to talk about the subject, but overdue bill notices, odd bank transactions or a lot of letters promoting prizes and free trips could all be signs.
Keeping an eye on your loved one's spending pattern is key. Loverde recommends drafting a "screening plan." Tell Mom or Dad to immediately respond to requests for money that it's their policy to check with their children before making any donations.
Identity theft is one of the more common scams, so make sure that sensitive information is shredded or otherwise disposed. If you have the internet, you can ask for a parent's online bank account information - or help them set one up - so you can monitor their finances remotely.
Loverde explains that the internet is the "con artist's playground." It's important to emphasize some cyber security rules with seniors. First, make sure that they delete any unsolicited or suspicious emails. Likewise, tell them not to open attachments. These could contain viruses that not only damage a computer, but steal personal information. To further protect a computer, install anti-virus software.
Finally, remember that online shopping is generally a secure activity, but only if trusted websites are used. Sites such as eBay and Amazon.com are considered some of the safest e-commerce pages on the web. Anywhere you input credit card information should have an https:// address, designating it as a secure site.
AARP.org lists some of the more common scams, ranging from one where a con artist pretends to be a lawyer who is trying to help a grandchild or an investor who claims to be interested in helping an older adult lower credit card rates. Others often involve documents or other materials that look like they are related to healthcare or from the government.
Weekly columnist Sid Kirchheimer, who keeps his eye on the latest in elderly scams, explained to the website that seniors are often patriotic and pay more attention to mail that seems to be from the government.
"That is often a big reason these health insurance scams work," he said.