Elderly most sensitive to financial fraud
BY MIKE KING
THE GAZETTE
DECEMBER 9, 2009
Of all acts of violence seniors face, from physical to psychological, the most prevalent by far is financial abuse.
Ranging from theft and embezzlement to fraudulent powers of attorney and mass-marketing scams, close to 60 per cent of reported cases of abuse against seniors are financial in nature.
“They are most vulnerable to telemarketing,” notes Sgt. Jean-Marc Michaud of the Sûreté du Québec.
“They think they are safe from fraudsters from the safety of their own homes, but it’s just the opposite,” said Michaud, who is with the provincial police department’s division that specializes in consulting services and strategies with the community.
He added that, by remaining in their homes, seniors are more susceptible to pressure phone solicitation, Internet swindlers and door-to-door hucksters.
Telemarketers will go to great lengths, like those back in 2001 who posed as judges and lawyers convincing seniors who had been taken in other hustles that they could get their money back. Until their arrests, they were collecting an estimated $1 million a week.
“We encourage people to validate and verify information (about what is pitched to them) before handing over any money.”
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Abridged
SOURCE: Times Colonist.Com
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