Aug 02, 2012
By Teri Okita

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

Elder abuse and senior scams are escalating, both nationwide, and here in our islands. Hawaii News Now, in conjunction with the Aloha United Way, presents "Seniors in Crisis."

Here, we're taking a closer look at financial scams, particularly Medicare cons, that could devastate seniors. Since 2008, the number of elder abuse cases in Honolulu has jumped 108 percent, according to the City and County's Elder Abuse Justice Unit, and much of those scams come down to dollars and sense.

79 year old Satoru H, understandably, doesn't want to be identified. Last year, mainland crooks tried to hustle him out of personal information.

"Oh yes, yes, yes, it really bothers me," says Mr. H. The caller asked him for his Medicare number - saying she wanted to "confirm" and "verify" it. He says, "She mentioned my name, my address, my telephone number, and my doctor's name, and she said, 'Oh, you're a diabetic?' and I said, 'Why? Why you want to know?'"

Mr. H. hung up, but the con artist called again … and again … a total of 28 times. "Ah, frustrating!" he recalls.

Someone had tried to defraud Mr. H. once before, so he knew the drill, wrote everything down, and called authorities.

 Abridged
SOURCE:     The HawaiiNewsNow
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