Seniors are an easy target for con artists
By Tom Carney, Special To North Shore News
November 30, 2008
Chilling it is, but surprising it's not.
Fraud is one of the most common types of crime committed against older people.
Consumer frauds can take place over the telephone, in person, or by electronic mail and regular mail. Canadians lose 3 billion dollars every year to investment schemes, fraud and telemarketing scams and of that, 2.5 billion dollars comes from people older than 60.
It's not always easy to spot con artists. They're smart, extremely persuasive and aggressive. Many people think they are too smart to fall for a scam. But con artists target all kinds of people.
Education is the best way to prevent you from becoming a victim to scams. When you get a call from a telemarketer don't give out your credit card, social insurance number, or bank card number. Beware of 900 numbers, remember if you call a 900 number to claim a prize you end up paying for the call. Finally, if the telemarketer makes you wary, end the conversation -- don't worry about being polite -- just hang up the phone.
If you believe you have fallen victim to a telemarketing scam, call and report the incident to Phone Busters, a toll free fraud tip line, at 1-888-495-8501 and the police department.
Canada has a relatively low rate of prosecution of economic crimes. The courts, in my opinion, have been far too lenient in dealing with fraud artists and that needs to change.The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) recommends new stiffer mandatory sentencing guidelines for the perpetrators of fraud. I particularly like their proposal that there be special penalties for those frauds that target seniors.
© North Shore News 2008
Abridged
SOURCE: North Shore News (BC Canada)
------------------------------------------------
Click for Updates, More Cases and Resources
No comments:
Post a Comment