Event in Monticello to warn seniors against scams (USA)

By Frank Lee


June 1, 2010


MONTICELLO

 Learn how to protect yourself against scams or fraud with a Better Business Bureau presentation at The Village on the campus of St. Benedict’s Senior Community — Monticello.


Beverly Gherity will discuss law enforcement’s efforts to combat financial schemes, investment fraud, health care fraud, identity theft and other crimes against seniors or the elderly.


“Older people come from a time when it was more trusting, when it was more of a handshake that was all that was needed to ‘seal the deal.’ Nowadays, it’s ‘read the fine print,’ ” said Gherity, senior outreach program manager for the Better Business Bureau in St. Paul.


The presentation from 2-3 p.m. June 17 is part of a series of health care presentations for seniors the third Thursday of each month at The Village.


“If someone calls you on the phone (or e-mails), don’t give them any information because they may not be who they say they are,” she said. “Sometimes they’ll say they’re a credit card company or they’re a medical insurance card company or your bank.”


Gherity said a lot of scams are conducted through the mail, often promising the receiver a free vacation or cruise, but there are often financial strings attached to get the so-called prize.


“I just think the economy has gotten so tough now that you’re finding more and more scams out there,” she said.


The St. Paul branch of the Better Business Bureau serves Minnesota and North Dakota, with office hours from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays to receive complaints or answer questions.


“Sometimes seniors are hard of hearing ... so they don’t always understand what’s being told to them,” she said of seniors, who are likely to be home. “Some seniors are lonely and are more apt to answer the phone and want to talk to somebody, so they say things they shouldn’t say.”


Those who pray on seniors’ trust or vulnerabilities count on their victims’ silence and feelings of shame to continue perpetrating crimes against the elderly, according to Gherity.


“I find a lot of times that when I go out and talk to them and encourage people to tell me things that have happened, a lot of times they’ll come up to me afterward in private and talk to me one-on-one about what’s happened,” she said.


“A lot of times they’ll say it was somebody else that it happened to because they don’t want you to know that they were foolish.”


The June 17 presentation is free, but space is limited, so call 763-295-4051 for reservations. Tours of St. Benedict’s Senior Community will be available after the presentation.


For information about the Better Business Bureau’s senior outreach program and how to protect yourself against scams, call 651-695-2421 or e-mail bgherity@thefirstbbb.org.


SOURCE:      SCTIMES
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