Elderly people are vulnerable and targeted by scam artists. Some seniors have larger nest eggs for retirement after years of saving. Criminals that investigate elderly individuals try to find out how much money the seniors have. Scams are used to gain access to bank accounts, retirement funds, and savings accounts.
Once the perpetrators have the information, the data is used to get into the accounts. Without proper protection, the scammers can drain the accounts quickly. Unfortunately, the criminals won’t stop there. Families must find better ways to protect the vulnerable from these tactics.
Setting Up Protection for Email Accounts
Popular email services such as Gmail offer settings to eliminate unwanted or suspicious messages. The senior can set up contacts for the email account and redirect messages from non-contacts to the spam folder.
The email service compartmentalizes email marketing emails in separate folders from the primary inbox. If the senior uses a smartphone to access email, the solicitation messages may automatically appear in a different folder. By living in a senior community, residents learn more about email scams.
Blocking Unnecessary Calls
Residents that have dementia often require memory care and don’t need anything to derail their treatment. Unwanted phone calls can agitate the residents. Dementia can influence a person’s judgment and prevent them from making sound decisions. A robocall from a scammer could prove successful because of dementia symptoms. The family can follow measures to prevent robocalls. Features block calls from callers who aren’t on the contact list. This strategy can stop robocalls from getting through.
Coordinating Healthcare Billing Protection
Scammers follow strategies to defraud healthcare insurance. The criminals pretend to be the billing department and collect policy information from the senior. The details are used to access the victim’s healthcare coverage and leave the policyholder responsible for the charges. A careful strategy is to set up automatic billing with the resident’s doctors. The family can manage healthcare requirements for the person. This gives only the family member or healthcare proxy access to the insurance cards.
Downsize to Avoid Reverse Mortgage Scams
Reverse mortgages are scams and cause many families to lose assets. The loan program starts the mortgage over. The senior or their family must repay the money given to the homeowner. If the amount used by the senior isn’t repaid, the mortgage company seizes the asset.
A better option to protect the senior against scams is to sell the family home and downsize. This gives the homeowner a higher profit for the property. The sale proceeds give the individual more money for retirement.
Get a Power of Attorney
A power of attorney gives a family member access to and control of the senior’s assets. A trusted family member can prevent scammers from taking advantage of the elderly individual. The family member can also prevent others within the family or circle of friends from stealing from the estate. Under the circumstances, the elderly person won’t have financial data on hand.
Reducing In-Person Access
In an assisted living community, the community can prevent immediate access to the residents. Scammers won’t have access to the residents, and the community has security. The elderly individuals won’t get threatened by perpetrators trying to get banking information. No one can visit the residents without prior authorization from the resident or the family.
Amazing Homes for Seniors
At Orchard Park at Victory Lakes, we offer extraordinary apartments for seniors with terrific amenities. The wealth of amenities includes transportation, housekeeping, and meal preparation. Our community is a wonderful place for seniors. Families and seniors can set up a private tour of the community now.
The most vulnerable people are the elderly, and criminals target the individuals primarily. After retirement, seniors have access to retirement plans and funds. Criminals try to collect information from the elderly to gain access to bank and credit card accounts. Once the perpetrators have access, accounts are drained, and credit cards are maxed out.
For many elderly people, financial losses cause a life-long impact. Not all of their money is recovered, if any. Scam artists know how to manipulate these individuals with threats and lies. Seniors who live on their own in the family home are at the greatest risk.
Senior living communities give seniors a whole new lease on life. The communities are filled with residents in the same age group. Many of the residents become fast friends and protect each other. The seniors learn about scams and how to avoid these crimes. By following better practices, seniors and families won’t become victims of these scams.
