Senior
people are vulnerable to abuse, especially financial abuse. About 1
in 8 of the cases reported to the National Center on Elder Abuse is
related to finances. Scam artists and conmen prey on three things of
senior citizens - money, trust and time. Financial frauds and scams
against senior citizens have become pervasive over the past few
years. As per reports, millions of elders fall prey to financial
scams each year and have been swindled out of their retirement money.
From phone calls and posts to emails, scamsters are devising
different strategies to target elderly. Do you believe that your
parents or grandparents have fallen prey to identity theft or
financial fraud? Hire expert private
investigators in East Texas
to help you spot a scam and protect your elderly parents.
Scam
artists aim at seniors. It is very important that senior people are
well educated about the tactics and strategies used for swindling.
Here are few tips to help prevent senior people from getting scammed
financially –
- Always remind senior people not to give out their Social Security number to any institution or stranger getting in touch with them. Not just Social Security number, advise them not to reveal their financial information or bank details to any unknown person over mail or call.
- Ask them to collect mail from their mail boxes regularly. Do not let mail sit in the mail box for long time. Opt for direct account deposit of checks the benefits check instead of asking for them in the mail. Ask them to scrap any mail they come across any forms requiring credit card information or quick money offers.
- Take their names and addresses off multiple marketing mailing lists and also sign up their number for the Federal Do Not Call registry.
- Keep a tab on the finances, monitor bank accounts and social circle of your parents. Have they found new “friends” lately? Are they becoming secretive with their money? If anything makes you suspicious, go ahead and perform an in-depth research. You can hire private investigators specializing in financial frauds and scams to help you.
Don’t
be hesitant or afraid in discussing financial scams with your
parents! Sit with them and let them know the various financial scams
seniors have fallen prey to. Do you sense signs of trouble? Get
in touch
with Investigative Resources of Texas at 214 662 1006.
