Q. I think my mother was the victim of a scam. She had some suspect charges on her credit card last month for more than $500 and was quite upset when the bank called and told her that her bank card was compromised, as well. I asked her if she gave her credit card number […]
Massive Amount of Romance Scams Target Older Victims
Q. My brother is a disabled older adult living in a group home. He has no assets that he can access himself but does have significant assets in a special needs trust with me as the trustee. Recently, he has been asking me for money to send to his new “girlfriend” who he met online. […]
One Typo Could Cost You Your Computer
Q. My sister-in-law Janet is always on Facebook. She loves seeing what her children and grandchildren are up to, catching up with old friends, and playing Scrabble. She is a quick typist, and one day, in her haste, she recalls accidently typing “www.Facebookc.om.” Before she could correct it, she was redirected to a series of […]
Scams to Watch Out For
Dear Angel, As my father is getting older and his dementia is getting worse, I am concerned that he is more susceptible to getting taken advantage of by scammers and con artists. Can you tell me about some of the more recent scams, so I can keep my eyes open for them on his behalf? […]
A New Scam Targeting Victims of Scams
Dear Commander Bun Bun, On Tuesday, I read Mr. Farr’s article about the marriage scam, and was upset to see this is happening. I wanted to tell you about another instance in which my grandmother was scammed out of her money, not once—but twice! It was by someone offering to help her get her money […]
Guess What! I’m Getting Married!
When you see a subject line like this one, you may have several different reactions. The first one that comes to mind is happiness for the couple who is planning to share their life together. The second may be shock or even suspicion, because it seemed to have come out of nowhere, or because the […]
Beware of Woodchucks
Dear Angel, The other day a man from a “tree company” came to my door, and pressured me to cut down branches that he said would damage my house in the next big storm. He asked me for payment upfront. When my wife came home, she said it looked as if nothing had been done, […]
Don’t Become a Victim of Phishing
Dear Commander Bun Bun, I was baking cookies with my mother the other day, when she took a break to check her email. She told me that one of her emails from the bank seemed really important and she thought she should answer it right away. I observed her providing all kinds of personal information for what seemed […]
Protecting My Mother from Scams
Dear Angel, I recently visited my 80-year old mother, who is in the early stages of dementia. I noticed boxes of items that were mailed to her, including tons of magazines about body building and deep sea fishing (both of which don’t interest her), and a pile of sweepstakes she entered. I would like to […]
$2.9 billion vaporized by elder financial abuse in 2009.
On-Board with Elder Justice? What is the Elder Justice Act? “The act authorizes federal funding for adult protective services in each state, demonstration projects, forensic centers and training for long-term care providers,” according to the ABA. Unlike Child Protective Services, Adult Protect Services is not federally mandated. The Elder Abuse Act (EAA) was introduced this […]
Medicaid Fraud Audit Targets Schizophrenia Drug
First, lawmakers in Utah expressed concern over the state’s Medicaid expenditures. Then, Utah State health officials were asked to investigate and control alleged fraud. Now, critics are questioning whether measures went too far, and some are expressing a sentiment that these audits paint an inaccurate picture of fraud…the millions of dollars sought to be recouped […]