Scamming the Elderly
When I would call my aunt, who was in the early stages of dementia, to see how she was, she would frequently tell me that she was writing checks to pay her bills. I wondered how she could have many bills; she rarely went shopping any more and I never saw any evidence of substantial new purchases in her home.
Once while visiting, I noticed a large stack of what she thought were bills, but in actuality were solicitations from just about every organization known to man. She was contributing to all of these organizations guilty of scamming the elderly. She thought that she had to pay them—they were financial obligations and her upbringing taught her to take care of any such obligations. Sadly, several months had passed before I became aware of this predicament. In the interim, she had given away a large sum of money, much more than her financial status allowed. She was exploited on a local level by companies preying on seniors and scamming elderly people. She was considerably overcharged for routine household maintenance that she occasionally needed and for the upkeep of her small yard. One can only wonder how many people took advantage of her.
In retrospect, there were lifestyle changes that I should have questioned. I should have asked to see her bank statements, but I didn’t want to intrude on her privacy. I noticed she had become more withdrawn and rarely left her home, but I attributed this to the dementia, which undoubtedly played a role, but may not have been the sole factor. My aunt was always fiercely independent, and by withdrawing from people she didn’t have to answer any questions about her finances or anything else or to possibly show her vulnerability or inability to handle routine things.
NCEA, National Center on Elder Abuse, is a nonprofit organization that investigates cases of scamming the elderly and estimates over 5 million cases of elder financial exploitation occur yearly, most of them going unreported by seniors. They are either unaware that they are being exploited or too embarrassed to acknowledge it.
Before dementia took over my aunt’s life, pride kept her from admitting that she needed help. Our checklist may help you decide whether an elder in your family needs in-home elder care services.
Operations Manager, Barton Home Care