Senior citizens warned to be on alert

A knock on the door; a telephone call; an e-mail message; a letter in the mail.

All of those are ways con artists contact unsuspecting senior citizens.

Nicole McConn, a telephone privacy specialist with the attorney general’s office, told seniors at the Scam Jam program at The Gardens at Wakefield they have a right to be afraid.

“I am here to frighten you. ...Unfortunately, it’s a scary world right now,” McConn said.

Scammers are constantly thinking of new tricks, and many times, older people are their targets.

“Any legitimate way that exists to make money, people have thought of a way to scam you in the same way,” McConn said.

Senior citizens are targeted more frequently because elder fraud was not monitored or reported well until now, McConn said. One of the attendees said seniors are more vulnerable “because we were more honest in our day.”

A lifetime of savings and good credit also entice con artists.

Seniors who live in this area of the country are more susceptible to telemarketing scams, McConn said. Scammers target the Southern population more because of the manners they were raised with, she said.

“You would never consider hanging up on them — that would be rude,” McConn said.

McConn told seniors to be cautious when someone they don’t know calls them.

Con artists may pretend to call from a bank or credit card company to get personal information. In that case, McConn advised the seniors to hang up and call the number they have for their bank or credit card company.

Scammers sometimes call repeatedly, but some older people continue to take the phone calls, happy to have someone to talk to, McConn said.

McConn said seniors need to throw away junk mail about sweepstakes and prizes. When a person responds to those, their name is put on a list, and they receive large amounts of junk mail.

If respondents “win,” scammers will ask them to send a percentage of money for taxes, insurance or some other purpose. The more money the “prize” offers, the more money victims of these scams end up paying.

“You don’t spend money to get money — ever,” McConn said.

The same thing goes for e-mails, McConn said. If the name isn’t a recognizeable one, the message should be deleted.

Seniors were also warned to be aware of “phishing” e-mails. These messages are designed to look like a legitimate message from a bank or company, and are designed to entice readers to give personal information. Even clicking on the links in the messages could put spyware on a person’s computer.

Even charities are not safe. McConn said con artists sometimes use a name similar to a legitimate charity to get money. Instead of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, scammers could call from Choose-a-Wish or Give-a-Wish, she said.

Seniors can stop calls from telemarketers by placing their name on the National Do Not Call Registry every five years. They can ask charities to put them on their internal do not call list.

McConn also advised seniors to never give out their date of birth or social security number. Even at the doctor’s office, social security numbers should be left off forms because they no longer need it to process insurance. The exception is for those who have Medicare or Medicaid.

Checks should be left as vague as possible so cashiers have to ask for identification, McConn said. Only first initial, last name and telephone number should be on the check, she said.

McConn said seniors can expect fraudulent activity to spike during the holidays.