Targeting the Elderly
MAKE no mistake. Scam artists have done their homework. They know the facts that make the older population particularly attractive targets for swindling. In the United States, for example, people over 65 years of age make up only about 12 percent of the population. Yet, they have a combined personal income of over $800 billion, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the net worth of U.S. families. Not surprisingly, such older ones make up about 30 percent of all fraud victims.
What makes the elderly vulnerable? “They tend to be naturally trusting and may not be knowledgeable about current investing,” explains Consumers’ Research magazine. One police official lamented that telemarketing fraud “feeds especially on the lonely and the vulnerable—old folks—who make up the bulk of the victims. These are people who grew up in an era when a man’s handshake was as good as his word.” A representative of the American Association of Retired Persons was quoted as saying: “A lot of times it’s said that greed gets you in trouble. With older people, it’s not greed. They have a fear of outliving their money. They don’t want to be a burden on their children. Then they are afraid to report [the fraud] because they’re afraid their children will think they can’t take care of themselves.”
Elderly victims of fraud are not always duped or misled. In some cases they are lonely, perhaps with a need to “buy” friendship. In one community some lonely widows were coaxed into paying $20,000 in advance for a “lifetime’s worth of dance lessons,” wrote one newspaper reporter. “Some were too frail to walk. They weren’t naive, just desperate.” A dance club gives new enrollees a place to go to be with their newly acquired friends, often in their own age group. A flattering, sweet-talking, debonair salesman, who may also act as their dancing instructor, is difficult to resist.
Meet Japan’s Swindlers
Some swindlers take advantage of lonely elderly people in other ways. In Japan unprincipled con artists have pretended to be caring people, taking time to chat with their elderly victims, giving them a listening ear. Gradually they intensify their visits, and after gaining the full confidence of their target, they promote fraudulent sales. A typical example of such fraudulent schemes was a bogus gold scam in which about 30,000 people, including many pensioners, were reportedly swindled out of 200 billion yen ($1.5 billion). “No Chance of Recovering Victims’ Losses,” headlined Japan’s Asahi Evening News.
Tokyo’s Asahi Shimbun reported on this case: A middle-aged saleswoman visited an elderly man, saying: “More than my work, I’m concerned about you, Mr. K., for you are living alone.” She listened to his many stories, and he was taken in by her charm. As she was leaving, she asked for permission to return the next day. “By all means,” was his reply.
Regular visits followed; they would have supper together, and she even brought food for Mr. K. “I will look after you until you die,” she promised. Then came the pitch: “I’ll manage your property for you. The company I work for just recently developed a very profitable way of making use of one’s property.” The scheme called for him to mortgage his home and property, buy gold bullion, and deposit it with her company. The trap had been set. Mr. K. became another victim in a long line of swindles. Once the transaction had been accomplished, the lady never returned.
“As a soldier,” said Mr. K., “I lingered on the brink of death. But it is even harder to have been swindled out of my property by someone preying on the weaknesses of us old people who live alone with no relatives to rely on. It seems the world has come to an age when people want money, even by fraudulent means.”
Swindling the Elderly in Italy
The book L’Italia che truffa (The Italy That Swindles) reported an elaborate scheme conjured up by swindlers in Italy to fleece the elderly of their precious savings. In 1993 a government led by the ex-governor of the Bank of Italy was formed. His signature, of course, appeared on bank notes (obviously still valid) that had been issued during the period of his governorship. After presenting themselves at the doors of elderly people, a number of swindlers, who identified themselves as officials of the Bank of Italy and who carried counterfeit ID cards to prove it, said to each of their victims: “You know that the governor of the Bank of Italy has become the president of the Cabinet of Ministers; therefore, his signature that appears on bank notes is no longer valid. We have the responsibility of collecting all the old bank notes from the various families and replacing them with new ones signed by his successor . . . Here is a receipt. Go to your bank with this document the day after tomorrow, and you will receive the sum of money that you have handed over to us now.” By means of this scheme, the swindlers collected 15 million lire (about $9,000) in one day!
Some swindlers in Italy contact the incautious, including the elderly, along the streets. They ask the unwary to take part in a survey and give them sheets of paper to sign, saying that their signature is simply to confirm that they participated in the survey. In reality, they are signing a contract that obliges them to do or buy something.
Then, sometime later, the victim receives in the mail a package containing certain goods, perhaps with a warning clearly visible on the wrapping that should the goods be refused, he will be penalized in some way. Some, particularly the elderly, become frightened, thinking that it would be better to pay a relatively small sum and keep the goods that are of little value than to face being dragged into court.
How widespread is swindling in Italy? According to L’Italia che truffa, the number of swindles that are reported amount to some 500,000 a year. At least three times as many swindles go unreported. One TV journalist commented: “The total is about two million traps of all kinds every year, or something like five to six thousand a day.”
And so it goes. No age group (or racial, national, or ethnic group, for that matter) is overlooked by those who would swindle people out of their money—and often their life’s savings. Beware! It can happen to you.
[Box/Picture on page 8]
How to Avoid Being Swindled
NOT all telemarketing organizations are dishonest. In the United States, for example, there were 140,000 firms engaged in the telemarketing business in 1994, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). It is estimated that 10 percent, or 14,000, of them were fraudulent. It becomes necessary, therefore, to be alert when an offer is made that sounds too good to be true. Here are some tips to help you avoid being swindled by telemarketers.
◆ If someone calls to tell you that you have won a free prize, perhaps the best thing you can do is hang up the phone.
◆ If a telemarketer insists that you buy today or it will be too late, this is generally a tip-off that the offer is bogus.
◆ Guard your credit-card number. Do not give it out to strangers who call to solicit funds.
◆ Do not purchase anything over the phone unless you initiate the call and are dealing with a mail-order firm that you know to be reputable.
Homeowners need to be careful of home-repair scams. Here are a few cautions, as set forth by AARP Consumer Affairs:
◆ Do not hire a stranger until you have thoroughly checked his or her references; ask for names and telephone numbers of other customers who have used the service.
◆ Do not sign anything without carefully checking it, and be sure you understand and agree to all provisions in any contract or agreement.
◆ Never rely on someone to explain an agreement to you unless it is someone you know and trust. Read the fine print for yourself.
◆ Never pay for repairs in advance. Be sure that the work is completed to your satisfaction before you make the final payment.
Be alert. Use common sense. Do not hesitate to say no if you are not interested in buying. And remember: If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
[Picture on page 7]
Con artists may pretend to be caring people, in order to swindle the elderly