In this Elder Law Minute, Kaye DeSelms Dent explains how to recognize and prevent common scams that often target older adults.
Hi, I’m Kaye DeSelms Dent with Dent Coulson Elder Law here with an Elder Law Minute for you. These videos are intended to educate you about the elder care journey which begins earlier in life than you might think. We hope that you find them useful and if you have further questions, please call us at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Today’s Elder Law Minute is about scams that target usually elderly people. They come in so many forms today. It seems like almost everybody except for one of my friends has a smartphone, and some people are more adept at using them than others. Smartphones are a great way for scammers to get to you. They will text you. You will get texts saying that you owe tolls. You don’t. That’s not how you’re going to be contacted.
If you think about it for the toll situation, how the heck would they know what your cell phone number is? The Secretary of State generally doesn’t have your cell phone number. Even if they tracked you through your license plates and then to your driver’s license, that’s a lot of work. And then you think, “How the heck did they get my cell phone number?” because it’s not the tolling authority. It’s a scammer. Delete it.
I think on most of the smartphones now, at least on my iPhone, you can go down to the message and it says delete and report junk. Click and it magically tells whatever authority is out there, this is a scam email, and it magically deletes it from your phone.
There’s also email scams. Facebook. So many people are on Facebook. Grandparents love it for keeping up with their grandkids, especially who are at a distance. And suddenly men come out of nowhere wanting to be your friend on Facebook. You’ve never heard of these people. You don’t have any friends in common. They don’t have a lot of things posted. They have like five friends, or all of their friends happen to be elderly women that they’re trying to scam out of money. Do not friend people if you don’t have a reason to friend them. If you don’t personally know them, if there’s not a reason to friend a friend of a friend.
They use that word friend a lot on Facebook land and not all these people are your friends. So, be very careful. A lot of organizations give presentations about avoiding scams. They’ll be at your local libraries through organizations like Rotary, Kiwanis. Attend those. Learn. And if you have elderly parents or other relatives that you’re kind of watching out for, help educate them and be aware of what’s going on in their lives.
Dent Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older.
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“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
