Scams and the Elderly.

Police describe the woman as 5'4" tall, between 25-30 years old and about 180 lbs.
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Sounds like she could have skipped the bag of groceries ...

Holidays certainly see an increase in these types of crimes, but the ruse of shipping something to another address then picking it up as it's delivered, in order to hide your OWN address, is an old one and has been used for drugs, guns, porn - you name it.
 

Just because a person is older, does not mean they are stupid. I am tired of hearing that. Anyone, of Any age can fall victim to a scam. One word of advice, do Not download anything from an email, even if it is from someone you know. Someone you know, could have innocently downloaded a virus, and sent it to you in an email without knowing. It happened to me, and it can happen to you too.
 
I must have family in Nigeria as I receive lots of emails from them. Just yesterday, I got a email from a gentleman (cough) who is dying of lung cancer and wishes to deposit 8 million dollars in my bank account. If I will send my name, address and bank account number, he will put said monies in my account. God, I'm going to be rich tomorrow. :saywhat:
 

Old Hipster said:
I say the same thing, just because people get old they don't get dumber. But some older folks do starting getting dementia or Alzheimer's and then they can fall for all sorts of things because they are not in their right minds.
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Not only that - seniors tend to exhibit a peculiar trait of their generation: they are generous to a fault. Much more so than the current generation. And they are less likely to read Internet accounts of scammers, so are more vulnerable to them.

Well I have a rich cousin in some country, the name escapes me at the moment, but my long lost cousin just recently died and I seem to be the closet living relative, oh and my cousin was loaded! So all I have to do is send the people who are handling things in this far off country all my banking information and they will deposit a cool 10 million into my account for me. Well, who can retire early now. :)
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Wow - we must all be related somewhere down the line!

My relative was a prince in Nigeria, and had to flee because of the change of government. They were trying to put him in jail and his wife wisely contacted me to help, as I am known far and wide as a gentleman with certain global connections ... :cool:
 
Then there is the one where you get a phone call - a parcel needs to be delivered, but "they" somehow can't find your address. Would you please stand out the front of your house so they can see that they are at the right address. OK, you stand outside your door, they come in via the back door, or break a window to get in while you're standing innocently at the post box. If you're not expecting a parcel, why is one being delivered? Ignore all such phone calls. By the way, if I had replied to some of the e-mails I have received, I would be a multibillionaire by now.
 
Rumanian Gipsies are swarming Australia. Beside scaming ATM's, they are artfully pick-pocketing, shoplifting etc.
Just a few weeks ago, two " ladies' carrying a bible and big wooden crosses, came to our front door.
The story was, that their relative was dying in hospital, and they are collecting the money.
It looked very transparent to me (my wife was more simphatetic, she abused me to be rude to them).
I told them, I was going to take photo, and call the police.
They sweared and cursed, and then run away.
 
The last scam that I heard about was on the news, and it said that when you shop with a credit card, and they ask if you want cash back, and the cashier swipes the card, rather than the places where you swipe it yourself; this is when the scam can happen.
Even though you say you dont want cash, they say yes, and it is added to the total bill, and they then can pocket the cash.
If a person is shopping, and not looking at the receipt closely, they do not realized that extra money has been charged.
Most places that I shop have the card swipers where you can choose yourself if you want cash back, so the cashier cant do this, but I always look closely at all my receipts to make sure nothing is overcharged, regardless.
 
Of course we should be careful about our money when we are shopping.I bought a power bank from fancycost, when I email them , customers told me that people shop on fancycost with credit card , when they receive the item they ask bank for charge back. customers on fancycost is helpful to me , and I donot know why the people do this as it is not dishonest. can not understand.
 
Just ask them for credentials, like business name and licence. And of course, the last customer, and their phone number!
Then make a decision: "to hire, or not hire".
 
babyboomer said:
Just ask them for credentials, like business name and licence. And of course, the last customer, and their phone number!
Then make a decision: "to hire, or not hire".
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That doesn't work. .. The con artists come in official looking uniforms with badges, credentials, licenses and a list of whatever you want .... all PHONEY!
 
Boo's Mom said:
That doesn't work. .. The con artists come in official looking uniforms with badges, credentials, licenses and a list of whatever you want .... all PHONEY!
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I think the only thing to do in that situation would be to look up the number of the company they're representing and call that number, not the one they give you, which could just be going to their accomplices.
 
The driveway pavers came through the beach a couple years ago. They took several down payments for paving and poof.....Gone.

Here in FL, the big thing to sell is replacement windows. There are no solicitors allow in our community but sometimes try to make the rounds. They do not last long once we put in a call to block captain.
 
There are 2 kinds of elderly people.
!.) Vulnerable and naive, easy target for cheats and scammers.

2.) Experienced and arrogant, I fit in that group. Anybody knocking on the door, or telemarketing, I just tell them, if I need a service, there is internet, and there is Yellow Pages (phone directory). There are also neighbours and friends, who have been using workers and tradesmen, they can recommend one that was satisfactory and honest.
 
A lot of these solicitors have been trained not to except no for an answer so they pursue the call even after the senior in particular said no. The professional sales people call it over coming customer objections. That process can literally wear down seniors . Then they wind up having to explain why they don't want to give. It could lead to a " negotiation" of sorts. I know people who say look I'm a senior, fixed income etc.

There is NO NEED FOR AN EXPLANATION when you SAY NO.
 
My wife's recovery from heart surgery causes her disrupted sleep. Last night I sat up with her until the early hours catching up on TV shows that she had previously recorded. At about half four am we finally got off to bed.

When I woke up later, around nine o'clock she had left a note that read: "This number called at 08:15, it woke me up, any ideas?
Checked that she was okay, she was sleeping sound, good.

Into the search I typed: Identify this number: "01543 398394" This message popped up:
This telephone number has been flagged for suspicious activities. Currently being primarily associated with the credit card scam.

In the UK the first five digits will be the dialling area in that part of the country and the latter six digits are the callers number. I have entered that particular number into our phone's filtering system. When doing so it seemed prudent to me to share it. I do hope that you all get left alone, but if 01543 398394 ever comes up when you are checking the incoming call, you might want to let the phone ring out.
 

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