Keeping seniors from being scammed

New state task force another layer of protection

Brian Long is 77 and knows his age makes him a target for the increasing number of scammers who try to steal from senior citizens.

They see the elderly as easy prey, he said, and are ruthless enough to come after them.

Long has learned enough about financial abuse of the elderly that he not only recognizes emails, phone calls and text messages from people attempting to rip him off, but also leads seminars about these crimes on behalf of Berks-Lancaster-Lebanon LINK, an agency that helps the aging and disabled.

Despite his attempts to help people avoid being victimized, Long has repeatedly heard from seniors who still fell prey to financial schemes, evidence of how devious those scammers can be, he said.

Long and others who work with the elderly in Berks hope a new state task force can help protect seniors, improve reporting mechanisms and cut down on those crimes by coordinating efforts between agencies.

“Financial exploitation causes significant harm to older adults, and we know it is significantly un

derreported,” said state Secretary of Aging Robert Torres, who is chairing the task force. “The department felt it was imperative to bring together stakeholders who work closely with older adults and discuss how financial exploitation occurs and ways to prevent and stop it.”

The task force’s creation stemmed from a recommendation in a recent Pennsylvania Department of Aging report.

In studying several hundred substantiated financial exploitation cases statewide, the department found that on average the victim was female, around 79 years old, widowed and living alone, with an income above the federal poverty guidelines. Sixty-five percent of the perpetrators were family members, most of them adult children.

But probably less than 10% of cases are reported, the study estimated, and as a result the approximate losses for fiscal year 201718 could have been as high as $2.5 billion, the study found.

“It really is a crisis,” said Detective Robert Heiden of the Berks County district attorney’s office, who has investigated many cases involving financial exploitation of seniors.

“For some victims, it can be financially devastating,” he said.

Family ties

About 75% of the cases Heiden sees in Berks involve family members stealing from their parents or grandparents, with a small percentage involving caregivers, and the rest committed by scammers, he said.

Sometimes seniors are targeted because it’s assumed they have experienced a decline in mental capacity, but often it’s because scammers are hoping they’re isolated and won’t talk to anyone about the crime, Heiden said.

He has spoken with some victims who were so embarrassed that they were reluctant to report being taken advantage of, but Heiden assures them they aren’t alone.

“I tell them that it happens to a lot of people,” he said. “They aren’t the first. And it’s best for them if we try to get their money back. Sometimes that money is their life’s savings.”

Berks detectives, state police and local police departments do sometimes get convictions in those crimes and can recoup money, but that isn’t always possible depending on the nature of the theft, how difficult it can be to trace the scammers, or how much money the thieves can afford to pay back, he said.

“There are times that money is gone,” Heiden said.

Heiden said the average amount stolen from senior victims nationally is $40,000, and he investigated a case last year in Berks in which $180,000 was taken.

Not only are the victims missing that money, but they may now have trouble applying for the government programs and medical insurance assistance until they prove what happened to their savings, he said.

“It can affect the level of care they receive,” he said.

Pandemic impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many seniors unable to receive visits from loved ones and they are more vulnerable to being ripped off, Heiden said.

By basically sheltering in place, Heiden said, they have less contact with family members who usually check their finances and mail as well as with groups of friends they may have met for breakfasts or lunches, and with whom they discussed concerns.

“That system of checks and balances isn’t there now,” he said.

Heiden urged seniors to remember the adages that nothing is free, and that if something seems too good to be true, it likely is.

“If you’re suspicious, or you notice something wrong, talk to someone you trust,” he said.

Those who think they’ve been victimized should call local law enforcement or their bank if that’s where they notice a problem, he said.

False trust

Most of the cases the Berks County Area Agency on Aging has seen over the years involved family members stealing from seniors, and those crimes have increased over the last five years or so, Director Jessica Jones said.

But the office also sees cases in which people earned the trust of seniors either in-person, online or by phone in order to rip them off, she said.

Among the most insidious schemes are those that involve tricking seniors into thinking they’re in a long-distance romantic relationship and convincing them that they need to send money or gift cards to stay together, she said.

Long has seen those crimes occur locally as well and said they can be extremely hard emotionally for the victims.

“When you’re lonely you want to believe that someone is interested in you and concerned about you and loves you,” she said. “So people see it as another chance at romance and throw caution to the wind, and others play to those fantasies. Hope can be a powerful thing.”

Another common scam is to call seniors and convince them to send money to help a relative who has been hospitalized or put in jail, Long said.

Sometimes seniors answer calls from unknown numbers simply because it provides a connection to the outside world, but that’s a mistake, he said.

“If you don’t know who is calling, don’t answer the phone,” he said.

Talk about it

Jones encourages people to speak with their older relatives to help them avoid becoming victims of such crimes.

“There are people who think this isn’t going to happen to my mom and dad, but then it does,” she said. “You should have that conversation with them.”

Jones hopes the task force can reduce these crimes through community education and improve reporting mechanisms to help solve those that occur.

The task force representatives agreed, saying it’s crucial to provide help to seniors.

“Elder financial exploitation and fraud are all too common occurrences, exacerbated by this pandemic,” said state Secretary of Banking and Securities Richard Vague, who is serving on the task force. “The work of the task force to coordinate and develop strategies around financial exploitation detection and prevention is more important than ever.”