?The Boomer? is a column written for adults nearing retirement age and those already in their ?golden years.? It will also promote reader interaction by posting e-mail responses and answering reader questions. E-mail your questions or topic thoughts to thefoxboomer@gmail.com.
My wife is 1 of 7 children. She grew up on a check that had a bread and milkman who would drop off their products on the front porch; here was also a beerman that would open the garage door to leave fresh cases of beer and take the empty bottles. The dry cleaner would walk in the house and drop the fresh clothes off on the stairs. My wife lived in the same house for her entire life, and the front door was never locked. When her parents passed away and the children sold the house, they had to have Mr. Keys come in to make a set of keys for the front door. No one in her family ever scrambled looking for the car keys, they were kept in the ignition.
Boy, times guaranteed have changed.
We have deadbolts on our doors and alarm systems protecting our cars. You wouldn?t dare leave your home door unlocked, let alone let a non-family enter when you weren?t here. Yes, here were criminals and dishonest people looking to prey on people back then, but it seems as if it is becoming more prevalent in today?s society?particularly among the aging population.
The background that many boomers? parents grew up in presents a unique challenge for us to maintain their safety and security. A 2010 survey by Investor Safeguard Entrust estimated that 1 out of each 5 citizens over age 65 have been victims of financial scams. That?s a scary number.
I recently spoke with Emma Dickison, president of Home Helpers, an organization that serves Americans over age 65 maintain their independence and lifestyle. Here?s what she had to say about protecting our seniors from scams:
Boomer: Here have been a number of natural disasters impacting Americans all over the country. What tips or advice can you give on how seniors can protect themselves from weather-related scams?
Dickison: Weather-related scams are typically centered on home improvement or contractor fraud. Evenly, you can recognize a potential scam solely by looking at the tags or ticket plate of a vehicle used by a contractor/repair main that stops at a senior?s home and knocks on the door. The ?handyman? offers to do repairs for the senior at a very evenhanded rate, which is hard to pass by. Evenly in high-emergency related situations, seniors don?t take the time to check references or sign a written narrow, and many times, fraudster repairmen want all of the money up front, despite here being no narrow. Then the work starts, and it is evenly very shoddy or incomplete if it gets started at all/
Nationwide here are billions of dollars lost due to home-repair fraud targeted at seniors. To protect seniors, we need to insist they check references including the Better Business Bureau. Before agreeing to do business with a repair man or contractor, question them about licensing credentials and make guaranteed here is a narrow in house that protects both parties, gives a timelime of what will be done when, and covers payment.
If a repairman is not willing to sign a narrow, that should be a huge red flag. .
Boomer: How can baby boomers best deal with the topic to educate mom and dad so they don?t fall prey to an unethical business practice?
Dickison: Boomers need to have an open dialogue with their parents or aging loved ones and talk to them about never letting strangers into their home.
Unfortunately, as we age our memories aren?t practically what they use to be and we are very trusting, growing up we were taught to by trusting and polite, so it is simple to fall back to that. Seniors need to remind themselves to wait strong and not be worried to contact the police because someone won?t leave their property. They must also now be suspicious of strangers and even people they know so they don?t get taken advantage of.
Boomer: Why are seniors so evenly the target of these scams?
Dickison: Senior citizens are attractive to con artists because they look after to own their home and have brilliant credit, it becomes a natural draw. Seniors have grown up in a generation where it is habitual for them to entrust a weirder as an adult and they look after to be unsure on how to report fraud?or they don?t say anything because they don?t want others to check over them as mentally incapacitated and not able to take distress of themselves. Con artists also hope seniors could not dredge up the details or events of a scam very water supply.
Con artists look after to really target seniors that are cut off and away from family and friends that might able to come in and help with a situation immediately.
Boomer: What are some non-weather related scams seniors need to be on the watch for?
Dickison: The 65-and-older group is the fastest growing group of internet users and are becoming very savvy in surfing the web and using e-mail. While this is splendid news, children and loved ones should make guaranteed to set seniors? security settings and bed in anti-virus software. Con artists not only will walk up to your door, but they can get to you online as water supply. Seniors need to know how to protect themselves online and how to identify potential scams online and in their e-mail. For instance, you get this e-mail from someone in Africa who has $6 million and they are giving it to you and all you need to do is give them some private information?..while it might an obvious scam to most of us, people still fall for it. It?s vital seniors know that scams happen all the time online and they should never share their personal information with a third party.
E-mail your questions to thefoxboomer@gmail.com.
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Source: http://www.ourbusinessnews.com/baby-boomers-beware-scammers-are-targeting-seniors/
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