Older women make easy targets for thieves, whether they live with family or independently. A clever thief can pose as a salesman, a telemarketer, a home repairman, a representative from a government agency or a visitor from a church. Unfortunately, too many senior women are victimized by people they know, such as a hired caregiver, a housekeeper or even a family member. Family members and caregivers can learn a few tips for protecting an older woman from losing her savings and her identity.
Why Older Women are Easy Targets for Crime
Women are thought of as caring, charitable individuals who are likely to respond to a plea for help. Many charities and foundations are legitimate, but of course some are not. The ones that aren't often prey on easy older victims, particularly women.
Age-related physical limitations (mobility issues, hearing and vision problems) and mental decline (confusion and forgetfulness) add to a woman's vulnerability. Loneliness and the emotional emptiness of losing a spouse make a woman of advanced age an easy target for robbery.
The willingness to trust strangers can also cloud good judgment. The definition of "stranger" is different for older people who see the same people every day, week after week: Neighbors, grocery store employees, church members, garden club members and even the mailman. But who knows what each of these people is really like outside his professional or public boundary?
The Internet has no doubt left many older men and women behind the times and has left them exposed to all kinds of criminal activity. Women (and men) that have lived seven or eight decades or longer may not fully understand the concept of phishing. They may not comprehend how easy it is to become a victim of identity theft. Older people may not use computers as much as younger age groups, but many seniors do use them to some extent. In fact, social and dating sites for seniors are becoming more and more popular as baby-boomers cross the line into old age.
Technology Has Made Older People More Vulnerable to Crime
Seniors – like everyone else in the United States – are being pressed into a lifestyle of paperless billing, online banking and direct deposit of government-issued benefits.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a lot to say about electronic banking on their official website: "You must switch to electronic payments by March 1, 2013. If you don't, the U.S. Department of the Treasury may send your benefits via the Direct Express® card program to avoid an interruption in payment."
There's a lot of debate about how elderly folks still getting paper checks will be forced to use the new debit card if they don't have a bank account (needed for direct deposit). People who oppose the change believe that a lot of benefit money will end up in the wrong hands. Why? Because aging seniors who rely on friends, caregivers or family members to get cash, pick up pharmacy prescriptions and buy groceries will have to give out PIN numbers to complete a transaction.
Family Members and Hired Caregivers Who Rob the Elderly
Senior citizens are often the target of scams. Ever hear of the "Grandparent Scam"? This telephone thief poses as a young family member in dire need of money for an emergency – like bail money or a hospital emergency. Grandma thinks the caller is one of her grandchildren so she wires the money and ends up getting bilked out of a few thousand dollars or more.
When it comes to scams, the home repairman is at the top of the list. Home repair scam artists prey on older women that need work done around the house. Good example: A $100 gutter-cleaning job could easily become a $1000 roof-repair. The money Grandma shells out in advance to cover the roofing materials will never be seen by her again and neither will the contractor thief.
How about the "Black Widow Scam"? Grandma's new boyfriend seems nice enough – until her money runs out, that is, and then he vanishes. But that's not all; while he was dating her all these months, he may have been quietly collecting personal banking and identity information about other family members.
Thieves hit nursing home and retirement home residents, too. The majority of the residents are usually women. Staff writer Kathryn A. Walson, from the website Kiplinger, comments directly about older people and identity theft in the article, "Take Steps to Guard Against Identity Theft" by stating, "...home-care aides, as well as retirement-home staff, may have easy access to a senior's records. Some retirees carry their Medicare card, which displays their Social Security number. One of the most important pieces of information to identity thieves is your Social Security number."
How Can Families and Caregivers Protect an Older Woman from Scams and Identity Theft?
Caregivers and family members can stay alert to anything out of the ordinary involving credit cards, bank transactions, insurance information, legal actions of the estate or the elder's will and anything else suspicious. How can families and caregivers protect an older woman from losing her savings?
- Ask frequently about visitors, phone calls and any new online chat room or social network friends.
- Take note of what bills are getting paid and if any are piling up.
- Note if the elderly woman has enough to eat. Does she run out of food before her next check comes?
- Observe the elderly woman's demeanor. Does she seem preoccupied or worried?
- Notice the mail. Are there any collection letters or correspondence from unfamiliar sources?
- Keep tabs on any new relationship, including friends that appear too "chummy" and are interested in family affairs.
- Check prescription and OTC medicines to see if they're purchased locally or bought online. Question anything out of the ordinary, even if it means consulting a doctor.
- Keep a list of your elderly loved one's credit cards. Have there been any large or unexplained charges?
- Warn the elderly woman about how easy it is to fall for a scam. Offer support – not a lecture – if any damage has already occurred. Consult the authorities on how to proceed.
The best defense against criminal activity is awareness. Help the elderly woman in your life stay safe. Report any uncharacteristic activity to the authorities immediately, before the older person becomes the victim of crime.
Sources
- Social Security Administration (Online) "Get Your Payments Electronically" (Staff, 2011).
- Direct Express® (Online) "Sign Up for the Card" (Staff, No date).
- Kiplinger (Online) "Take Steps to Guard Against Identity Theft" (Kathryn A. Walson, 2008).
Mary King - Mary King is a Suite101 Topic Editor for the Caregiver Support and Home Management sections. She has authored 5 teen-based novels.
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