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NC Needs to do More to Combat Fraud Against the Elderly

By Gregory Herman-Giddens

The North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research just issued a press release with the results of a study indicating that North Carolina needs to do more to protect its senior citizens against fraud.  The Center also provided recommendations on what could be done to improve the current situation, including implementing new laws to require bank employees to report financial abuse against elderly customers.

Click "Continue Reading" for a list of signs that a senior may have been defrauded.

 

12 Signs That an Older Adult May Have Been Targeted by Telephone Con Artists

1. Frequent visits to the person's home by overnight courier services.

2. Numerous cheap prizes in the home (e.g., plastic cameras, gold-plated jewelry, vacation certificates, small television sets).

3. Phone bills showing a sudden, unexplained increase in long distance calls to other countries.

4. Several colorful mailings in the home about international lotteries, puzzle-solving contests, etc.

5. Questions about other countries, foreign taxes, Lloyd's of London insurance policies, wire transfers, 'barristers,' customs duties, or registering bonds overseas.

6. Checking and credit card accounts showing sudden increases in transactions with wire services, numerous unexplained debits or charges from out of state, purchases of money orders, or counter checks in large amounts.

7. Wire transfer receipts showing large sums going to areas near the Canadian border and to various foreign countries.

8. Unexpected or unexplained borrowing patterns or an unexpected inability to pay bills or meet living expenses.

9. A sudden reluctance to be away from home or to have visitors in the home.

10. Visits to wire transfer outlets by a person who normally does not use such services.

11. Unexpected secretiveness or defensiveness regarding any of the above.

12. Social withdrawal, depression, or anxiety that cannot be attributed to other events or conditions,
together with any of the above.

Source: Virginia H. Templeton and David N. Kirkman, 'Fraud, Vulnerability, and Aging,' Alzheimer's Care
Today, Vol. 8, No. 3, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Hagerstown, MD, July-Sept. 2007, p. 276.

Full post as published by North Carolina Estate Planning Blog on May 28, 2009 (boomark / email).