Seniors make up about 13 percent of the population but fall victim to more than half of the telemarketing schemes perpetrated in the U.S. And it’s people with money, education and know-how who pay much of the billions of dollars telemarketers pocket yearly.
Crooks rip off seniors who need new driveways, long-term care insurance, reverse mortgages, love and affection. On the love front, for a 65-year-old San Francisco man it began when a young woman stepped on his toe while they were in line. She insisted on buying him a cup of coffee in atonement.
The friendship that followed prompted him to lend $5,000 to the woman’s sister for a beauty parlor. More money went to the woman’s brother, a man, it turned out, who was actually her husband. It ended up with her dropping the victim off at the hospital, his entire net worth of $180,000 gone.
A more dangerous version, known as the foxglove case, found gypsies pulling the sweetheart scam on lonely old men. The men ended up marrying younger women, then rather rapidly died of heart attacks. Police, after some urging, investigated, exhumed several bodies, and discovered the men died from eating foxglove plants, which produce symptoms much like heart disease.
The M.O. often finds a team that picks a man of modest means who owns a home that has appreciated in value over the years. A favorite pickup line of the women is, “Don’t you remember me? My mother used to bring me over to visit you.” There follows a bit of hanky panky, so when she pops the question, he feels he should do the right thing.
Keep in mind these tips on avoiding swindles:
1. Don’t sign anything until you thoroughly understand the whole document. Make the seller describe every detail.
2. Don’t be influenced by scare tactics, such as, “If this furnace isn’t repaired now it’s going to cause a terrible fire.”
3. Avoid buying or signing if someone demands money
up front.
4. Be careful whenever a company contacts you first. Check it out.
5. Don’t make a purchase on the first visit to, say, a car dealer. Take time to talk about it with friends or relatives.
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