Seniors and their savings make enticing targets for financial fraudsters. That isn’t changing, as statistics show seniors filed more fraud complaints in 2013 than in years previous.
Kiplinger reports:
People 60 and older accounted for 27% of fraud complaints last year, up from 22% in 2011 and the highest percentage of any age group, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In a recent survey of 40 consumer protection agencies by the Consumer Federation of America, scams against the elderly ranked as the worst complaint category in 2013. “Financial fraud is skyrocketing,” says Doug Shadel, Washington state director for AARP and a former fraud investigator. There are “not enough investigators and prosecutors to handle the unbelievable surge in this activity,” he says.
Among the factors that can make seniors targets for scams: ample retirement savings, social isolation and health conditions that may diminish financial decision-making ability. And in recent years, “interest rates have been so low that seniors living on a fixed income have to take on some risk, and con artists know this” and tout inappropriate products, says Lynne Egan, Montana’s deputy securities commissioner.
But scams targeting seniors might be more frequent than the statistics show. That’s because many seniors don’t report potential fraud. Kiplinger says:
The statistics actually illustrate only a fraction of the problem because most senior financial abuse goes unreported, fraud experts say. Seniors may be reluctant to report they’ve been scammed because they are embarrassed, afraid they’ll be deemed no longer capable of managing their own finances or unwilling to expose a family member who has been stealing their money. And seniors suffering from dementia may not realize they’ve been exploited.
To get help with reporting an instance of fraud, call AARP’s ElderWatch at 800-222-4444, [select option 2].
Photo Credit: Jason Parks via Flickr Creative Commons License
