SENIORS SAFETY

Senior citizens are often targeted because many live alone, many are lonely, and depending on their age and mental condition, are easily manipulated. Many seniors have a savings account just waiting to be taken. I have worked many cases involving senior citizens. The people who prey on them are the scum of the earth. They drain the pockets of seniors to their last dollar and leave them with no money to survive. These are some of the hardest cases to prosecute and prove. Often, there is enough evidence for an arrest but not enough for a prosecutor to take to trial. In many of these cases, victims never see any of their money again. Here are some tips to follow to help prevent this from maybe happening to you.

Never make investments or payments to anyone who makes a cold call to you. What is a cold call? Usually a telephone solicitor who calls you from a list of phone numbers they have obtained and they try to get you to either make investments or purchase something.

A case I worked on last year was an investment company calling potential investors to purchase IPO's for Tech companies. Investors were promised large returns, they were told to ship their money overnight so they can get in at a great price. Targeted were retired seniors, and just based on the cold call, seniors sent this company as much as $50,000. Once seniors sent them money they were called again to invest more, counterfeit statements were produced and sent to the investors showing large returns, life savings were wiped out. But, when investors wanted out they were told it would take several weeks, then their calls were never returned, and they lost their money. All this based on a false promise and sent to a company that they never heard of that was out of state. This happens every day, everywhere. Good luck getting your money back .

Some things to look out for:

Undue pressure to invest immediately.

Promises of large returns. NOBODY can promise this. Remember…. All investments are risky, there are no sure things.

Shipping Bank checks overnight, or a courier will be sent to you home to pick up the money.

Before you make any kind of financial decisions speak with a family member or someone you trust.

Once you make a purchase from a phone solicitor you get put on a sucker list and the calls will never stop.

BOTTOM LINE:

Never buy or invest in anything that is generated from a phone call or mail solicitation by a company/persons not known to you. You never know who you are dealing with on the phone or by mail.

Never fall for the "you just won a prize", (but you must pay a fee or make a purchase to collect it) call or mail solicitation. If you won a prize, you never have to pay or purchase anything to receive it.

Nobody is going to offer you anything of value for nothing.

There are groups of people that travel up and down the East Coast and are very active in NYC. They usually target seniors during the spring and summer. If you live alone in a house or apartment, they will knock on your door saying that they received a call that you have some kind of an electrical problem, gas leak or some other problem. If you live in an apartment they might say that they're going to paint your apartment for the building management and need to inspect your house/apartment. There are usually teams of two or three, if you let them in, while you are distracted, showing one of them around, the others are going through your things stealing anything of value. I have never seen a case where they have hurt anyone, but they have intimidated victims when they are asked to leave.

They also pose as contractors looking for work and offer a good price for a new roof or some other repairs, and because you're getting such a great price you have to pay cash. The only problem is that they ripped you off, the work from the outside looks good but I can guarantee you it will soon fall apart and they're gone with your money.

Never let anyone into your home to inspect it unless they have proper identification and you called them. If you live in an apartment make sure the superintendent is either with them or the super has informed you earlier that a repairperson will be coming.

Home Care Attendants/ Nurses:

This is another important area of concern. Let me make one thing clear, most of the people in this business are good, hardworking, and honest people. But as there are in all professions some are criminals looking to take advantage. You will have someone staying in your home and caring for you. Trust is a major issue here. I have worked many cases where some of these people steal the client's identities and personal belongings. Some of them have assumed client's identities after they have died. Then they disappear and when you go to the company looking for information on the employee. Guess what? There is no picture of them; their address is no longer any good. Some of them have bounced from company to company; they're usually not employed for very long. Most of these attendants who commit these crimes work for a company for a short period of time and once they're placed at an elderly person's home, they work out a deal with the victim to work directly for them saving them money. The attendant then quits working for the company and accepts cash from the elderly victim then eventually empties out their accounts.

Elderly people who have no family are especially susceptible; I have seen cases where these Home Care Attendants have obtained the trust of the elderly person. The attendant is then given full access to all their accounts and all their money is stolen leaving them broke.

Make sure you deal with a reputable, Licensed Company.

Request an attendant or nurse who have worked for the company for a long period of time, at least a year, the longer the better.

Ask questions about your attendant:

Was a criminal record check conducted?

What were the results?

Was a proper background check conducted?

What is this person's accreditation and licensing? Was it verified?

Take a good photo of your attendants/nurse. Then keep it in a safe place.

Don't allow them to have visitors at your home.

When your attendant arrives for the first time, check the company ID and some other form of photo ID, like a Driver License, and write down the information and keep in a safe place.

Some Important New York State Phone numbers:

NYS Office for the Aging Senior Citizen Hotline 800-342-9871

NY Attorney Generals Elder Law Unit 800-771-7755