The Nigerian Prince wants to meet your mother.
As my sister and I try to unravel the details and records of my mother’s nearly 90 years, we both have concluded that she would have been an easy mark for scammers and frauds if she didn’t have two lawyer offspring reviewing her decisions. The number of elderly, mentally-failing Americans who lose their life’s savings to these predators is a national tragedy. They are particularly prominent on the internet. I was very frustrated with my mother’s resistance to e-mail and the Web…now I’m not sure it wasn’t too dangerous for her to navigate.
The F.B.I. has an excellent and informative web page that should be shown, read to, and explained to every senior in your life. From the introduction:
“Senior citizens are most likely to have a “nest egg,” to own their home, and/or to have excellent credit—all of which make them attractive to con artists...People who grew up in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were generally raised to be polite and trusting. Con artists exploit these traits, knowing that it is difficult or impossible for these individuals to say “no” or just hang up the telephone. Older Americans are less likely to report a fraud because they don’t know who to report it to, are too ashamed at having been scammed, or don’t know they have been scammed. Elderly victims may not report crimes, for example, because they are concerned that relatives may think the victims no longer have the mental capacity to take care of their own financial affairs.”
The site goes on to describe how various scams work and how to spot them; indeed, you don’t need to be a senior to be vulnerable. The list is daunting:
Common Fraud Scams
– Telemarketing Fraud
– Nigerian Letter or “419” Fraud
– Identity Theft
– Advance Fee Schemes
– Health Care Fraud/Health Insurance Fraud
– Redemption/Strawman/Bond Fraud
Investment-Related Scams
– Letter of Credit Fraud
– Prime Bank Note Fraud
– Ponzi Schemes
– Pyramid Schemes
Internet Scams
– Internet Auction Fraud
– Non-Delivery of Merchandise
– Credit Card Fraud
– Investment Fraud
– Business Fraud
– Nigerian Letter or “419” Fraud
Fraud Target: Senior Citizens
– Health Care Fraud/Health Insurance Fraud
– Counterfeit Prescription Drugs
– Funeral and Cemetery Fraud
– Fraudulent “Anti-Aging” Products
– Telemarketing Fraud
– Internet Fraud
– Investment Schemes
– Reverse Mortgage Scams
Luckily my mother never was victimized by one of these, but my eyes are open now. I’m going to go over this website with my 94-year-old neighbor, who is failing. If we all make certain that the most vulnerable in out society are armed with the information they need to be properly wary, imagine the tragedies we can help prevent together.
Ethics Alarms 
A website I frequent just started “private messaging,” and it has a warning that says, “No one will ever ask for your password! Report anyone who asks for it!” And at the top of EVERY steam instant message, it says, “Never tell your password to anyone.”
In a way, I had hoped Internet had been around long enough that we all just knew not to trust the dinguses who act like admins and try to get into accounts. But on the other hand, there is always someone who has heard this for the first time and might be fooled. (I didn’t know broken glass was sharp until I was eight. Guess how I found out?)
Any warning such as this might illuminate the problem to someone who didn’t know, and that is always a good thing.
An older couple my wife knows found out we had been starting a coin collection. It is not a serious collection, but we have some interesting and old coins. Recently, he handed her a bag of coins and asked her if we would like to buy them. I looked up the prices and I am going to offer him ~$100 for these 40 old coins, none of which are in good shape. She found out he sold most of his coins recently to a coin dealer. He sold this man rolls of uncirculated silver quarters for $10 each and rolls of uncirculated silver dimes for $4/roll. The man insisted on taking them and having them appraised first. These were easily worth several thousand dollars and this coin dealer paid him $60. I guess he has sold this man coins before. I am really mad that someone would take advantage of an elderly man like that. I wish I could do something, but he hasn’t broken any laws. He is just slime. After I make my offer, I hope the old man refuses to take that dealer’s phone calls.
Fortunately, the place where I work has a “junk e-mail” button, with which we can permanently block messages from senders we don’t want to hear from. A couple years ago I was getting 3 or 4 emails a week from retired finance ministers in west African countries who wanted to make me a millionaire, if I would just send them my American bank account number, please?
Thanks to the blocking device, they’ve given up on me – haven’t heard from them in years. But I’m still having to block, every week, pharmaceutical companies who want to sell me OTC Viagra, penis enlargers, etc.
They’re like pesky mosquitoes.
Thanks for the “heads up”; I’ll watch out for them when I become a senior citizen (I’m only 78, don’t intend to retire until I get old).
Me, too. I hate to think how many email solicitations I’ve gotten from Nigeria or from people who claim they can make me a teenager again! And I’m still finding them in my spam section.
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