Elder Fraud and Abuse

Seniors are a favorite target of rip-off artists who play on their victims’ age, isolation, and financial worries to raid their life savings.  The scams are myriad but share a common pattern of misplaced trust.  The best advice to seniors is to beware of anyone with access to your finances.  Here are some examples of what can go wrong: 

The Schemes

Caregivers can take more than they give.  Your elderly parents are in pretty good health but need help around the house with everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, cooking, and walking.  You turn to the Yellow Pages for a list of agencies that provide home care services, and you choose one that claims to run “background checks” on its caregiver employees (but doesn’t say what sort of background check).  The caregiver starts work in your parents’ home, but after a couple of months, suddenly disappears.  You find a statement from your parents’ bank showing thousands of dollars are missing.

Beware the fancy title.  You get knock on the door from a sharply-dressed salesman who shows you a business card with the title, Registered Elder Specialist.  He invites himself inside and convinces you that his special certification in senior financial products makes him a trusted partner in your retirement planning.  What you don’t find out until after you’ve signed his contract is that there’s no such thing as a “Registered Elder Specialist” – and what did all those papers you just signed really say, anyway? 

The lunch is free, but now you’re not.  You see an add in the paper for a financial planning seminar on living trusts, free lunch included, and you gladly attend.  Before lunch is served, someone describing himself as a paralegal circulates a questionnaire for you to fill out – including your name, address, and financial information.  A couple of days later, the paralegal comes to your door and strongly encourages you to convert your current savings into an annuity.  The paralegal seems to know what he’s doing so you agree to sign his papers.  But what he didn’t tell you is that now if you want access to your assets– including for an emergency medical need – you’ll be paying huge withdrawal penalties. 

Help For Consumers

For help finding an attorney who specializes in financial planning, including living trusts and wills, call the California State Bar ' s toll free number for seniors at 1-888-460-7364.

If you’re visited by a salesman pitching an investment, check out his credentials by calling the Dept. of Corporations at toll-free 1-888-275-2677.

If you’re considering purchasing an annuity from someone you met at a seminar or from someone visiting at your home, check on the agent and the company selling the product by calling the Department of Insurance at 1-800-927-HELP.

If you or your relatives attended a seminar on financial planning, and something about it seemed fishy, fill out a complaint form online with the California Department of Justice: http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL

If you or someone you know is the victim of senior financial abuse or theft, call the Attorney General’s hotline: 1(888) 436-3600.