More Tips on Avoiding Scams
After writing the post last week, Tips on Avoiding Scams, I came across a number of other sites with good resources. Seems like two posts on an important topic are twice as good as one. Please note that two of them are in Adobe Acrobat PDF. I’ll mark them with (PDF) so that you’ll know that you’ll need the Acrobat reader for them.
Just Say NO! To Senior Scams (PDF) - A publication of Consumer Action, a San Francisco-based consumer advocacy organization that presents 13 different scams and then tells how you should “fight back”. Some of the scams covered include:
- Foreign lottery prizes and sweepstakes
- Fake emergency appeals
- Charitable solicitations
- Caregiver fraud
- Identity theft
There’s also a section at the beginning with six simple rules to follow and a section at the end of the document that includes some additional rules to follow, including my favorite, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.
The document is in large type, so print it out and give it to someone who might appreciate it.
A Consumer Guide for Seniors (PDF) - This 36-page publication of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General is thorough, well-written and easy to understand. If you don’t live in Maryland, you may want to look to your State Attorney General’s web site for a similar document, though most of this publication is not specific to any one state. It covers the following topics:
- Consumer Scams -Sweepstakes, Charities, Travel Scams, etc.
- Health Issues - Home Medical Equipment Scams, Hearing Aids, Miracle Cures, etc.
- Financial Matters - Home Equity Fraud, Predatory Lending, Living Trusts, etc.
How To Protect Your Family From Senior Scams - This one from Lawyers.com covers a little different ground. There’s an interesting section on why seniors are particularly vulnerable to scams:
- More time on their hands
- Often more lonely
- More trusting and compassionate
An area covered here that I haven’t seen as much in other documents is on how a family can protect a senior from scams:
- Look at lifestyle changes
- Review their financial statements
- Get it in writing
- If you are a victim, act quickly
The latter part of the article talks about how the law gives you protection in scams.
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Great information and I’d argue that much of this is valuable for all of us. Handsome man that Mr Ponzi.