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Fraud On Senior Citizens Article

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Why Senior Citizens Are Targets For Fraud And Scams

from: TRL

Senior citizens especially should be aware of fraud schemes. Why should senior citizens be concerned? Fraud on senior citizens is a big problem for seniors today. The elderly are targeted for fraud and scams for several reasons:

1) Senior citizens are most likely to have a "nest egg," own their home and have good credit, all of which the conman will try to tap into. The fraudster will focus efforts on the segments of the population most likely to be in a financial position to buy something.

2) Individuals who grew up in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s were generally raised to be polite and trusting. These are two positive personality traits, except when it comes to dealing with a conman. A skilled conman will exploit these traits knowing that it is difficult or impossible for these seniors to be rude, to say "no" or just hang up the phone.

3) Senior citizens are less likely to report a fraud because they don't know who to report it to, they are too ashamed at having been scammed, or they do not realize they have been scammed. In many cases, an elderly victim will not report the fraud because he or she is concerned that relatives may conclude that the victim no longer has the mental capacity to take care of his or her own financial affairs.

4) When an elderly victims do report the scam, they often make poor witnesses. The conman knows the effects of age on memory and is counting on the fact that the elderly victim will not be able to supply enough detailed information to investigators to help catch the conman. Senior may not realize that they have been victimized for weeks or even months after contact with the conman, and the extended timeframe would test the memory of almost anyone.

5) When it comes to products that promise increased mind function, virility, physical conditioning, anti-cancer properties,etc., senior citizens make up the segment of the population most concerned about these issues. Senior citizens have seen so many medical advances over their lifetimes that it is not so unbelievable to them that the products offered by conmen could do what they say they can do.

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