How Elderly Assistance Can Prevent Senior Scams in Gilford, NH
Visiting Angels offer elderly assistance to seniors living in Gilford, NH, and the surrounding areas.
The elderly are one of the most vulnerable demographics in society. The elderly are frequently targeted by con artists, thieves, and swindlers looking to exploit their lack of financial savvy. In recent years, there's been a spate of financial scams targeted at seniors, with companies sending out fake checks and phishing emails designed to lure unsuspecting victims into giving away their bank details.
As the older generation reaches a more vulnerable age, several factors make them more susceptible to financial fraud. For one, the elderly are less likely to be educated in financial matters and may not have had the time or freedom to learn. This miseducation is compounded by the fact that an aging society has fewer people with pensions and other defined benefit plans, which are a prominent safety net for retirement.
Safeguarding your loved ones
Here are some ways you can help protect your senior loved ones from being preyed upon:
- Establish trust: As soon as you meet a new friend or acquaintance, try exchanging contact information on paper instead of digitally if they ask for it. This trust helps ensure that the contact information is legit and theirs before you give away valuable personal information online.
- Be suspicious of exaggerated claims: Be wary of potential frauds and scams that paint an exaggerated picture of your loved one's ability to get money back on their investment or promise a significant return on the asset itself.
- Too good to be true: The adage holds for seniors as much as it does for everyone else: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. As much as we might believe that this applies only to our social media friends or the people we're trying to get dates with, this also applies to professional salespeople and con artists who see this demographic as an easy target.
- Watch out for sweepstakes scams: Seniors are often targeted by sweepstakes scams, like those involving magazines and grocery stores, that promise the recipient larger prizes when they use their company's services. This usually ends up with the senior paying a fee to receive their prize.
- Know the difference between a professional call and a spam call: According to the FTC, if you get a call that crosses lines that make it sound like spam but is not spam, this is probably a scam. It could be an older adult accidentally hitting the number for unwanted telemarketers or another demographic more likely to fall for this type of ploy.
- Social media: People can track your loved ones and take advantage of their information. Be sure to check your privacy settings on social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to avoid scammers stealing your loved one's personal information. If you don't use these accounts, consider switching them to private or removing them entirely from the internet for extra security. You can also change your search engine settings and check out Google's Safety Checkup for more information about how to keep your loved ones safe online.
How Visiting Angels can help protect your loved one
Visiting Angel's elderly assistance can educate your elderly family members and customers about the various scams and how to prevent them. Your senior must be aware of the warning signals of potential scams and that not everything they hear or read about certain situations may be true. To safeguard the seniors, they care about them so deeply. It is crucial for family members, caregivers, and friends of the elderly population to stay informed about various scams.
We tailor each of our care plans to the unique needs of each of our customers, and we pair them with caregivers who have the most experience in the relevant field of care. We are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and work around your schedule. We are very flexible in dealing with those schedules because we are aware that they change regularly and want to make sure that every client is attended to on time.
Contact Visiting Angels of Gilford, NH, today and set up a no-cost, in-home consultation.
