Protect elderly from exploitation

By NECIA P. SEAMONS

Heightened isolation and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic have created a perfect storm for senior financial exploitation.

“Scammers often prey on socially isolated individuals,” said Patricia Perkins, Director of the Idaho Department of Finance.

Personal details gathered from obituaries and social media posts can be used to target victims. Some exploit trust within senior’s social and support groups to become more involved in their lives.

Signs of exploitation include new and overly protective friends/caregivers or surrendering control of finances to a new friend/partner; fear or sudden change in feelings about somebody; a lack of knowledge about financial status or reluctance to discuss financial matters; sudden or unexplained changes in spending habits, a will, trust, or beneficiary designations; unexplained checks made out to cash, unexplained loans, or unexplained disappearance of assets (cash, valuables, securities, etc.); suspicious signatures on the senior’s checks or other documents.

To help, keep in touch with older family members, friends, and neighbors, so they know you are thinking of them. Let them know scammers have found ways to exploit the pandemic. The red flags of fraud, can be found at www.finance.idaho.gov.

They can include a ack of information or recall about finances, suddenly hiring extra help, isolation, and sketchy behavior from friends or relatives.

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Protect elderly from exploitation