Q: My parents are getting along in years and, to be honest, their minds don’t work as well as they used to. What types of scams are specific to the elderly? – James Junior
A: Dear Mr. Junior: Scams target everyone, but seniors whose minds aren’t quite as sharp as they used to be are more likely to be targeted. A few really stand out and are those that your parents should be most likely to remember.
• Never agree to house work, exterior or interior, with anyone who comes door to door. Stories abound of scam artists who bilk the elderly out of hundreds if not thousands of dollars to repair their driveway or fix their roof, among others. In fact, to be absolutely safe, impress upon your folks not to open the door to anyone with whom they’re not familiar.
• Never give out personal information over the phone. Again, the elderly (or uninformed) often unwittingly give their bank account number, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers to unsavory individuals who pretend to be associated with those programs/companies. Legitimate companies won’t ask; they already know.
Along this same line, if mom or pop received an email asking for personal information, this is also a scam. In a nutshell, never offer this info to anyone they don’t know and, usually, to anyone they do know.