This is perhaps one of the worst scams Americans have had; elder fraud in the form of someone coming to the senior’s home and telling the “mark” they were sent by the nursing care home to help the senior while they are recovering. Of course this is the perfect home care solution for the senior and payment is discussed and perhaps paid for that very day.
Con artists are starting to keep track of people leaving long-term care facilities, simply following them home. From there, it’s easy to just knock on the door and mention in-home care, for an inflated price, and just go from there. The scammers weasel their way right into the seniors home and their life, with some of them even going so far as to steal a checkbook, lift money from a forgetful elder, or worm their way into a will. This is an extremely frightening form of financial abuse that if unchecked may result in the senior losing all the money they have.
The other disturbing factor is that these types of scams are on the increase because of the recession. The state of the nation is worse than it has ever been, or so it seems. Fraudulent schemes, cons and scams have sprung up almost overnight looking for the unsuspecting to prey upon. Unfortunately, many of these scams and cons are successful because people still want to believe that you can get something for nothing or that the con has to be “real” because it’s just so darn believable.
Being believable is a con’s stock in trade and with very little effort many crooks are able to convince people that would otherwise stop and think twice about what they’re being told, that this “opportunity”
Why are seniors being targeted? Many seniors have a nest egg of sorts, many of them live alone and because there are from a different generation, they tend to be exceedingly polite to strangers, offering them the benefit of the doubt without second thought – a move that may cost them their live savings.
Seniors faced with situations such as the home care fraud or other scams should consult with a highly skilled attorney to find out what steps they are able to take to recover their money. In some cases this will not be an option, but there are usually other alternatives that may work, depending on the circumstances.
