I Care A Lot Hits Close to Home: Senior Fraud
The cinema I Care a Lot hit close to home, too close to home. A frightening tale of Seniors being exploited unravels in the most captivating fashion. Despite the Hollywood flare, the tale is far too familiar and prevalent than I care to admit. Defrauding Seniors rocks me to my core as they are our most vulnerable population in terms of financial scams. A population we should cherish for their wisdom, respect for their battles in many great wars and compassion for the aging process and how crushing it can be to watch society zoom past you in many ways.
The Seniors I find that suffer the most by falling victim to financial scams, are those without close friends and family nearby. They are alone and trust the voice at the other end of the phone, the friendly face that appears at their front door with a “Social Security business card” (Social Security employees do not make house calls). An era that operated on trust, where your word meant something and deals completed on a handshake. They need our help.
Three common scams I have come across with my own clients include the Sweetheart Scam, Lottery Scam and individuals who manage to alter client’s estate documents under false pretenses and with malicious intentions.
The Sweetheart Scam- One client, who I will refer to as “Rose” began receiving phone calls to her home telephone line. Over time, Rose believed that her new friend approached her romantically with pure intentions. This “boyfriend” never showed his face and the relationship developed over long, caring phone calls. Rose looked forward to his calls and he was wealthy, not out for Rose’s money. However, over time Rose’s new boyfriend shared that his import/export business was having issues and needed a payment to release his funds/boats/etc. to the United States. Rose felt inclined to assist her new boyfriend and approached me to withdrawal funds from her investment account. Thankfully, I was able to intercept this withdrawal and explain to Rose what was transpiring.
The Lottery Scam- Rose stood her ground upon learning of the above Sweetheart Scam. The thieves were relentless and then pivoted to the Lottery Scam. Rose was notified over the phone that she won $15.2 Million dollars, plus a brand-new Mercedes Benz. All Rose needed to do was pay the IRS tax bill which would release her winnings into her bank account. Rose again approached me for funds. It was at this time I learned that she had secretly paid the thieves over $100,000 from her local bank accounts. Rose managed to deceive her advisors by drawing funds from different banks and accounts so as to not raise any suspicion. Concurrently another advisor flagged her accounts at the bank, which is when she turned to me for cash funds. Despite my best efforts, Rose never believed me. Rose was convinced she won millions of dollars and was eager for her payout. A payout that was never coming. The thieves worked in tandem and 3-4 individuals posed as IRS agents, the FBI and an ex-bank employee. They are wickedly savvy, fearless and relentless. Despite all of her advisor’s best efforts, myself included, the thieves triumphed. I continue to worry about Rose. She’s alone without family.
Altering Estate Documents Scam- Donna, whose name has been altered for privacy, was a dear client I worked with for a number of years. Donna was fiery, bright and strong-willed. As Donna aged well into her 90s, she began to lose her hearing and vision, trusting few. Donna’s estate was completed to leave her assets to multiple non-profit organizations around the country. Donna had accumulated wealth through hard work and grew paranoid professionals were trying to steal her money. Thankfully Donna remembered me and trusted me to the end. Unbeknownst to me, the contact of one charity (not local) took over Donna’s estate as Power of Attorney and Trustee of her Trust assets, along with her HealthCare Directive. This individual positioned himself to be in full control of Donna’s life, health and well-being. Within 1-month of signing these new documents, this individual had Donna deemed incompetent so he could take over her life. This individual had full control of her health care and finances. I learned this when he submitted this new documentation that he was in control of Donna’s care and estate. Due to Covid-19, I could only speak to Donna through the care facilities front window. We struggled to communicate as her hearing and vision deteriorated. Donna passed away shortly thereafter. He changed the beneficiaries of her estate, to himself and non-profit.
These experiences left me determined to increase awareness regarding Senior Fraud. Our Senior population deserves our help and compassion during the difficult aging process. I Care a Lot is therefore a much-needed film as it’s not embellished. These scams occur. Smart, successful individuals fall victim every day. Please share this article with your loved ones.
