Scammed: It’s a word no older adult or family caregiver wants to hear. The growing incidence of fraud targeting older adults is putting more people at risk of losing their assets, their independence, and their trust.
I am sure you have heard of these three basic scams targeting aging adults sadly due to their success rates. The social security spoofing where and unknown callers threaten victims, or “The Grandparents Scam” where scammers pretend to be a grandchild in trouble needing cash, and the third- the fraudulent charities where scammers impersonate charities soliciting money. Well, let me tell you, the grandparent scam is prolific in our own backyard here in Sonoma County.
Allow me to share how the grandparent scam was perpetrated against my own client living in Petaluma just this last weekend. Someone called my client’s home and convinced her they were calling from the CVS pharmacy and that her prescription refill was ready for pickup. When she told them she doesn’t drive therefore she would have to wait to get it later. The scammer used her good nature and convinced her to give them her home address and they would send a taxi to get her.
Luckily our caregiver arrived at the home before the taxi did. The client told the caregiver, a taxi will be here in a few minutes to take us to the CVS to get my prescriptions. Once…
