The digital world offers incredible opportunities for seniors to stay connected with family, manage healthcare, and explore new interests—but it also presents new risks that can be confusing and dangerous. Many older adults didn’t grow up with technology, making them particularly vulnerable to sophisticated online scams and privacy threats. Rather than avoiding the internet altogether, teaching your loved one a few essential…
In the fight to protect our loved ones from financial scams, we often focus on digital threats like phishing emails. But a more persistent, tangible danger arrives daily in their physical mailbox. Junk mail, with its deceptive sweepstakes, fake invoices, and too-good-to-be-true offers, is a primary tool used to perpetrate elder fraud. By simply reducing the volume of this predatory mail, we…
Tax Season is Prime Time for Financial Scams Targeting Seniors Tax season is the perfect opportunity for thieves looking to con older adults. Fraudsters prey on people’s fear of the IRS to steal seniors’ hard-earned savings. We describe the most common tax season scams to avoid and recommend two trusted organizations where you can ask questions and get updates on the latest…
Elder financial abuse destroys lives and costs seniors a whopping $37 billion each year. Dr. Stacey Wood, Ph.D, one of the nation’s leading experts on elder financial abuse, shares eight ways caregivers can help seniors avoid scams and fraud. Today, people over 50 hold more than 70% of the country’s wealth. But elder financial abuse is all too common. Fraudsters target older…
Fraudsters destroy seniors’ lives by stealing their hard-earned savings. An estimated $36 billion is stolen each year, and nearly 4 out of 10 older adults in the U.S. are affected by financial abuse. Many seniors would never imagine that someone would lie and cheat to steal their money. By knowing about popular scams, you’ll be able to educate and warn them so…
Heartless scammers steal $36 billion from American seniors every year. They prey on older adults because they’re more likely to have savings and are more vulnerable to high-pressure tactics. Common scams targeting seniors include calls from fake IRS and Medicare representatives, people posing as contractors who repair houses, and fraudsters selling fake or predatory financial products. The best protection against senior fraud…
Finding the right person to help care for your older adult can be tough. The top priorities are that they’re treated kindly and their care needs are met. But sometimes things don’t go smoothly and it’s difficult to know if there’s a real problem or not. Kathy Macaraeg from Caregiving Made Easy shares 6 signs that could mean there’s a serious issue…
Medicare is finally taking a big step to protect all 60 million beneficiaries from fraud and identity theft. They’re issuing new cards that don’t use a person’s Social Security number as an identifier. Today, con artists try to get Medicare numbers or personal information from trusting older adults. Then, because they have the Social Security number, they use that information to steal…
Legal issues that come up when caring for an older adult are stressful. You don’t know what you’re supposed to do, you’re afraid of costly mistakes, or you’re not sure when (or if) a lawyer is needed. To get answers, we asked Dennis Healy from ARAG, a legal insurance firm, to advise us on legal situations that affect seniors and family caregivers. Dennis…
Elder fraud is a growing crisis, with older adults losing an estimated $40 billion (or more) annually. Today’s scammers have moved beyond simple “lottery” phone calls; they now use AI-generated voice cloning, sophisticated text phishing, and fake investment platforms to target seniors. As a family caregiver, you are the most effective line of defense. Here are 5 updated strategies to help you…
