Unfortunately, seniors can find themselves the targets of fraud schemes by scammers. Fraud schemes vary greatly in their specifics and in the methods scammers use to try to get their elderly targets to give them money.
A recent CBS Moneywatch article went over some of the more common tactics scammers use on individuals to try to ensnare them in a fraud scheme. These include:
- Saying that “everybody else is doing it.”
- Trying to keep a person distracted.
- Doing minor favors for a person first before making a big request of them.
- Making a person feel like they will lose out unless they act right away.
- Trying to stir up a person’s emotions.
- Pretending to be connected to a trusted organization.
- Using rhetorical questions to try to steer a person’s decision-making.
So, these sorts of tactics are something that elderly individuals and their families may want to keep a close eye out for.
An individual’s unique personality and circumstances can impact what sort of fraud tactics they could be particularly susceptible to. So, it can be important for an elderly individual to be aware of what sorts of tactics they would likely be most vulnerable to and be especially on the lookout for these tactics in their everyday dealings.
While there are many different ways fraudsters may try to financially exploit elderly individuals, there are also many ways an elderly person and their family could try to protect against fraud and elder financial abuse. This could include putting certain asset protection devices, such as trusts, in place in their estate plan. Individual circumstances and situation can dictate what sorts of protection mechanisms a person may want to consider putting into their estate plan. Talking with a skilled elder law attorney can help a senior get an idea of what estate planning options are available to them when it comes to the goal of trying to put up protections against elder financial exploitation.