Elderly scams are on the rise!
Thieves like to target elderly men and women since they feel that the older population have more disposable income and are more trusting. Many elderly people are vulnerable to these scams since they live alone, have memory loss, or become easily confused/frightened by the scam artist. There are various ploys that scam artists use in order to entice the elderly to part with their hard earned cash.
33rd Street Bail Bonds has heard of these ploys being used to scam:
•Health insurance fraud. Where a scammer claims to be with your health insurance in order to get you to part with your money
•Telemarketing scams: different scams using scenarios such as telling an elderly person that a family member is in the hospital or jail and needs money, pretending to be the elderly person’s grandchild in order to solicit money, telling the elderly person that they have a large sum of money and are willing to share it with them as long as they pay the “up front” costs
•Internet scams such as phishing where the elderly receive an email where their security information needs to be “updated”. These can look like they are from a bank or the IRS
•Investment schemes: invest money
•Sweepstakes and lottery scams: you’ve won money so just send us this small fee to access it
•Obituary/Funeral Scam: thieves targeting those family members that have recently lost a loved one. Arriving at the house with a package that is cash on the delivery and leaving with cash while the elderly is stuck with a box of old newspapers. Funeral homes that are shady and insisting that the elderly need to purchase a top of the line casket even if they are being cremated
•Home repair. People knocking on doors and insisting that you need your trees trimmed or plumbing done now.
•Love: many elderly people are searching for love either online or through a dating site. Thieves are using these resources to target the elderly and bilk them out of their money
33rd Street Bail Bonds wants you to be aware that the elderly is being scammed. There are steps that can be used to help protect your elderly relatives and these include:
•Being involved in your elderly family member’s life. Help with financial decisions
•Advise your elderly relatives to not give out any personal information such as bank numbers, credit card numbers, or social security numbers
•Never hire anyone who appears on your door
•Never make an on the spot decision. Legitimate businesses give you time to consider your purchase
•Beware charity theft: where a person claims to be from a charity and soliciting money. Ask that written information be sent to your address before committing money
•Avoid no risk, huge profit investments. If it seems too good to be true, then it is too good to be true
33rd Street Bail Bonds hopes that these tips will help keep your elderly family members from becoming victims of a scam.
If you or a loved one ends up in a situation where you need help with bail bonds, then please call 33rd Street Bail Bonds at 407-425-7200. We are here to help get you or your loved ones through this stressful situation as quickly as possible. We are the oldest and most trusted bail bonding company in Central Florida. We serve Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Volusia counties. We provide knowledgeable and friendly bail bond agents that can walk you step by step through the bail bond process.
Our bail bond agency is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and year round. Please give us a call at 407-425-7200 or 407-425-3303 to start the bail bond process. We are here to help so give us a call today!