By Rick Banas of BMA Management, Ltd.
Thanks to Erin Weir of Age Options, we learned earlier this week about an article on the National Council on Aging (NCOA) website that notes that financial scams with older adults as the victim have become so prevalent that they are now considered to be “The Crime of the 21st Century.”
The scams can be devastating to older adults, the NCOA warns, adding that it is not just the wealthy who are being targeted. Low-income older adults also are at risk.
In the article, the NCOA also warns that more than 90% of the reported cases of financial abuse allegedly involve family members taking advantage of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Here are the scams that made the NCOA list of “Top 10 Scams Targeting Older Adults.”
- Healthcare/Medicare/Health Insurance Fraud
- Counterfeit Prescription Drugs
- Funeral and Cemetery Scams
- Fraudulent Anti-Aging Productsv
- Telemarketing, including fake-accident ploys, fake charities and The Pigeon Drop.
- Intranet Fraud, including messages that appear to be from a legitimate company asking for personal information.
- Investment Schemesv
- Homeowners/Reverse Mortgage Scams
- Sweepstakes/Lottery Scams
- The Grandparents Scam
For more information on each of these scams and to read the full story, click here.
Also please share this information with others.
Erin Weir is the Healthcare Consumer Protection Coordinator with AgeOptions, which serves as the Area Agency on Aging for Suburban Cook County.
All affordable assisted living communities managed by BMA Management, Ltd. are certified and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. All assisted living communities are licensed and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“BMA Management, Ltd. is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
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