Consumer Scam Alert

Seniors should be on the alert for the latest scams against older adults. Phishing emails encouraging seniors to create a “my Social Security” account (used to check out Social Security statements or manage Social Security benefits online) are circulating; however, these emails are a scam, according to the Social Security Administration. Seniors and family caregivers in the U.S. should:

• Not click on links to set up a new account. Even though “my Social Security” is a relatively new service for
the public, the agency is not sending emails to generate enrollment.

• Links to Social Security websites will always begin with www.socialsecurity.gov/.

For additional tips on detecting fraudulent email, visit ssa.gov

Scam Phone Calls Continue to Target Seniors

The Home Instead Senior Care^® network developed Protect Seniors from Fraud^SM, a public education program that was conceived to try to prevent criminal acts against the nation’s elderly. Ed Hutchison, director of the Triads and an expert source for the Protect Seniors from Fraud program, states that attempts to steal personal and financial information from seniors is becoming all too common.

Others agree. “America’s rife with health scams,” said James Quiggle, communications director at the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud in Washington, D.C. “Crooks are offering fake health coverage, stripped-down policies masquerading as real coverage.”

Here’s an example of what Quiggle was talking about: An 86-year-old Denver woman recently was sitting in her kitchen when the phone rang. She didn’t recognize the phone number or the voice. “He asked if I was a senior, and he said, ‘We are sending out new Medicare cards and I want to make sure I have all of your statistics correct,’ ” she said.

He recited her address and phone number, “to make sure they were right.” Then he read off a series of numbers and asked if it was her bank routing number. “I didn’t know at the time whether it was or not, so I just said no,” she said. “He said, ‘Could you give it to me so I’ll have it?’ I wasn’t so sure about that, and when he started to say something, I hung up.”

When the scammer tried to call again, she hung up, wrote the number from her caller ID and dialed Medicare to report it.

For more about consumer insurance fraud, see http://www.insurancefraud.org/fraud-why-worry.htm#.UX62-6Kkrl8; to learn how Home Instead is educating about senior fraud, visit http://www.caregiverstress.com/senior-safety/con-cheat-seniors/.