- Guard your Medicare number, which is typically your Social Security number. Protect it as you would your bank and credit card information.
- Remember Medicare will NEVER call or email you requesting personal information or product offers. If you receive a call or email from someone claiming to be with Medicare that should be an immediate tip-off that you’re are dealing with a con artist.
- Discussing your debt with relatives, coworkers or friends (that’s illegal);
- Threatening to “serve you” with a lawsuit if you don’t pay first (process servers who deliver these notices rarely, if ever, call consumers first, and they don’t try to collect payment);
- Warning you that criminal charges will be filed, including “theft by deception.” It’s not a crime to be unable to pay your bills, and consumer debts are typically civil matters, not criminal.
- Insisting you send them a prepaid card or wire payment. These funds are untraceable, which is why crooks like them.
- You can tell a collector who is crossing the line that you are going to report them to law enforcement. Do so. You can contact Fraud.org or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to file a complaint.
Look at Survey Results
Look at survey results from the state licensing agency that shows the facility’s history with regulatory compliance or noncompliance. (This is public data)
Check Court Records
Check court records to determine if the facility been sued for neglect.
Check Online
Conduct on line research regarding the Medicare’s nursing home compare website that ranks nursing homes from best to worst.
Take a Tour
Take an on-site tour of facility. Your senses of smell, sound and sight are great common sense predictors of quality.
Meet the Staff
Meet and interview staff and administrator.
Ask Questions
Ask about staffing levels, activities and resident opinion surveys, family member opinion surveys, read resident & family council minutes.
Language Barriers?
Make sure the facility is able to clearly communicate in the elder’s first language.
Care Barriers?
If it is important that the senior is seen by his or her own personal physician, confirm that he or she can see resident at facility? If not, meet facility medical director and research his/her background.
Don’t Make a Quick Decision
Take the admission agreement home and read it carefully to see what services are included in the base price, as opposed to extra costs.
Step One – Get a captive audience
Professional financial predators must first get a captive audience of willing seniors together. Watch out for the “Free Lunch” or “Free Seminar” where you are promised free and important information on “Living Trusts” or “Reverse Mortgages.”
Step Two – Find Out What the Senior Owns
The next step is to find out what the senior owns in terms of property, savings, annuities, equity in home and other assets. This is accomplished by handing out questionnaires at the “Free Lunch” or “Free Seminar” that will be used to determine which attendees will later be targeted for financial exploitation at a sales presentation.
Step Three – Create a Need to Move the Assets
The financial predator needs to create a need for the senior to move his or her assets or buy and expensive insurance product, like an annuity that pays the predator a huge commission. This is usually accomplished by creating fear and insecurity about one’s life savings. The scammer will tell you he will “protect your estate” and “secure it for your children,” You might be told that “you will go into a nursing home and outlive your money,” or need to “avoid probate,” or “qualify for Medi Cal,” or a host of other doom and gloom scenarios to create enough fear and concern to induce you to comply with the predator’s wishes.
Step Four – Liquidate the Senior’s Assets and Move them to Commission-based Products
The final step is to close the deal by having the senior move his or her money somewhere where the predator earns a commission. Watch out for IRA Rollovers, Direct Cash Purchases, Reverse Mortgages, Consulting Fees for Assistance in Qualify for a Government Product, or the purchase of an Expensive Annuity. All of these transactions can be used for an inappropriate and unsuitable purpose.
If you hear these-or similar- “lines” from a telephone salesperson, just say “no thank you,” and hang up the telephone:
“You’ve won a free gift, vacation, or prize.” But you have to pay for “postage and handling” or other charges.
“You must act now, or the offer won’t be good.”
“You must send money, give a credit card or bank account number, or have a check picked up by courier.” You may hear this before you have had a chance to consider the offer carefully.
“You don’t need to check out the company with anyone.” The callers say you do not need to speak to anyone, including your family, lawyer, accountant, local better business bureau, or consumer protection agency.
“You can’t afford to miss this high-profit, no-risk offer.”Don’t buy from an unfamiliar company.
Legitimate businesses understand that you want more information about their company and are happy to comply.
Always ask for and wait until you receive written material about any offer or charity.
If you get brochures about costly investments, ask someone whose financial advice you trust to review them. But, unfortunately, beware—not everything written down is true.
Always check out unfamiliar companies.
Check unfamiliar companies with your local consumer protection agency, better business bureau, state attorney general, the national fraud information center, or other watchdog groups. Unfortunately, not all bad businesses can be identified through these organizations.
Obtain a salesperson’s name, business identity, telephone number, street address, mailing address, and business license number before you transact business.
Some con artists give out false names, telephone numbers, addresses, and business license numbers. Verify the accuracy of these items.
Before you give money to a charity or make an investment…
Find out what percentage of the money is paid in commissions and what percentage actually goes to the charity or investment.
Before you send money, ask yourself a simple question:
“What guarantee do I really have that this solicitor will use my money in the manner we agreed upon?”
Don’t pay in advance for services.
Pay services only after they are delivered.
Be wary of companies that want to send a messenger to your home to pick up money, claiming it is part of their service to you.
In reality, they are taking your money without leaving any trace of who they are or where they can be reached.
Always take your time making a decision.
Legitimate companies won’t pressure you to make a snap decision.
Don’t pay for a “free prize”.
If a caller tells you the payment is for taxes, he or she is violating federal law.
Before you receive your next sales pitch, decide what your limits are—the kinds of financial information you will and won’t give out on the telephone.
Be sure to talk over big investments offered by telephone salespeople with a trusted friend, family member, or financial advisor.
It’s never rude to wait and think about an offer.
Never respond to an offer you don’t understand thoroughly.
Never send money or give out personal information such as credit card numbers and expiration dates, bank account numbers, dates of birth, or social security numbers to unfamiliar companies or unknown persons.
Be aware that your personal information is often brokered to telemarketers through third parties.
If you have been victimized once, be wary of persons who call offering to help you recover your losses for a fee paid in advance.
- Gifts to persons (caregivers, service providers, friends) who are not the natural objects of the elder’s love and commitment.
- Gifts to anyone that are so large, given the size and nature of the elder’s estate, as to threaten the elder’s economic security
- Loans, particularly if undocumented, to anyone; special scrutiny required if to non‑family members
- Actions by the elder’s fiduciary (attorney-in-fact, trustee, other) that reflect poor judgment or conflict of interest
- Existence of estate-planning documents naming non‑family members as fiduciaries or beneficiaries
- Existence of joint accounts with non‑family members
- Evidence that the elder signs checks prepared by others
- Bequest plans or other arrangements favoring one child, particularly if the child lives with elder.
- Evidence of excessive dependence on a child or other person, particularly if such other person is critical to the client’s independence and/or ability to avoid a nursing home
- Material inconsistency between elder’s understanding of estate and its true value
- Excessive fees charged by professionals (trustees, attorneys, financial advisors, stockbrokers, other)
- Unreasonable terms of loans or other financial arrangements.
Common Medicare Scams and How to Protect Yourself
It’s important to know what to watch for during open enrollment, when the nation’s 55 million Medicare recipients have the opportunity to change their Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. In addition to the challenge of going through the many plan options, experts say Medicare open enrollment is prime time for scam artists. Here are a few tips to protect yourself.
If an insurance agent visits your home to sell or endorse any Medicare product, they are acting illegally.
Tips for Spotting Debt Collection Scams
Verify the Debt is Legitimate
It is very risky to pay a debt collection agency the first time it contacts you by phone. If it turns out to be a scam, your money will be gone with no hope of getting it back. So take time to investigate and you could save yourself some serious money.
The fact that the debt collector has your personal information, such as your Social Security number, employment information, or names and telephone numbers of friends or relatives does not mean the debt is legitimate. Fraudsters can easily buy information about people who have defaulted on debts or who applied for loans online through sketchy websites. Anything you’ve put in a credit application could wind up in the hands of these crooks.
Under a federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector must provide you with a written “validation notice” within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, how much you owe, and how to dispute the debt if you don’t believe it is correct. Insist this notice be mailed – not emailed – to you.
Another tip: Get your free annual credit report from all three credit bureaus to see if the collection account is listed on your credit reports. If it is, and the information is not accurate, you can dispute it. Conversely, if it is not on your reports, it could be a further indication that you are not dealing with a legitimate collection agency, as the scammers can’t and won’t report to credit bureaus. (While you are at it, monitor your credit scores for free. A sudden drop in your scores could indicate a collection account has been added.)
Verify the Collector is Legitimate
“Spoofing” technology makes it easy for a collector to pretend they are calling you from a phone number that is not theirs. Scammers have impersonated law firms and even law enforcement agencies in an effort to get you to pick up the phone and make a payment.
Ask the caller for the name and address of the collection agency they work for. Again, you are entitled to this information. Then go online to see what you can find out. Does this firm exist? Are they listed with the Better Business Bureau? If so, are there complaints about them? You can also try searching for the phone number listed on your caller ID, but please remember these numbers can be faked. So don’t rely on that information alone.
If the name of the collection agency or law firm is legitimate, it does not hurt to call them directly if the call you received seemed suspicious. If the agency is legitimate they will have no problem confirming your debt. But if it turns out someone else is using their name to try to rip people off, they will want to know about that as well. Same thing goes with callers who claim to represent the FBI, sheriff’s department, courts or other government agencies. These agencies will be able to confirm you are talking with scammers. (Courts don’t call consumers to collect debts, by the way, and neither does the FBI!)
Fight Back
Any of the following are red flags when a debt collector calls you demanding payment:
Common Financial Elder Abuse Scams
Tips to help protect against financial abuse.
According to recently released Census Bureau projections, the number of Americans 65 and older will double over the next 30 years to 80 million. Because older Americans have worked and saved longer than their younger counterparts, they naturally hold a much larger share of the nation’s wealth.
Scammers are all too familiar with these statistics and are constantly developing new strategies to illegally take this money from the elderly. There is no limit to the imagination of a crook. Here are a few of the most common scams.
Some simple things that you can do to help protect your loved one:
A Letter from the Founder: Welcome to Elder Protection Center
Today is a special day for those in their golden years! If you have loved ones or parents who are aging, today is even more special because we are launching an all new resource for the elderly – www.elderprotectioncenter.com. It is my hope that you and your family will benefit from the website’s many tips to prevent common problems that unfortunately may occur in your later years. If you know of loved ones or if you work with the elderly closely, I am very proud to announce the launch of the Elder Protection Center – Today. (more…)
Tips on Selecting a Nursing Home
4 Common Steps used by the Professional Predator to Target Seniors
Important Rule of Thumb:
Have all financial decisions evaluated by a trusted advisor who does not stand to earn a dime if you decide to purchase one of these products.
Tips for Avoiding Telemarketing Fraud
At Elder Protection Center we’re here to help you and the ones you love to navigate the complexities and concerns that often come with aging.
Protect the People You Love is our number one priority. You are not alone. We’d love to hear from you. Elder Protection Center is standing by for you and your loved ones – Today.
10 Tips to Protect Against Elder Financial Abuse
Tips and resources to help protect against financial abuse.
According to recently released Census Bureau projections, the number of Americans 65 and older will double over the next 30 years to 80 million. Because older Americans have worked and saved longer than their younger counterparts, they naturally hold a much larger share of the nation’s wealth.
Scammers are all too familiar with these statistics and are constantly developing new strategies to illegally take this money from the elderly. There is no limit to the imagination of a crook. Here are a few of the most common scams.
Some simple things that you can do to help protect your loved one:
10 Tips to Avoid Senior Identity Theft
According to the Bureau of Justice, over 3 million elderly Americans have their identity stolen by predators each year. Unfortunately, as long as there have been identity thieves, seniors have always been their preferred target. The elderly are often socially isolated, tend to be trusting and vulnerable, lonely, and may have early dementia or memory loss.
Additionally, many elderly do not check their credit reports on a regular basis, if at all, making early detection problematic.
The first time a senior or their care-provider may become aware that their identity has been stolen may be when bill collectors begin calling on charges that the predator made in their name.
Protect yourself and your elderly loved ones with these 10 tips to help avoid becoming a victim of identity theft:
12 Signs of Undue Influence and Incapacity
What To Do If You Suspect Undue Influence Or Incapacity
Click Here and Give Your Loved One Either or Both of These Quick Screening Tests
At Elder Protection Center we’re here to help you and the ones you love to navigate the complexities and concerns that often come with aging.
Protect the People You Love is our number one priority. You are not alone. We’d love to hear from you. Elder Protection Center is standing by for you and your loved ones – Today.
