By Dan Mitchell, MLM Blog Correspondent
This from the Wall Street Journal Online:
The first time a beloved relative in his mid-70s wired several thousand dollars to strangers, believing he was paying taxes on huge lottery winnings, it seemed like a fluke, a mistake he would understand once we straightened him out.
Then it happened again. And again.
In less than a year, this Ivy League-educated professional sent at least $23,000 to slick con artists who came to know his personal interests, as well as his bank-account, credit-card and other personal information. Yet even more shocking than how effectively and efficiently scammers won his trust and his retirement savings was how impossible it was to stop them.
His children and stepchildren counseled him, cajoled him and took him to task. Experts, lawyers and his doctor were consulted. Law-enforcement agencies, from the local police to state officials to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were called. He agreed to give power of attorney to a son to help with financial matters. Yet he continued to send away money he couldn't afford to lose, fully expecting to see a huge reward in a matter of days.
"We never found a law-enforcement agency that cared," the son says. "To me, nobody gave a damn."
Our family's story is a cautionary tale in these tough economic times, when Internet, telemarketing and direct-mail con artists know that people of all ages are especially in need of a financial victory. Foreign lottery and sweepstakes scams are particularly effective with the elderly, especially those who have lost some mental capacity. The unemployed are susceptible to work-at-home schemes that call for upfront payments, but produce no jobs, while confident, highly educated professionals in their prime years regularly fall prey to investment frauds.
In a 2005 survey, the Federal Trade Commission estimated that 30.2 million U.S. consumers a year were victims of marketing frauds, led by bogus weight-loss products. Fraudulent foreign lottery schemes were second, reeling in more than three million victims a year, the agency estimated.
thank you for your article on scamming the elderly – my mother, a very bright, clear-thinking woman in her mid 80s was scammed
although she has very attentive children and grandchildren, she fell for these scams numerous times to the point she lost all her savings and now only has her monthly social security to support her
by far the most upsetting part of this situation was the lack of support or caring by any law inforcement agency – i had names, phone numbers from kingston jamaica and copies of various receipts but no one was interested – i called the nyc police, the nyc dept of the elderly, the nyc legal aid offices, as well as the FBI – no one cared or offered any advice – we were on our own – our bank, which my mother used since the early 1940s deposited bogus checks and then rather than wait the 10 days to clear, gave her the money and demanded she pay them back once the checks bounced – of course, it was up to my brother and me to make these financial obligations – again, no one – not even the people in the bank who knew her – did anything to help
i know am in control of her banking, but it's really closing the barn door after the cows got out –
i'm interested in knowing of any outside support or help – and i'm interested in getting involved in an organization that is looking into this situation and trying to combat it