Reply to S/o List of signs of financial scams I can flag for older relatuves

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Reply to "S/o List of signs of financial scams I can flag for older relatuves"

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[quote=Anonymous]This might not work - there are a lot of reasons elderly people fall or "fall" for scams.

But try just convincing them that NO ONE who calls them is legit. Your bank will almost NEVER call you. The exception to this rule is the "Know Your Customer" thing which I actually think was a big policy mistake because it does resemble a scam and may confuse people later. There are also fraud alerts but those are recordings and don't ask for anything.

If they do have a call that they think is legit, they need to use the Call Back rule. Whatever institution they say they're from, train your parents to write it down and their name and title. Say you need to call back. Then use a published number for the institution, such as the one on the back of their bank card, to call back. You can always get through to whoever it was via the main number if it's legit. There is absolutely no legitimate matter where they can't wait for you to call back. So train your parents that anyone who resists or says they need to call a direct number is a scammer.

There are times where they could stick to this rule and end up inconvenienced, such as dealing with airlines when rescheduling and for lost luggage. But those situations are few and far between imo.

The problem is that one of the main reasons people fall for these things is for the emotional benefits. The PP's dad who was going to get the gift cards to pay taxes on his prize was excited. And he had an important task to accomplish. Those can be very valuable emotions to an older person and their brains will work hard to suspend disbelief.

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