People above the age of 50 are considered to be an easy target for scammers. Many scammers believe the elderly are easy to fool because they are often isolated and out of practice when it comes to handling their finances. Many of the popular scams today can be complex and often very convincing to an untrained eye. Most of the time, scammers utilize fake documents and identification to fool the victim into giving them money, property, etc. Here in Hawaii, there is a multitude of scams that are consistently reported to authorities. According to HPD, the most common types of scams in Hawaii include the following:
- Jamaican Scam or Green Dot Card Scam: Closely related to the sweepstakes scam, this scam involves the victim receiving a call from the area code 876, the area code for the island nation of Jamaica. The caller will tell the victim they have just won a large amount of money (often millions of dollars) but need to send some money to clear their winnings. The caller will then instruct the victim to go to the nearest Walmart or Walgreen’s store and purchase a Green Dot card (this is nothing more than a pre-paid credit card) in the specified amount. Once the card has been purchased, the victim is told to call them back to confirm this and make arrangements for delivery.
- Investment Fraud: Elders often have assets that younger people don’t. The suspects know this and target their money by offering them investment opportunities. Sometimes it is a legitimate investment advisor who does this. The advisor will sell the elder annuities or insurance they don’t need or offer them high returns on non-existent investments. More often than not, it is the opportunist that lures the suspect with promises of high returns for investing with them. The investments are always too good to be true. Some offer high returns of the initial investment, offering returns as high as 20 times the original amount. The schemes are often as far fetched. They have included money re-valuation schemes, buying cheap real estate for a quick turnaround.
Legal Documents Fraud: This form of fraud is most often seen when the suspect exerts enough control over the victim to give them the power of attorney which then becomes a license to steal. The suspect in these instances is sometimes a caregiver, sometimes a family member other times a friend or business associate, While this legal tool is necessary it should be used wisely to protect the elder’s assets. Another form of this scam takes place when the suspect again exerts enough control and influence to have the elder write them into the trust as either a trustee, beneficiary, or both. This often causes problems with any heirs or beneficiaries and is not what the elder really intended to do with their estate. - Contractor Fraud: We see a lot of this in Hawaii because of our habit of paying cash for deals. Recently passed laws making it illegal to perform work that requires a license without one. We have seen elders approached by suspects who offer to do repair work at really low rates. The suspects often do a little work and disappear with the money leaving an even bigger mess to be cleaned up. The area here is a little gray since there is a contractual agreement between the victim and the suspect. However, with the new unlicensed contractor law, we are able to take action if the person is unlicensed. In a twist on this scam, one alleged worker might distract the elder while another enters the house lo steal money and other valuables.
- Grandparent Scam: This happens when a person claiming to be the elder’s grandchild or someone representing them, calls and says there’s been a bad accident or the grandchild has been arrested. Either way, the caller then asks for money and instructs the elder on how to send the money, usually by Western Union. The remarkable thing about this is that the grandparent swears that they actually talked to their grandchild, when in fact they later learn that it wasn’t.
- Sweepstakes or Lottery Scams: These are by far the most common scams that we see. The senior is told that they won millions and are instructed to send money to cover taxes and fees. First of all, they probably never entered any such contest and if they did it is against the law. Secondly, if you win, they give you a prize and you are responsible for your own taxes and any associated fees.
The descriptions of the popular scams here in Hawaii are provided by the Honolulu Police Department District 7 East Honolulu Community Policing Team. Check out their website here.
This article is provided by Scott Topping, Owner, FirstLight Home Care of Honolulu. For more information, visit us online at Honolulu.FirstLightHomeCare.com or call us at (808) 600-3733.
