BALTIMORE, MD (WMAR) — The holidays are almost here and while that means cheer for most, scammers are gearing up for their busy season as well. Often times, those scammers are targeting the elderly. Laura Riley is the Director for the Baltimore County Department of Aging and says care givers should be keeping an eye on their loved ones finances if at all possible.
“The number one is the IRS scam. So, the IRS calls and says they’re coming to get you and put you in jail if you don’t pay a certain amount of money or give access to your bank account and that’s absolutely not true. The IRS will never call you but its very intimidating to have someone identify themselves that way.” Said Riley
Riley also says that the elderly are typically vulnerable because they want to trust. “They want to have friendships and they don’t want to say no….and that’s something we’ve got to teach a generation of people who just think that’s being rude but instead its ok, you can hang up the phone or you don’t have to answer the door. There’s nothing in the rules that say you have to do that. Look out for yourself first. Protect yourself” said Riley.
Experts encourage care givers to always be looking for changes in patterns.
“Often times you’ll start to see small amounts of money disappearing and then it gets bigger and bigger and bigger and that’s typically because there’s a scam going on and they’re trying to draw that person in, to be trusted and to just keep giving larger amounts of money.
For more information on scams targeting the elderly click here.
