Police Warn About Scams Against Seniors

It happened again in Walnut Creek.

Earlier this month, an elderly woman fell victim to what has become an increasingly common scam perpetrated on seniors.

Someone called this woman, identifying herself as her granddaughter. The impostor said she was in jail and needed money wired to an offshore address to secure her release.

The Rossmoor resident wired the money and lost $3,000, as Walnut Creek Patch's Creek Diva reported in her most recent Creek Police Beat column.

About once a month, an elderly Walnut Creek resident falls victim to the “grandchild in jail scam,” said Detective A. Brown, who investigates elder financial fraud and abuse.

But that’s not the only scam crooks are trying on seniors in Walnut Creek, where 25 percent of residents are 65 and older, according to U.S. census figures, and nearly 1 in 5 residents lives in the Rossmoor retirement community.

Seniors are more vulnerable to these scams for a number of reasons—and not just because of declining cognitive functions due to aging, dementia or Alzheimer’s. There are cultural and generational reasons as well, Brown said.

“By nature, people who came of age in previous eras are a more trusting generation, more used to dealing with people face to face and more likely to believe that people conduct themselves honestly,” Brown said.

They are more willing to open their front doors to strangers or provide personal information over the phone or email, he said. “Elderly people feel that’s the proper way to have communications with someone.” 

Brown said he believes that the scammers are targeting people who live in certain geographic areas—such as the ZIP code that covers Rossmoor.  In some cases, the scammers will try their luck with multiple “cold” calls or visits, hoping a percentage of them will pan out. In other cases, they might have some information about their target gleaned from various sources, including going through their mailboxes.

Brown outlined some of the common scams police are seeing and how seniors—and their concerned family and friends—can protect against fraud and financial abuse.

Caretaker abuse
In these often complicated, emotional cases, a caretaker—more often than not a child or other close relative, Brown said—will steal checks or other valuables. Or, the caretaker will accompany a vulnerable older person to the bank and coax him into making cash withdrawals. It gets even more complicated when the plotting caretaker assumes control of the elderly person’s financial decision making and obtains power of attorney.

In addition to the maze-like financial transactions involved, these cases also are complicated by the relationships involved and the state of the senior’s physical or mental health. The abusive caretaker usually has gained a position of trust and the victim may be in declining physical or mental health, or not know they are being taken advantage of or be too ashamed to report it. Brown said that outsiders—not the victim—often report these cases, including bank employees who begin to notice unusual transactions on a customer’s account.

The senior “depends on the caretaker for so many things: transportation, food,” Brown said. “They may be aware that the caretaker is taking liberties but they are not in a position to report it, or they are ashamed. This is more often the case if the person taking advantage of you is someone close to you.” 

Tips: Before your health starts to decline, designate someone you trust to help with your finances, whether that is a close relative or a professional.

Always keep all your financial documents—records and checkbooks—in a secure place so you won’t have anyone, including caretakers, snooping around and getting access to your information.

Consult an attorney before signing a power of attorney.

"Grandchild in jail" scam
Typically, someone calls a senior claiming to be his or her grandchild in jail. Brown said the phone line might have static or some other noise that muffles the caller’s voice. The caller might have enough information about the family to sound plausible or prey on the grandparent’s wish to help the grandchild hide his or her arrest and shame from parents.

Brown said the Police Department has been receiving a report a month from a grandparent who has fallen for this scam and wired money to help their grandchild “get out of jail.” There probably are many more residents who have received this calls and discerned they were fake, Brown said.

Tip: Never wire money to a unknown business or person unless it is a transaction that you initiated. 

“People from Rossmoor will go over to the Safeway or CVS and wire a MoneyGram to these people,” Brown said. “There is no reason to do that.”

"You have a dent in your car" scam

The scammer will approach a senior and point out a dent in her vehicle and claim he can fix it. The scammer will offer to follow the senior home to fix the dent but often will charge far more than was agreed upon. In the meantime, the scammer has the senior’s address and gained the opportunity to learn other valuable knowledge about the senior for future scams.

Tip: Walk on by and don’t let anyone follow you home.  

Lottery and inheritance scams
Scammers will contact intended victims by phone or email and tell the victim he has won a large amount of money, and ask the victim to send a check to cover taxes and fees. Similarly, scammers will contact the intended victim, and say he is set to receive a large inheritance from a long-lost relative in a foreign country who shares the same surname—as long as he sends money to cover taxes and other fees.

Tips: Do not provide any personal or identifying information over the phone or via email unless it’s someone or a business you’ve dealt with before.

Always consult the websites of businesses that are offering you deals or money.

Other tips for seniors and their families: 

• Never sign any blank checks.
• Take an inventory and photographs of your valuables, checks and financial documents.
• Never leave outgoing mail in your mailbox. Drop it off at the post office or in a postal box while out doing other errands.
• Don’t open your door to strangers—and this includes the people who offer to paint your address on your front curb. You are putting yourself at risk of allowing someone into your home who could steal property or obtain enough information to defraud you later. You also are jeopardizing your personal safety. A door-to-door solicitor with a legitimate purpose will be willing to talk to you through a closed and locked door. “Don’t worry about hurting people’s feelings,” Brown said. “Your safety is more important than hurting someone’s feelings.”