How to save elderly relatives who keep falling for scams
Filed under: Banks, Ripoffs and Scams, Technology, Fraud, Consumer Complaints
My family knows about cashier's check scams and other crafty international methods of loosing the elderly and other emotionally fragile types from their money. Over the past few months, both my husband's great uncle and his sister's ailing landlord have been the subject of a series of shysters and hopeful perpetrators of fraud; and despite a great deal of effort on my husband's part, no law enforcement officials, banks or wire services helped in the least. Fortunately, my husband has talked them out of sending money in each case.
After having grown very frustrated with the scams -- which often targeted Craigslist posters and responders, seeking to get short-term jobs or rent spare rooms -- I wondered, how could these thieves live with themselves, taking money and hope from those most in need of it? How could no one care? I found that we were neither alone nor, by any measure, the most frustrated and penniless because of these scammers. That this story in the Wall Street Journal features a 70-year-old Ivy League grad who was slowly stripped of his responsibilities and power over his own finances by concerned family members only emphasizes what a huge problem these criminals are; and what little effort our law enforcement agencies and financial institutions are putting into it.
International criminals who use the wire services to defraud our elderly, these people say, is a family matter.
This relative of WSJ writer Karen Blumenthal had suffered the death of his wife a few years ago, then moved to a town two hours away from his nearest family member. And then, the fraud began: the first time, he was paying taxes on huge lottery winnings (which of course he never saw); lottery crooks sent him a very large cashier's check and asked him to immediately wire some percentage of the money for taxes (in the rental scam, the money is for moving expenses and the rest is security deposit and upfront rent; in the job scam, the money is for the employer's family members' travel expenses, and the remainder is the employee's pay).
The checks are, of course, forgeries, though banks will often accept the deposits, then charge customers a series of fees, and deduct the money the victim has sent to the crooks, when they turn out to be fraudulent. The wire services who send the funds say they can't be held accountable (and can't return funds). It's important to note that the banks and wire services are making money from these scams; my husband called National City Bank about the check pictured, asking didn't they care someone was using their name fraudulently? No, they didn't, nor did any other financial institution whose name appeared on the checks he and his family members received.
The FBI, local police and state officials say they can't do anything. "We never found a law-enforcement agency that cared," said the Ivy League grad's son, who was eventually given power of attorney, and then named guardian, over his father. Not even despite the fact that, according to the National Consumers League, 41% of the calls and reports about fraud in 2008 were about check scams, compared to to less than 7% in 2005.
The only people who care are the victims of fraud and their agonizing family members.
The man, who repeatedly admitted he'd been scammed, kept sending more money. When he couldn't cash out his life insurance policy, he sold his car and sent $4,500 to Costa Rica. When his family took away his cell phone and re-routed his mail to another state, the scammers kept coming, and a few hours later, he demanded his phone back: A friend needed some money.
After having grown very frustrated with the scams -- which often targeted Craigslist posters and responders, seeking to get short-term jobs or rent spare rooms -- I wondered, how could these thieves live with themselves, taking money and hope from those most in need of it? How could no one care? I found that we were neither alone nor, by any measure, the most frustrated and penniless because of these scammers. That this story in the Wall Street Journal features a 70-year-old Ivy League grad who was slowly stripped of his responsibilities and power over his own finances by concerned family members only emphasizes what a huge problem these criminals are; and what little effort our law enforcement agencies and financial institutions are putting into it.
International criminals who use the wire services to defraud our elderly, these people say, is a family matter.
This relative of WSJ writer Karen Blumenthal had suffered the death of his wife a few years ago, then moved to a town two hours away from his nearest family member. And then, the fraud began: the first time, he was paying taxes on huge lottery winnings (which of course he never saw); lottery crooks sent him a very large cashier's check and asked him to immediately wire some percentage of the money for taxes (in the rental scam, the money is for moving expenses and the rest is security deposit and upfront rent; in the job scam, the money is for the employer's family members' travel expenses, and the remainder is the employee's pay).
The checks are, of course, forgeries, though banks will often accept the deposits, then charge customers a series of fees, and deduct the money the victim has sent to the crooks, when they turn out to be fraudulent. The wire services who send the funds say they can't be held accountable (and can't return funds). It's important to note that the banks and wire services are making money from these scams; my husband called National City Bank about the check pictured, asking didn't they care someone was using their name fraudulently? No, they didn't, nor did any other financial institution whose name appeared on the checks he and his family members received. The FBI, local police and state officials say they can't do anything. "We never found a law-enforcement agency that cared," said the Ivy League grad's son, who was eventually given power of attorney, and then named guardian, over his father. Not even despite the fact that, according to the National Consumers League, 41% of the calls and reports about fraud in 2008 were about check scams, compared to to less than 7% in 2005.
The only people who care are the victims of fraud and their agonizing family members.
The man, who repeatedly admitted he'd been scammed, kept sending more money. When he couldn't cash out his life insurance policy, he sold his car and sent $4,500 to Costa Rica. When his family took away his cell phone and re-routed his mail to another state, the scammers kept coming, and a few hours later, he demanded his phone back: A friend needed some money.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
6-19-2009 @ 5:02PM
M said...
The FBI has an internet fraud complaint center.
www.ic3.gov
Also, the postmaster can be contacted
Or the BBB
Reply
6-20-2009 @ 6:02AM
Stan said...
I lost my job a few months ago, as many of us are now. I was devastated, how was I going to support my family? I read about the eBay Success System in Entrepreneur magazine and they even had a link ( http://tr.im/EbaySuccessSystem ) to get a free kit explaining how to make money that way. I found out that over 720,000 Americans are making a living on EBAY right now. I am one of them now. Now you can do that too. I can tell you that I'm already making as much money as I did on my job and I'm working less time than I used to spend commuting. Beat the economic depression and get your free kit today. http://tr.im/EbaySuccessSystem
6-20-2009 @ 6:07AM
Mike said...
I lost my job in early December. It was the first time in my life that I was laid off from a job. We have 3 young children and I can't even begin to describe the feeling I had knowing that I had no income and couldn't find a job. A friend of mine told me that he was doing well working full time on a Google cash system. He told me that there were hundreds of thousands of people making a full time living with Google. That was all well and good but I didn't have any money to invest and I knew I didn't have the skills that would be needed. He sent me this link http://cli.gs/GoogleCashSystem and told me to check out this system. It was my Christmas miracle because with virtually no investment I got in the game. Now I'm making much more money than I ever have and, believe it or not, I'm now working less hours everyday than I used to spend commuting back and forth to me old job.
6-20-2009 @ 6:48AM
donna said...
The postmaster wont help and the FBI center wont either. My eldery father is going through the same thing. He always was the first one to catch on to a scam all of the sudden he is the victim. He claims he was going to be a million heir. But first he had to disclose alot of personal information and give alot of money. He had hundreds of these and was getting suckered into them. I think the number of these scams has dwinndled but a couple of them are still at it.
6-20-2009 @ 9:23AM
Jack said...
This happened to my wife and I. I notified the FBI fraud site (for what?). The bank where we cashed the MOs put us on a list that does not enable my wife nor I, to open another account. Even after a letter explaining what happened. Plus, we never drew the funds out. I had a gut feeling so I left the money for 2 weeks. When the document turned out to be a fraud, we suuffered at the hands of the bank (WMB). The bank lost nothing and yet they punished us. So now I have VERY LITTLE turst in any bank.
6-20-2009 @ 10:38AM
Richard said...
Yes we have all these places to report to you listed, how ever, they haven't help the people who get scammed, I don't think they even pursue them in anyway. It's just another agency getting funded for nothing.
6-19-2009 @ 11:24PM
Dave said...
I created a rental scam detection tool if anyone is interest in seeing if they are getting scammed.
http://www.pickrent.com/stuff/scamquiz.cfm
Dave Dugdale
Reply
6-20-2009 @ 6:10AM
Daniel said...
Learn how to Lose Weight Quickly and Build Lean Muscle Mass:
http://www.BodyCoreStrength.com
Reply
6-20-2009 @ 8:52AM
Gene said...
Is this your scam? ..... What does weight-loss have to do with the story on "scams"?
6-20-2009 @ 6:14AM
Paula said...
But they're so much older and wiser than I am. How can they continue to fall victim to these scams? And what business do I have to interfere? I don't dare strip them of their independence. That's no way to treat the elderly.
Reply
6-20-2009 @ 6:49AM
Richard said...
Paula: The elderly was raised in a time when scams was very rare. It was also a time when there was no internet. It was a time when a handskake was all you needed. Elderly people are very trusting. They still believe that all people are good. It is really a shame that people scam the elderly and then others say well its not my problem (everybody should be concerned). If the target of most of these scams are the elderly than it is the young that does the scamming and you should be asking yourself (wether your a teenager or in your 50s): Is this what my generation is all about?
6-20-2009 @ 9:08AM
Paula said...
Scammers, swindlers, and snake oil salesmen have always been around. The venue might be different, but the concept and the techniques are the same. Play on people's emotions and need for money. Make them think they're doing something good for the world, and in the process, turning a profit. Time-tested techniques that have been around for ages.
Before the internet, they were conducted over the phone, getting account numbers, socials, and other personal information (still happens, by the way). Scams are still being conducted through the newspaper classifieds. The elderly are not the only ones falling for this. There have been several cases on People's Court and Judge Judy. An employee where I work was being sought out by the on-site bank for cashing a fraudulent check and sending the money away to her scammer, and she now owes them. Those people were in their 20s and 30s.
And with these so-called "Nigeria Scams" gaining frequency and media coverage, you would think people would be getting wise to them. I feel bad for people who are in tough situations, but when they try to take shortcuts and get burned, I don't want to hear them whining.
6-20-2009 @ 6:22AM
Frankie said...
I go by this adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Reply
6-20-2009 @ 6:47AM
deRuiter said...
These are all variations on the Nigerian Bank Scam, often done by scammers overseas, which you can usually tell by the poor grammar and spelling. These scams scream "fraud" at you. A lot of people with money are really stupid and / or greedy. That's why these perpetrators continue to prosper. It's easy not to be cheated, don't think you're going to make fast money dealing with strangers. DON'T SEND MONEY TO ANYONE YOU DON'T KNOW. If you get one of these checks, YOUR BANK CAN TEST THE VALIDITY FOR YOU AND REASSURE YOU THAT IT'S A FORGERY WITHOUT DEPOSITING THE CHECK. But you don't have to do that, I ASSURE YOU THESE CHECKS ARE NO GOOD. Don't be a jerk and fall for these transparent schemes.
Reply
6-20-2009 @ 6:50AM
Pat said...
These scams happen regularly. I had a 'for rent' ad on Craigs List...and kept recieving checks from various scammers. $6,800, $5,500, etc, etc. My personal bank did check them out for me at my request..discovering each time that indeed the bank they were drawn on had issued a check by that number...however it was to someone else for a different amount.
And, of course, the old Nigerian scam...hubby died, millions in bank, need help getting them out...pay you 20% for your aid and assistance. I did a reverse scam on them..after they laboriously kept writing, faxing and calling me directly I finally told them I was all set to go...all they had to do was send me $25,000 for my flight tickets and accomodations. They were not happy campers...but I had a good laugh at their expense.
I turned these scams over to the Postal authorities...for it's against the rules to use the mail for fraudulent purposes...I've not heard any thing back from them however.
So..please, just be aware.
Reply
6-20-2009 @ 7:36AM
Jess said...
I put a motorcycle on Craigslist and immediately got responses. The wording/grammar in them wasn't very good and I got suspicious.. I stopped giving out my phone number and address. Then I get a check for over the amount I was asking for the motorcycle., telling me to deposit the check and use the extra to pay the shipper.It is drawn on an out of state bank and id issued from an oil exploration company in Houston.
I called the oil company and was told the check was a royalty check and I was advised to deposit it. I then called the bank and was told the account was active and I should deposit it. Still, something was "fishy", So I called the oil company'e Accounting Department. After I read the number of the check to the person, i was told that it was one of a pack that had been stolen.
I reported it to the FBI site...nothing.
But since that time, I've had several emails from different people (one claiming to be a reverand) saying that they had sent the check. Makes me wonder how big this ring of scammers is.
6-20-2009 @ 8:30AM
Mike said...
I work for a hotel, we received a check as a deposit for reservation from a company in Arizona. The name of the issuer did not match that of the person who had made the reservation. We called the issuing bank and asked them if the check was legitimate and were told it was not. The person who had made the reservation then called and demanded a refund of his deposit as his wife had just died. We had turned the check over to the police and it was never cashed. We were then harassed by the fraudulent guest for months. It is funny how stupid some of these people are.
6-20-2009 @ 8:43AM
Kell said...
Pat--
That was a great idea! Best that I have ever done has been to blow a police whistle as loud as I can into the phone. They hate that too.
6-20-2009 @ 6:50AM
sonnieC said...
This is what greed will get you. Loss of your own money be smart not stupid.
Reply
6-20-2009 @ 6:57AM
Larry said...
As PT Barnum once said.....
Reply