Do you know how to recognize elder abuse?
Did you know that June Is World Elder Abuse Awareness Month?
By partnering with LPL Financial, I'm in a unique position to prevent, detect, and report concerns of elder financial exploitation and to assist clients in preparing for and protecting their financial future, before diminished capacity or Alzheimer’s impact them and their families.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was launched by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations.
This annual initiative was launched to provide an opportunity to promote a better understanding of the abuse older people suffer by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic, and demographic processes affecting them.
Abuse can take many forms, from a family member or caretaker using undue influence or threats to obtain money to clicking on a pop-up that suddenly appears on a computer.
The most common types of scams are:
🏅Sweepstakes and lottery scams:
An unknown individual has told a client they just won a prize, but have to pay an advanced fee in order to get winnings.
❤️ Romance scams:
An unknown individual messages a client to start a friendly conversation that turns into a romantic relationship, but they need money to be able to flee their country and travel to the United States to start a relationship with the client.
🏧 Cryptocurrency and gift card scams:
An immediate red flag of a scam is when a client is asked to deposit money into a cryptocurrency or bitcoin ATM or that they need cash to purchase gift cards.
🤡 Imposter scams:
The fraudster will contact a client from what seems like a legitimate number or email indicating they are with the government (IRS, Medicare, FBI, Social Security Administration) or a business (Microsoft, Apple, or Amazon) stating that something is wrong, asking for personal information, stating that action needs to be taken right away, and requesting money. Also, they often request their victims to avoid discussing the matter with others.
These legitimate government agencies and businesses do not contact clients by phone and clients should not click on computer pop-up messages.
📦 Personally, I receive countless texts from "UPS deliveries" -- asking me to confirm something. DELETE!
🚗 I also received an email from EZPass MA -- the service that issues our toll transponders. It was odd because I had just gone through a toll the prior day - and it flashed at me -- so I thought it may be legit. When I read the email, I could see it directing me to a spam site - not the government-run one. I'm still wondering if the toll booth was hacked somehow.
🤔 If you or your loved ones (of ANY age) ever have any concerns about your financial accounts, I'm always available for help.
And if you'd like to discuss your own 🐝 financial beehive --
📲 Schedule time with me here.
Wishing you peace, love and a FUN SUMMER!🌻