Elder fraud: How to protect yourself or help your loved ones feel safe
Elder fraud is a fairly common phenomenon. The goal of thieves is to rob vulnerable sections of the population. In fact, thieves often pose as technicians or find various excuses to break into the homes of elderly people who live alone. Sometimes they pose as employees or friends of their children and use good faith to take money and valuables. Therefore, elderly people, victims of fraud, very often suffer serious economic losses, as well as acquire psychological injuries due to the invasion of personal space. Sometimes they also feel guilty. But how do you protect yourself from elder fraud? We tell below.
How to prevent elder fraud
A key element is the ability to be considerate, being wary of opening the door to strangers who ring the doorbell pretending to be a technician without an appointment. On the other hand, we have to think that service companies such as telephone and gas companies never send their workers without a first phone call.
It is important not to open the door to those who appear for document verification or to those who announce monetary transactions, especially unplanned ones. It would also be very useful to implement a special alarm system for the elderly with scary signs on the street and a portable SOS button.
It is a good idea to leave stickers on cabinets or front doors that indicate the presence of a security alarm system, such as a video surveillance system or a system connected to an operations center. They act as a deterrent to thieves
Panic buttons can also save against theft. It’s worth wearing the keychain as a pendant or keeping in your pocket to press and alert you to the need for immediate intervention when you’re in danger.
The most common types of fraud involving the elderly
One common case is a fake courier knocks on an elderly person’s door, delivers a package on behalf of the person’s son or grandson, and asks for an amount, for example, 2,000 or 3,000 euros.
In other cases, fraudsters pose as employees of INPS, Enel or the telephone company and demand a check. When a person lets a thief in, the person is often robbed, even with the use of force.