Aging Populations Make for Easy Fraud Targets

-
If you've ever been a victim of a scam, you know exactly how it feels--privacy feels invaded leaving you out in the open. The continuous advancements made in the realm of technology, maker it easier and easier for scammers to get you information; online payment platforms, unsecured wifi networks, and cell phones, just to name a few. While us younger people are more and more aware of the dangers involved with scammers and technology, our aging populations aren't as knowledgeable about the risk, marking them as easy targets. According to the FBI, senior-citizens generally own their own home, have good credit, and lived in an era the emphasized respect, as well as generating a trustworthy population, financial worries, loneliness and age; making them the perfect targets of fraud. It's even worst for those who live alone. Bogus telemarketers love to target those over the age of 60 and who live alone, and attempt to sell them products in order to get their credit card information. However, a recent string of events have shed light on the involvement of banks with these fraud schemes. A NY Times article, reported a fraud incident involved an 84-year old man and the Bank of Salt Lake City. The bank not only served as a gateway between the consumer and known fraud websites, but also was making money off of the transactions. But, this isn't the first time a reputable bank has been involved. According to the same article, multiple civil lawsuits were filed against the First Bank of Delaware. So, what can we do in order to educate our aging populations to be more cautious?
Check out the link below with helpful tips and information on how we can help the elderly avoid becoming the next fraud victim:

https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-fraud-schemes/telemarketing-fraud

If you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud, check out this link on what additional resources are available:

https://www.aging.senate.gov

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community

-
Image
  Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community Source: Unsplash The Facts                                                                                          According to  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 233,832 are people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the United States. Of the 233,832, 50,767 are families with children.  Currently, 30% of homeless people are adult women.  (portlandoregon.gov)   Bradley Angle , which works to support survivors of  domestic violence , reported that 70% of domestic violence reports are from homeless women. ( www.kgw.com)  Homeless women are 1/3 of the fastest growing populations HUD homeless populations. ( portlandoregon.gov)   Specifically, in Por...
Read more

Understanding Homelessness

-
Image
  Source (American Addiction Centers)      Homelessness has a myriad of different reasons it can happen. The similarity between all scenarios in which a person is experiencing homelessness is that each person is human. A popular belief is that homelessness is a choice. People believe there is a set amount of circumstances that cause homelessness and that it is a choice not to fight to get out of those problems. The problems can range from mental health issues to drug addiction. There is no one size fits all, and it is not a choice.  Over the last few weeks, I have learned that there are many factors that can lead to homelessness. One big one that focuses on our class is how affordable housing, or the lack thereof, is a significant contributor to people not getting back on their feet. If you want to learn more about that subject and if affordable housing can help, click here.   This lack of affordable housing is a big roadblock for those trying to ove...
Read more

Air pollution caused by wildfires may increase risk of dementia

-
Image
  There are already more than 57 million dementia sufferers in the world, and by 2050, that figure is predicted to rise to 153 million. It is estimated that risk factors like exposure to air pollution account for up to 40% of these instances. Even when annual exposure was lower than the current EPA annual threshold of 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3), the researchers discovered continuous evidence of a relationship between PM2.5 and dementia. The researchers discovered a 17% increase in risk for dementia for every 2 g/m3 increase in average yearly exposure to PM2.5, specifically among the studies using active case ascertainment. Despite the fact that the data was more sparse, they also discovered evidence supporting links between dementia and nitrogen oxide (5% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in yearly exposure) and nitrogen dioxide (2% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in annual exposure). According to a recent University of Michigan study, wildfi...
Read more