Preying on the Elderly

[Berzerker]

South Park did an episode on home shopping networks selling old people cheap crap for wads of money. The show focused on the jewelry scam, trinkets with little value being sold for exorbitant prices. During the show one of the kids was upset by his dementia-addled grandfather spending big bucks on a bolo tie for him.

The kid (was it Stan?) called one of the home shopping networks urging the host to kill himself. Stan told him according to statistics, these TV sellers make much of their money right after old timers get their various monthly benefits checks. Naturally Cartman got in on the scam...

Two other scams are legal, one is even subsidized by the government thru Medicare - hearing aids. My god these people are disgusting. They want 1,000 dollars or more for something that costs 5-10 dollars. They 'justify' their rip off by touting their services, they provide a hearing test yada yada and molding for the ear. Okay, the molding procedure costs a few 10s of bucks, but not hundreds.

Another scam are these walk-in baths. They want a small fortune to install them when a local plumber could do it for half the price or less. I have some experience with these people, they prey on the elderly. As Stan said it, they are the definition of evil. They do something they know is wrong and they dont care. Watch out for your old folk!

 

[Zkribbler]

Also telephone cold callers. I remember my elderly aunt told me she'd invested in gold because it was so "safe." It wasn't.

 

[Berzerker]

when we were taking care of an old parent with dementia we thought about getting rid of the phone, but she couldn't remember anything like credit cards much less their numbers so we were safe from her getting scammed

 

[Zkribbler]

Or scam PACs targeting elderly conservatives.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scam-pac-arrest_us_5afdea34e4b0a59b4e01ffa8

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Slippin' Jimmy from Better Call Saul is a great example of this behavior in TV fiction.

 

[Ajidica]

Reminds me of a quote from the Miyazaki film Porco Rosso:
(Paraphrased)

If you make money off war defrauding the elderly, you're scum. If you can't make money from war from defrauding the elderly, you're an idiot!

 

[FriendlyFire]

when we were taking care of an old parent with dementia we thought about getting rid of the phone, but she couldn't remember anything like credit cards much less their numbers so we were safe from her getting scammed

More those "evangelicals" promising miracle healing, miracle seed wealth and eternal life to the poor, sick and elderly.
You have elderly sending in what little savings they have and getting nothing in return

Best thing you can do is switch off the Shopping channel, faux news and tell them to call you before making any purchases as the elderly get older there intelligence declines and more inclined to be scammed or make bad purchases.

 

[Bamspeedy]

and tell them to call you before making any purchases

Like they will remember to do that if they are forgetting everything else.
I've heard scams of people posing as the (college aged) grandchild and the elderly wiring them money to help their 'grandchild' who got himself in a bit of trouble.

I got a call from PCH saying I won a jackpot and tried to get me to pay 'handling charges' to send me my winnings, but I knew the real PCH (Publishing Clearing House) never calls you and asks for money (the guy with the Jamaican accent did clarify he wasn't Publishing Clearing House, but it was some company with the same initials). Too bad for him I wasn't aged 65+ that somehow marketing profiles think I am (at the time I was reading CNN alot and had just quit playing PCH games a couple weeks earlier-I think someone within PCH is giving out contact details, or PCH is selling the information to third parties and not caring/don't know how legit those third parties are).

Him: "I swear on my life you will get your winnings, I can't believe you will give up your $975,000!" Me: "Well, too bad your reputation means nothing when I don't know you". Sadly, later that week I read of some local person who got scammed for more than $100,000 on that scheme.