American seniors requiring day care may be directed through third party.
SACRAMENTO - Many American parents and grandparents are becoming the victims of scams and financial fraud.
One common scam, called the "Grandparent Scam," typically involves the scammer calling up their victim on the phone pretending to be a grandchild in trouble.
Usually, the con artist says they are in trouble with the law in a foreign country and need money wired to get out of jail or pay for medical bills. Victims often end up wiring thousands of dollars to a stranger, not a family member.
"I didn't recognize the voice, it just sounded like a young person," says Lois Hood who lives in Sacramento and was almost scammed two weeks ago when she got a call from a man pretending to be her grandson. "He told me the amount of money. I said I don't have that kind of money and he said you can get a cash advance." Hood contacted her daughter to drive her to the bank to withdraw and send the money. Fortunately, her daughter figured out they were being scammed before any money was lost.
Agencies across the U.S. including the Better Business Bureau, FBI and Federal Trade Commission warn of multiple scams targeting the elderly, including the "Grandparent Scam," which falls in the FTC's Imposter scam category, for which there were more than 60,000 complaints in 2010.
Elizabeth Foster-Ward, Program Manager at Sacramento County Adult Protective Services, says the damage goes beyond the financial loss for scam victims. "Once they've realized that they've lost five, ten thousand dollars to a scam it's pretty hard to turn to your adult children because the first thing that you think of is I'm a victim of a scam and now they're going to think I can't live by myself and take care of myself."
The BBB and California Banker's Association have multiple tips to avoid becoming a scam victim. First, never wire money to anybody unless you're sure you know who it is. Second, establish a relationship with the personnel at your local bank so they are able to establish if something is out-of-ordinary. Third, execute a power of attorney that will grant financial decision-making power to a trusted friend, family member or attorney so they can keep a watchful eye on at-risk accounts.
If you live in the Sacramento area and feel that you have been the victim of financial fraud, you can call Adult Protective Services at (916) 874-9377 for help.
News10/KXTV