THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 18, 1996 TAG: 9606180493
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBRA GORDON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 96 lines
Many elderly people live in fear of violent crime - theft, rape and murder.
But statistics show that senior citizens are far more likely to fall prey to smooth-talking criminals whose weapons are telemarketing scams, home repair hustles and one-on-one financial exploitation.
On Monday, about 450 elderly Virginians filled the sanctuary at First Baptist Church of Norfolk to learn from Attorney General James S. Gilmore III and several other law-enforcement officials how to avoid becoming victims.
``Senior citizens are entitled to have the opportunity to live a high quality of life, but criminals don't have that kind of respect,'' Gilmore told the mostly elderly audience.
Gilmore, who is expected to run for governor, said he has focused on preventing crime against the elderly during his tenure as attorney general. A special committee in his office last year recommended several steps to educate and protect the state's elderly from economic and other crimes. Monday's conference, which drew people from across the state, was one example.
The incidence of violent crime against the elderly is relatively low. According to the federal Department of Justice, the annual number of violent crimes against people 65 and over is about 4 per 1,000 people, compared to 27 per 1,000 in the 25-to-49 age group.
However, nearly one-third of all fraud is committed against those 65 and older, even though the elderly make up only 12 percent of the population, said assistant attorney general Joshua N. Lief.
Lief led a break-out session Monday afternoon called: ``Consumer Fraud: Cons and Scams.''
The elderly are more likely to be targets for scams, he said, and listed some reasons:
They are usually at home.
They are more likely to talk to telemarketers because they're often lonely.
They are more susceptible to health-care scams because they may have medical problems.
They are more susceptible to home-repair scams because it is difficult for them to maintain their own homes.
Many are on fixed incomes and hence feel pressured to take advantage of get-rich-quick schemes.
Lief described several typical scams, as a way to help his listeners tune out unscrupulous callers.
There's one scam where a caller says you won a free car and asks for your credit card number to pay the $250 delivery fee.
There's one where a salesman shows up a few days after a spouse has died with $500 in leather-bound books. The salesman claims the deceased ordered them all. ``You are never responsible for the debts of someone who is dead,'' Lief said. The deceased's estate is responsible.
Home-improvement scams are also common, featuring door-to-door offers to patch roofs or pave driveways. Once the homeowner accepts, the fix is in, Lief said. Repairs may be made with low quality materials. Or they may not be made at all: Once the elderly person turns over a down payment for supplies, the worker may vanish.
One Richmond woman, Lief said, lost $85,000 to home-repair con artists.
Telemarketing scams also hook the elderly, with the explosion of home computers providing another way to reach the potential victims, said assistant attorney general Joi Jeter Taylor.
These days, con artists reach their victims via the Internet with promises of quick returns on investments, or solicitations for ``disaster'' victims.
But there are protections. A new Federal Trade Commission telemarketing trade rule requires, among other things, that telemarketers state their name, the reason for the call and what they're trying to sell. A ``free'' prize cannot carry any handling or service charges.
Once you tell the telemarketer not to call you again, it is illegal for him to call again. To report a pesky telemarketer, call the attorney general's office in Richmond.
Most importantly, Taylor said: ``Don't rely on trustworthiness in their voice, or how they appear to you.'' MEMO: For more information about avoiding economic crimes, contact the
Office of Consumer Affairs, 804-786-2042. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
TIPS TO AVOID FRAUD
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Beware of anyone who calls and asks you to send money or buy
anything sight unseen unless you are certain you are dealing with a
reputable firm.
Never give out your credit card number or information about your
bank account to anyone you don't know or you didn't call first.
Don't pay anything for a free prize. If the caller tells you the
payment is for taxes on the prize, he has just committed a crime.
Hang up.
Refuse to be rushed into anything. The more a caller tries to
hurry you into buying or sending money, the more likely he is to be
a criminal. If he offers to send a messenger to your home to pick up
your payment, hang up.
Before committing any money, talk to someone whose opinion you
trust.
Source: American Association of Retired Persons; Virginia
Attorney General's office.
KEYWORDS: SENIOR CITIZENS ELDERLY TELEPHONE FRAUD
SCAMS by CNB