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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Wednesday Calendar: Oct. 8 10 things to know for Tuesday Building + cooking + eating = learning Universal Rites Tattoo Education Building + cooking + eating = learning Students to 'Read More For Jack Dorr' Budget committee members needed Fighting back against hackers SOU wants its students to love Ashland Environment Fires and forests evolved together, but now people are in the mix Marijuana growers are threat to salmon, biologists conclude Annual tour shows how to live green Taking action here, now on global climate change Garden serves up a feast fit for monarchs Business Universal Rites Tattoo Greg Zyla: 1959 430 V-8 Thunderbird owner seeks information Silvio Calabi: Nissan’s Taxi of Tomorrow Ashland Home Center Lashland Politics and elections Videos of local candidate forums airing now on TV Election officials fine Richardson for late reporting of rent-free home Sheriff a no-show at Ashland Chamber forum New script for film ordinance sent back to rewrite November elections right around the corner State News Nation - World Obituaries Norman Kenneth Mainwaring Death Notices Evelyn Frank Death Notices Linda M. Brodie Sports Latest Stories (No heading) SOU volleyball team up to No. 11 SOU offense looks to catch up with defense in final home stand No. 11 SOU heads to Klamath Falls with eyes on first place Raiders up to No. 5 in NAIA poll High school (No heading) SOU volleyball team up to No. 11 Grizzlies keep rolling in MWL opener Pitcher Guthrie's donation boosts new field fund State of Jefferson meet coming Southern Oregon University SOU volleyball team up to No. 11 SOU offense looks to catch up with defense in final home stand No. 11 SOU heads to Klamath Falls with eyes on first place Raiders up to No. 5 in NAIA poll Pac-12 favorites now looking up after slide down poll Opinion Latest Stories Into the heart of darkness Letters to the Editor, Oct. 8 Granlund cartoon: Border signs Granlund cartoon: CDC Ebola updates Kent Bush: Bubble Boy meets Forrest Gump Editorial Our View: Great public effort makes for great public space Our View: Our View SOU control shifts downstate Our view: SOU reaches out to downtown Homecoming changes with the times Letters Letters to the Editor, Oct. 8 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 7 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 6 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 3 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 2 Guest opinions Into the heart of darkness Herb Rothschild: Peace begins at the table City still ignores Plaza suggestions Us versus them Remembering a very prominent local lady Revels Latest Stories Best Bets: Oct. 2-9 Ashland's First Friday Art Walk Rogue Valley Symphony opens its 2014-15 season Community blog: Local poets celebrate with a reading and a chapbook Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas Theater Camelot Theatre presents 'Spotlight on Johnny Mercer' Southern Oregon hosts its Lunacy Theatre Festival Friends of Jim Giancarlo remember Ashland theater icon Music Q&A: Band du Pays Swing The Farr Side: Bennett-Gaga collaboration is a cross-generational gem Rogue Valley Symphony opens its 2014-15 season Q&A: Nacosta Muscian's career spins back through Ashland Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk Movies Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas New script for film ordinance sent back to rewrite Still stifling laughter 40 years after 'Young Frankenstein' 'The Drop' hits all the marks Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories 5 Things to Do This Weekend (Oct. 10-12) Lost in Suburbia: Scaring up a good Halloween costume How to create a fashionable painted floor cloth Dear Monty: 7 prepping tips for home showings Dave Ramsey: Should we rehab home to sell it? Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Into the heart of darkness ... Calendar: Oct. 8 ... Our View: Great public effort makes for great public space ... Into the heart of darkness ... Calendar: Oct. 8 ... Our View: Great public effort makes for great public space ... AGING HAPPENS Scams affect older adults in Ashland By Ellen Waldman For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Ellen Waldman For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 6, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Ellen Waldman For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 6, 2014 @ 12:01 am » RELATED CONTENT • Professional care a great help in dealing with dementia • Beyond the home: Housing options, continued • Spectrum of housing options begins with a new home • Getting your papers in order now can save trouble later • Here's what you need to know if you're getting older » Social News Someone was scammed out of $25,000. Someone else lost over $120,000. These were not uneducated people, and they were financially abused while living here in Ashland. This is not a topic most people hear about, but these folks are your neighbors. They are both older, with some memory difficulties. But mostly, they trusted that people would not dupe them out of their money. John lived alone in his own home. He spent a lot of time on his computer, enhancing ways to support his small online business. Someone with a fake online business befriended him. John was given lots of encouragement to invest with them and further develop his online presence. He gave them his credit card. This is how you lose $25,000 in one day. The local bank was notified and they contacted the Ashland Police Department. John was embarrassed and ashamed about what he did. People often feel it’s their fault if these things happen to them. Eventually, Adult Protective Services (APS: 541-618-7853) was called in to investigate and find additional support for John. APS is a great local resource. In years gone by, they used to make the equivalent of “well-people visits,” before the really horrible stuff happened. Now with funding cuts, these visits don’t happen too often. APS did call for help from other professionals, including what was then named South Valley Bank and Trust, now called Oregon Pacific Bank (541-858-0191). I also really like the trust departments at our local banks. In addition to OPB, US Bank (541-776-2685) also has a very reputable trust department. Choosing a trust department to oversee your finances can assure you that they will be well-managed and safe. I do recommend you look into how a local trust department can be part of planning for the future. They are always available, are professional, knowledgeable and trustworthy. Glenda also lived alone. She too had memory issues, but was historically frugal with every dollar. She was from the generation of people who saved wherever they could and spent money very carefully. I say this so you realize how uncharacteristic it was to do what she did next. She had a history of making donations to reputable charities. Maybe that’s how her phone number was accessed. The scammer called himself Josh, from a well-known sweepstakes company. He happily presented the news that she had won a very large sum of money in the sweepstakes; $4.6 million to be exact. He needed her to send money to him, in two checks, to secure her winnings. He also needed additional information, including her social security number. At the end of the week, she had sent checks totally $122,000 to a location out of the country. She called her bank in downtown Ashland to tell them the “good news” about her winnings. The bank alerted the Ashland police, and put a check monitor on her account. APS was again called and, unfortunately, there was not much anyone could do. She was now receiving three or four calls like this one every day. She had obviously been tagged as an easy mark. Finally, she allowed a power of attorney and trustee to be appointed to help her avoid further scams. A few months ago, I attended a seminar on financial scams at KOBI-TV studio in Medford. The attorney general of Oregon, Ellen Rosenblum, was one of the speakers. Here’s what I learned: Older people are targeted in our state far too often. We have the very sad reputation for being extremely high per capita in these sorts of scams. In addition to the Ashland police and APS, here are some resources that can help you: •  Attorney General’s Consumer Hotline: 877-877-9392 or oregonconsumer.gov. Use this and fight fraud. •  Department of Consumer& Business Services: 866-814-9710 or www.dfcs.oregon.gov. Read about protecting your personal information. •  AARP Fraud Watch Network: www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork. Lots of excellent info here. I truly hope you never face this situation, but no one is ever totally safe from scams. Your best bet is a good education now to learn how to protect yourself. And know who to call if the worst does occur. "Aging Happens" appears weekly in the Daily Tidings. Ellen Waldman is a certified geriatric care manager. Email questions about aging and Ashland-area aging resources and column suggestions to her via [email protected].   By Ellen Waldman For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Ellen Waldman For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 6, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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