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Over the Back Fence By HANK HENRY Beware of scams targeting elderly By HANK HENRY I try to write one column a year about the problem of "Elder Fraud." Don't turn the page now, thinking you have read it all before. A talk with the police chief of any town, large or small, or with the sheriff of any county will convince you that seniors in their 80s and 90s are among the most likely to be victims of con men and thieves. As we grow older, we begin to lose our mental sharpness. While this is a normal product of aging, it can leave some people vulnerable to becoming victims of scams. Most vulnerable are women in their 80s who have lost their spouses recently. Some of these women never worked outside the home or dealt with the business side of living, leaving such things as bills and investments up to their husbands. Women are not the only victims of fraud. Elderly men may just as easily be the victims of various kinds of scams. GayLynn Pack of the Senior and Disabled Services Abuse Prevention Unit wrote in an "Elders Fraud Fighters" publication that "crooks are coming up with new scams or variations of old ones each week. While the Y2K scare is over, there are still criminals using variations of this scam to defraud seniors and vulnerable adults." In one scam, the victim receives a call from someone claiming to be an officer from the victim's bank. The victim is told the bank is conducting a Y2K or security test and wants to ask for permission to transfer the person's money into "a temporary bond account." The con artist then asks for Social Security numbers and credit card information. With these numbers, it will be easy to clean out all of the victim's accounts. Pack tells of a typical case of a man and a woman traveling the I-5 corridor, stealing from seniors through a variety of schemes. One ruse was to say that they were friends of the victim's deceased spouse, or that they were just stopping by to wish the victim happy Father's/Mother's/Valentine's Day, etc. They talk themselves into the victim's home, and while the man excuses himself to go to the "restroom," the woman keeps the victim entertained while the man is in the bedroom looking for cash and valuables. In other parts of the country, people have received postcards that claim to be a Medicare Alert. It instructs them to call a 900 number to see if they qualify for a $546 Medicare refund. (There is no refund.) They call and are automatically billed $4.95 for a recorded message on Medicare. To avoid being the victim of a scam, remember these four things: 1. Banks don't call customers to remove funds or transfer money from their accounts. 2. Medicare does not go door-to-door, and does not endorse or sell durable medical equipment, scooters or life insurance. 3. Be wary of strangers at your door. Do not let them in, do not leave them unattended, and do not let them out of your sight if they do come in. 4. If you have questions about someone at your door, if you feel threatened or scared, you can call 911. Or you might call the company that person represents, or simply say "No, thank you" and close the door. There are other precautions to take to prevent Medicare fraud. Never accept medical supplies from a door-to-door salesman. Also be wary of a provider who uses pressure or scare tactics to sell you high-priced medical services without giving you the opportunity for a second opinion. And never sign a blank form. Finally, Pack says, trust your gut feelings. It is better to feel uncomfortable or rude for a moment than to suffer losses that can last a lifetime (Hank Henry is a retired Jackson County commissioner and a former radio and television announcer. Call him at 772-9055.) Prime Times front page Mail Tribune front page Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA