Keeping Seniors Safe from Scams with In-Home Supportive Services

Learn how in-home supportive services help Lubbock, TX seniors avoid being scammed.

Too many seniors become the victims of scams each year. There are more than 20 million seniors every year who end up losing large amounts of money or having their identities stolen which can take years to recover from. Con artists create schemes that target seniors on the phone or online. But home caregivers can help seniors stay safe and avoid senior scams.

Phone Scams

There are lots of different kinds of scams that target seniors over the phone. Seniors who are easily confused or have memory problems often fall for a scam where a scammer calls and pretends to be a family member needing money for an emergency. The senior, not wanting to admit to the caller that they don’t remember them, will give their credit card information to the caller because they don’t want to seem unwilling to help a family member in need.

Another popular phone scam that targets seniors is a scam where a caller will tell the senior that they owe money for an unpaid bill without telling the senior what company they are with or what the bill is for. The senior, thinking that they forgot to pay a bill, will be embarrassed and give the caller their credit card or banking information and the scammer then can freely steal money.

Online Scams

Sophisticated scammers are also targeting seniors in online scams through Facebook and social media sites. Since many seniors use Facebook to stay in touch with their family members a scammer will message the senior on Facebook pretending to be a relative that needs money and will ask the senior to send money through Facebook or give out their credit card information. When the senior does the scammer can take as much money as the senior has and simply delete the fake account so they can’t be found.

How Home Care Helps

In home supportive services can help seniors avoid being scammed in several different ways. One way that in-home supportive services can help is to help the senior set up automatic bill payments through their bank. That way if a scammer says that a bill wasn’t paid the senior will know it’s not true. Another way that caregivers can help is to help the senior manage their Facebook accounts and make sure that they aren’t responding to accounts that look fake.

If you’re worried that a senior loved one in Lubbock, TX could become a scam victim and you’d like to know more about our home care services and how they can help seniors avoid scams call us today. One of our customer care representatives will be happy to answer your questions and tell you more about home care services.