“We’re around the corner doing a job on a house – we have stuff left over and we’ll do it for free.” That’s the kind of bait used by people who prey on elder citizens, according to Detective Joseph Magee of the Boston Police Department.
The detective called me recently suggesting that I do a column alerting readers to the dangers posed by such scam artists.
After this opening line, the scammers gain entrance to the home of the elder, go to different parts of the house, and find hidden money. Or, as in another instance, they get the homeowner to draw down an advance of $6000 on a credit card to pay them for having done little or nothing.
Other ways of gaining entrance to a house include claiming that there is a problem with the water and sewer lines that needs to be fixed. If the crooks see an old car in the driveway that is still in good condition or lace curtains in the windows and the shades drawn in the daytime, they will approach the house in confidence that an elderly person lives there, perhaps alone.
In one actual instance, two women pulled up in a car, went to the door and asked a 93-year-old resident, “Is the car for sale?” The homeowner invited them in, at which point they beckoned to the man who was driving their car to join them. Then, while the two woman distracted the elder, the fellow quickly went through the house, found money, and quickly left with her savings.
The same criminals continue to pull these schemes over and over. Even when they get caught, most of them never do time in jail. Until Massachusetts passed a new law in 1998, it was not even a crime for people to identify themselves falsely with the intent of larceny. Senator Steven Tolman, who led the way in getting this legislation adopted, says: “The message of this statute is that, if you prey on the vulnerable senior citizens of the Commonwealth, you are going to do serious prison time.”
It’s hard to believe that people still keep large amounts of money, sometimes their life savings, at home under a pillow, in a drawer, or in a closet. And yet, according to Detective Magee, this practice remains common among certain older citizens. “They don’t trust banks and so keep the cash in their home,” he says, speaking from experience.
That leaves them vulnerable to being deceived. After gaining entry, the crooks might go down cellar, spray water around, come back upstairs claiming that the house has a leak that needs fixing right away. If they suspect that the person has cash in the house, you can depend on the criminals to find it. They know where to look and, according to Detective Magee, locate the money so skillfully that you cannot tell later that the place has been searched.
Many scams, however, take place, not in the home, but on the street in broad daylight. Criminals will approach elder citizens with deceptive schemes designed to get their money. Detective Magee strongly believes in the old axiom: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
I do not want to make it seem that only elderly people are victimized by scam practitioners. People of all ages get taken and in all sorts of ways. In addition to scams connected with their home, Americans fall prey to billions of dollars worth of consumer fraud, phony travel offers, telemarketing schemes, and the latest scams – – deception over the Internet.
But some people are especially vulnerable to deception. Perhaps it’s because they are trusting of other people and find it hard to believe that others would take advantage of them. Or because they may have certain disabilities it’s hard for them to recognize clever ploys and to resist.
Some protections lie immediately at hand. One should not keep large amounts of cash at home – – the banks, after all, can be held accountable for any money you deposit with them. Nor should a homeowner admit strangers to the house without demanding and receiving proper identification, perhaps confirmed by a phone call.
An effect that flows from this kind of crime that troubles me is not often noted. The experience of being taken in by other people often makes victims pull back and become less open to other people. That seems to me unfortunate both for the individual and for our society.
After all, we elders need to be in contact with other people and they need us. It’s a special shame to have elders turn away from society and hunker down because of fear. It’s reason for regret whenever this pulling back occurs and one of the most unfortunate effects of scams perpetrated against elder citizens.
Richard Griffin