Home Health Care Agencies Can Help Protect Seniors From Scams in La Porte, IN and the Surrounding Area
Ensure your elderly loved one in La Porte, IN doesn’t fall victim to internet scammers
Seniors are often the targets of scammers. There are many different types of scams that are used to defraud seniors through the phone and also online. Statistics show that more than 20 million seniors are the victims of scammers each year, and those are just the ones who report their experiences. Many other seniors are too ashamed to report that they have been the victims of a scam and some may not even realize that they have been scammed. La Porte home health care agencies like Comfort Keepers can help your senior loved one avoid falling for these scams.
Types of Scams That Target Seniors
One of the most common types of scams that target seniors is a phone scam that tries to get seniors to pay fraudulent medical bills. Since Medicare and health insurance coverage can be very confusing for seniors, someone will call demanding payment for a medical bill that wasn’t covered by insurance. The senior may give the scammer their checking account information or credit card to pay the fake bill because they are worried that they won’t get medical coverage otherwise.
Using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) name and function is one way that scammers have been able to get people to open their wallets. It’s important to remember that the real IRS never initiates contact with you via phone call, email, or through social media.
Someone impersonating a grandchild in trouble is another common scam that can occur over the phone or online through social media, usually on Facebook. A scammer will create a fake profile pretending to be the senior’s grandchild or a friend of their grandchild and will message the senior saying that the grandchild is in financial trouble and needs money. The senior will give out their credit card information and lose money and possibly have their identity stolen.
One of the quickest ways to spot a scam is by recognizing how you are being asked to send money. If someone says you can only pay by wiring money, putting money on a gift card, or loading money onto a cash reload card, that is a scam.
How Home Health Care Agencies Can Help Protect Seniors
Comfort Keepers LaPorte home health care agencies will help protect seniors from these scams. Caregivers can help your loved one go online safely and making sure that they don’t accept strange messages or friend requests. Our home care professionals can also screen calls for seniors and ensure that calls that seem like scams are reported and blocked. Our caregivers also can help seniors organize bills and provide payment reminders. That will make them less likely to fall for a scam that claims they owe money for an unpaid bill.
If you are worried that your senior loved one in La Porte, IN may become the victim of a scam targeting the elderly contact us today to find out more about how our La Porte home health care agencies can help protect your loved one from scams.
