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The National Crime Prevention Council says seniors fall prey to fraud for a variety of reasons. In general, they are more accessible by telephone and mail, are trusting and willing to listen, have limited investment experience and are deeply concerned with maintaining finances to last them throughout their lives.
Seniors also can be complacent or forgetful of details and may be embarrassed to admit they've been "had" by a scam artist.
"Seniors are generally considered to be a little more vulnerable," said Scott Mecham, president of the Better Business Bureau serving southwest Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. "For one thing, they're home, and that makes them easier to find."
Mecham said strangers never should be given personal information like driver's license numbers, bank account numbers and personal information like your mother's maiden name.
"Any personal financial information should be kept quiet," he said.
Scam artists will come up with a variety of reasons why a person should share that information, but banks, credit card companies and the Social Security Administration will not call an individual to get those kinds of numbers.
"They're not going to call you and ask for your information. They already know that," Mecham said.
The Better Business Bureau also is encouraging people to use direct deposit for payroll checks, Social Security or SSI deposits.
"It eliminates many potential criminal activities," Mecham said. "It's also a convenience."
As online shopping increases, including among seniors, Mecham said it's important to make payments the safest way possible.
"The safest way to pay for that purchase is a credit card," he said.
Federal law protects much of what is done with a credit card, and many credit card companies are offering protection. There also are some ways to confirm if a link is secure, including the picture of a key or lock in the lower right corner of the computer screen.
The Better Business Bureau offers safe shopping advice and other helpful tips at its Web side, www.bbb.org.
"Information is the key to protection," Mecham said. "The more you know, the more you can protect yourself.
