| Consumer Alerts
Elder Abuse Prevention: Telemarketing Fraud
Telemarketing fraud costs Americans about $40 billion a year. The FBI estimates that approximately 10 % of the nation’s 140,000 telemarketing firms are fraudulent, and nearly 80 % of the crooked companies target senior citizens. Today’s con artists have learned to use the telephone to promote confusion and deceive seniors. Like burglars stealing through the night, they use telephones to become “invisible.”
Remember: Fraud is a serious crime, and illegal telemarketers are crooks.
Common Telephone Scams:
Prize Offers:
You usually have to do something to get your “free” prize, such as attend a sales presentation, buy something or give out a credit card number. The prizes are generally worthless or overpriced.
Travel Packages:“Free” or “low cost” vacations can end up costing a lot with all their hidden expenses or they may never happen. The total may run two to three times more than what you’d expect to pay or what you were led to believe.
Vitamins and Other Health Products:
This sales pitch also may include a prize offer. In many cases, you pay much more than what the product is worth and your prize may be of little value if you actually receive it.
Investments:
People lose millions of dollars each year in “get rich” schemes that promise high returns with little or no risk. These “investments” turn out to be worthless or worth much less than what you paid.
Charities:
Con artists often label phony charities with names that sound like better-known, reputable organizations.
Recovery Scams:
If you buy any of the above scams, you’re likely to be called again by someone promising to get your money back. Be careful not to lose more money to this common fraud. Indicators of Telemarketing Fraud
An unusually large number of telephone calls to a senior’s home.
Many packages arriving at a senior’s home.
Quantities of vitamins, magazines and other products stored in a senior’s home.
People arriving at a senior’s door to pick up checks or cash.
Telephone calls informing a senior he/she has won a free vacation, gift or prize and all the senior has to do is pay postage and handling charges.
A senior is told he/she must act “now” or the offer from the telemarketer won’t be good.
While on the telephone, a senior gives the telemarketer his/her credit card number or bank account number. To Avoid Being Swindled:
Don’t buy from unfamiliar companies. Ask for written information about any offer.
Always take your time making a decision. Consult a family member, friend, accountant or others you trust.
Never send money or give out your credit card or bank account number unless you are absolutely sure the company is legitimate.
Always be suspicious of companies that ask you to send payment by courier or overnight service.
Always be suspicious of companies that claim you have won a “free” gift, vacation or prize and you pay only for “postage and handling” or other charges. Under New Federal Trade Commission Rules:
Telemarketers cannot call before 8:00 am or after 9:00 pm.
Telemarketers must provide their name, the company they represent and a phone number where their company can be contacted.
Telemarketers cannot provide misleading information about their product or service.
You may notify telemarketers that you do not wish to be contacted. They are required to keep lists of people who request that they not be called. |
