By Sharlean Briggs, Regional Extension Agent
Senior citizens grew up in an era when trusting and being trustworthy were normal behavior, and generally that trust was reciprocated.
Unfortunately, because of this mindset today, they may fall victim to unscrupulous people through various forms of fraud.
Seniors may be incapable of making the distinction between a pleasant voice on the other end of the phone and that of an individual involved in an illegal scheme or activity.
Telefraud is the use of the telephone for sales that are not legitimate.
Telefunding is the name of the act performed when fraud-like sweepstakes, contests and charitable solicitations are executed over the telephone.
HOW TO PROTECT SENIORS
•Instill in them the awareness that the voice on the other end of the telephone could be a crook and that giving money to a telemarketer means losing it forever.
•Inform them that a call is generally a scam if the caller asks for a Social Security number, a credit card number or a bank account number.
•Watch for secretive or guarded behavior regarding telephone calls or incoming mail.
IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION
Important contact information
•Alabama Attorney General’s Consumer Affairs: 1-800-392-5658
•Alabama Public Service Commission: 1-877-727-8200
Call and ask to be put on the do not call list, so that telemarketers cease contacting you. This is a free service. The Alabama Public Service Commission is partnering with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to help Alabama consumers who want to reduce the number of telephone solicitations they receive. Alabama has adopted the National Do Not Call Registry and has merged its register with the national list administered by the FTC.
Source: Publication UNP-38, Author Bernice B. Wilson, Ph.D., Extension Resource Management Specialist, Alabama A&M University.
For more information or copies of the complete publication, contact the Chilton County Extension office at 205-280-6268 or visit our web site at www.aces.edu.
WARNING SIGNS
•Watch for unusual amounts of junk mail on winning contests, prizes, free trips and sweepstakes, particularly if the advertisements are asking for payment to cover administrative processing fees, customs and taxes. Legitimate sweepstakes or prize offers do not ask for payments because it is illegal.
Do…
•Help the person gather information to report the fraud to the state attorney general’s office, a local consumer protection agency and/or to the National Fraud Information Center.
Don’t…
•Blame or accuse the person of being stupid, greedy or foolish. Telemarketing swindlers are good at what they do and take advantage of a person’s honesty, politeness and hopefulness. Even younger people have been victimized by telemarketing scams.
•Threaten to take away the person’s financial or physical independence. This may only make the person secretive and resentful.
A few regulations from the Federal Trade Commission on telemarketing are:
•Callers must identify their company and product being sold.
•If a prize is offered, they must inform you that “no purchase/payment” is needed to win.
•They cannot ask you to pay in advance for services.
•They cannot call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. (local time).
Sharlean Briggs is a Regional Extension Agent in Family Consumer Science, Personal Financial Management for Alabama Cooperative Extension.