Senior Scams
Protecting our Seniors!
Protecting our Seniors – Preventing Scams and Elder Financial Abuse
Earlier this week, the Marin IJ ran an article (https://www.marinij.com/2025/05/20/marin-investigators-accuse-suspect-of-scamming-seniors) highlighting a recent Elder Financial Abuse scam. The two victims, 78 and 83 years old, were scammed to the tune of almost $100,000. Fortunately, the perpetrator was caught and the Prosecuting Attorney is fighting for a very high bail. All of this began with a phishing email seemingly coming from Amazon.
Unfortunately, these sorts of Elder Financial Abuse scams are becoming more and more common. It is critically important that we all do our part to protect the elderly from this financial exploitation. There are long laundry lists of what everyone can do to best protect themselves and their financial interests. Keeping all your information as confidential as possible is paramount. Use strong passwords, and never divulge them, or your account information. … Read More »
The Increase in Senior Falls From Medications and How You Can Prevent Them
Studies are showing an increase in senior falls from medications, making it imperative to know what to do to reduce fall risk.
We’ve known for a while that there are certain medications that raise the likelihood of falls for seniors. Twenty years ago, a little over half of seniors were impacted by that risk; yet today, that number has increased dramatically – to a staggering 94% of older adults who are now in danger of senior falls from medications. Additionally, deaths from such falls are happening at more than twice the earlier rate.
Researchers who observed this growing concern also discovered that between 1999 and 2017, senior prescriptions for medications that escalate fall risk were filled more than 7.8 billion times. This consists of a spike from 12 million antidepressants in 1999 to greater than 52 million in … Read More »
Learn About the Scam Targeting Lonely Seniors and How You Can Help
If you haven’t heard yet about the new scam targeting lonely seniors, be sure to read on to learn how to protect those you love.
Sadly, loneliness in older adults is quite common, for a variety of reasons. Mobility issues, chronic health conditions, and the loss of family and friends are all contributing factors. Yet humans are social creatures, and this lack of socialization has many seniors turning to online sources for connection – such as dating websites. While this may seem harmless or even beneficial, there can be hidden dangers for seniors specifically, known as sweetheart scammers. Here’s what to watch for to help keep those you love safe from the scam targeting lonely seniors:
