SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Because of the trusting nature of their generation, the amount of money they may have accrued over the years in retirement, and their health status scammers are constantly trying to target the elderly. We’ve come across quite a few recurring scams targeting the elderly that have been happening and have highlighted them in this post. First, here are some common traits of the scams we’ve found: Unsolicited calls, mailings, or door to door sales Asking the victim to send money in order to get money Posing as a family member to garner trust and get money  Offering ‘free’ products that require credit card, bank, Medicare, or insurance information Aggressive salesperson with no ID Asking victims to sign a contract or blank forms with out the chance to review them Being asked to wire funds immediately Think you or a family member has been a victim of a scam? It’s OK to let your local police department know. You may end up helping someone else in the future. Here are some

Fraud is an intentional deception for personal gain. There are dozens of frauds that are occurring throughout the US and, unfortunately, most of these frauds are targeted toward the elderly. Keyword search of the word 'fraud' on the Chicago, IL SpotCrime Map Over 200 events found in the past month This may be because  most elderly have a high percentage of disposable income and low debt (which means more for a criminal to steal).  Also, elderly have typical characteristics that put them at risk to becoming a victim of a scam, including: Old age Hearing or memory loss Being trusting or depending on younger people Loneliness Disconnect with today's technology These traits, if picked up by a criminal, can leave an elderly person scammed out of not only monetary items, but of time, trust and dignity. Learn about different scams in this video Crimes against the elderly include ' transient crimes '.  This type of crime involves a person making a 'home