Phone Scams

howdoidothis · May 1

My PWD is in early stages, but the sharpness is going.

She was almost scammed out of eleven grand by somebody claiming to be an inspector general. He told her that her social security number had been compromised and she would be getting a new one. She needed to clear out her account so the new payments could be made.

There are a lot of details to the story, but the bottom line is the bank ended up convincing her that it was a scam.

I’m just worried that she will be prey to similar scams. This isn’t the first time. I had to talk her out of the belief that she won the publishers clearinghouse sweepstakes. “He said they sent two registered letters!”

People are evil.

ARIL · May 1

Yes. This is indeed evil. And all too recognizable.

Someone I know WD was scammed out of $200k (at least) before the family learned enough about it and stepped in. This PWD did not trust anyone except the scammers. In addition to the major financial loss, it caused endless distress for everyone.

Depending on the situation, you might seek help from the PWD’s doctor, the local bank, local law enforcement, or the local postmaster. Can the phone go away? (No, in the case I am remembering. But for some people this is possible.) Can someone intercept or redirect the mail?

Can a DPOA take over all the finances? Or as a step toward that, can a DPOA do very careful monitoring? Perhaps create new or multiple bank accounts, with minimal access by the PWD to only small amounts?

I understand that although we know what would be best (a DPOA managing all the money), there are all kinds of reasons that you may have to move toward that in stages. If you can do it, go for it. But in the situation I remember, it took a long time for this family to get everything in place for a resolution—since they fought among themselves, there was no DPOA, etc.

I very much hope your situation goes better!

H1235 · May 1

If you have a DPOA I think I would create a new account that she knows nothing about and transfer most of her money there. Make sure the mailing address, and contact information is yours not hers. If she is still living in her home this is probably the easiest. If she is in assisted living I would just take away anything related to her finances. If she insists on a debt card, give her an expired one or a Visa card with $20 on it from the store. My uncle just lost a bunch of money to scammers and years before a diagnosis mom almost lost $10,000. It’s horrible! My mom is in Al and she has no access to her finances. If a scammer calls, she has nothing to give them. Let this be a wake up call.

Phone Scams

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