Fraudsters are targeting older adults at record rates. Let's fight back.
We’re all taught to respect our elders, but apparently scammers never got the message. In the U.S. alone, fraud costs seniors in the U.S. upwards of $36.48B* annually. Common scams targeting older adults include healthcare insurance scams, counterfeit prescription drug schemes, romance scams, person-in-need scams, lottery scams, funeral and cemetery scams, telemarketing/phone scams, and investment schemes.
Don’t let yourself or your loved ones fall victim to financial elder abuse. Take practical steps to guard against fraud.
5 steps to help safeguard financial assets
- Designate a trusted contact—Choose a trusted contact so that your financial institutions know who to contact in case of suspected financial exploitation or if the main account holder has a diminished capacity.
- Get organized—Keep a record of where your accounts are located, create a will and regularly update it, set up trusts and power of attorney declarations, and make sure your insurance policy beneficiaries are up-to-date.
- Guard your passwords—Create a different password for every account you have and change them regularly. Never share your account numbers, usernames, logins, passwords, or PINs.
- Be smart with your smartphone—Scammers like to mask their numbers to make it look as if they’re calling from a local area code, or even from someone you know. Let unknown numbers go to voicemail and join the National Do Not Call Registry to cut down on unwanted calls.
- Become tech savvy—Get more comfortable with technology so that you can better protect yourself online. Take technology and digital literacy classes at a local recreation center, library, or senior center.
Even more resources for senior investors
Senior investors are often seasoned investors. If that’s you, you’ll probably like these additional resources
Help Mom and Dad Stay Safe Against Fraud
Frauds and scams can happen at any time. It's important to know the red flags and to talk to the elders in your life about how to help protect their assets.
* http://documents.truelinkfinancial.com/True-Link-Report-On-Elder-Financial-Abuse-012815.pdf
‡ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242880/
§ https://www.sec.gov/files/elder-financial-exploitation.pdf
If you provide a Trusted Contact Person(s) to Schwab, you understand that you have authorized Schwab and your advisor (if you have one) to contact the Trusted Contact Person(s) at their discretion and to disclose information about your account to address possible activities that might indicate financial exploitation of you; to confirm the specifics of your current contact information, health status (including physical or mental capacity), or the identity of any legal guardian, executor, trustee, or holder of a power of attorney on your account(s); or as otherwise permitted by FINRA rules or state law. For more information, please see your Schwab Account Agreement.
Schwab does not use Trusted Contact Person information for marketing purposes. We won't attempt to solicit business from your Trusted Contact Person(s) unless they have a client relationship with us, or if we have identified them as a prospective client through marketing activities that are separate and unrelated to their designation as your Trusted Contact Person(s). We won't communicate with your Trusted Contact Person(s) about you or your account(s) unless there's ever a need for us to do so in addressing possible financial exploitation or your mental or physical well-being.