Scam artists who use the telephone to hook their victims are well aware that their greatest chances for success occur when an elderly person answers on the other end of the line.
There are a lot of reasons for why the elderly are more vulnerable to being scammed. They may be lonely and thus happy to talk to someone who sounds nice, even if it’s a complete stranger. They may not be comfortable with technology, so they don’t pay attention to caller ID telling them that the call is coming from an unfamiliar number. They may be more trusting, since as you become physically less able, it becomes more common to depend on the kindness of strangers.
They also may be in the early stages of cognitive decline. This week, a researcher released a study raising the possibility that an early sign of the memory-robbing disease could be a failure to be leery of likely scams.
The researcher, neuropsychologist Patricia Boyle of Rush University’s Alzheimer’s disease center in Chicago, studied 935 seniors, mostly in their 70s and 80s, who were enrolled in a long-running memory and aging project. Among the things they were asked to do at the start of their enrollment was to complete a scam awareness questionnaire.
Boyle found that those who started with low scam awareness had a greater likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s or other forms of cognitive impairment. The correlation was not perfect, but it was strong enough to suggest a possible link.
What should be the takeaway from this research? First, those who have senior family members should watch for any signs that their elderly loved ones are being scammed, whether on the phone, through the mail or in person. Don’t expect elderly relatives to tell you of suspicious overtures, since they tend to be defensive about any suggestion that they can’t handle their own affairs. If they have been scammed, they also may be embarrassed to acknowledge it.
Secondly, be proactive by periodically warning senior relatives to neither answer unsolicited calls nor respond to unsolicited emails. Then discreetly monitor that they are following your warning.
Lastly, heed your own advice. The best way to avoid being scammed, no matter your age, is to hang up the phone or to use the delete key when strangers initiate the communication.
