Pebble Beach, CA Elder Abuse Alert, Beware Of Fraudsters Asking You To Use CashApp, Venmo Or Zelle

An old woman with a bruised eye and hand on her face.


AARP has been great about tracking the latest scams tracking senior citizens, but a surprising number of people continue to fall for scams, mostly pitched over the phone.  First, I have a practice of using caller ID and won’t pick up the phone if I don’t recognize the caller.  This can screen out a lot of the potential scammers.  AARP says that historically fraud operators have tried to get your money in one of four ways—gift cards, wire transfers, cyber currency or cash.  These are all untraceable once you send them.  However, AARP says a fifth form of payment is on the rise, peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer services like CashApp, Venmo or Zelle.  Beware of anyone asking you to send money using these apps.

Pebble Beach, CA Elder Abuse Alert, Beware Of Fraudsters Asking You To Use CashApp, Venmo Or Zelle

An old woman with a bruised eye and hand on her face.


AARP has been great about tracking the latest scams tracking senior citizens, but a surprising number of people continue to fall for scams, mostly pitched over the phone.  First, I have a practice of using caller ID and won’t pick up the phone if I don’t recognize the caller.  This can screen out a lot of the potential scammers.  AARP says that historically fraud operators have tried to get your money in one of four ways—gift cards, wire transfers, cyber currency or cash.  These are all untraceable once you send them.  However, AARP says a fifth form of payment is on the rise, peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer services like CashApp, Venmo or Zelle.  Beware of anyone asking you to send money using these apps.

Pebble Beach, CA Elder Abuse Alert, Beware Of Fraudsters Asking You To Use CashApp, Venmo Or Zelle

An old woman with a bruised eye and hand on her face.


AARP has been great about tracking the latest scams tracking senior citizens, but a surprising number of people continue to fall for scams, mostly pitched over the phone.  First, I have a practice of using caller ID and won’t pick up the phone if I don’t recognize the caller.  This can screen out a lot of the potential scammers.  AARP says that historically fraud operators have tried to get your money in one of four ways—gift cards, wire transfers, cyber currency or cash.  These are all untraceable once you send them.  However, AARP says a fifth form of payment is on the rise, peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer services like CashApp, Venmo or Zelle.  Beware of anyone asking you to send money using these apps.

AARP Fraud Alerts Just Keep Coming

A woman is helping an older man with his shirt off.


AARP has been great at tracking down fraudsters, alerting the public and passing on information to the authorities to make sure that they get permanently shut down.  Six people have pleaded guilty and two are charged but not yet arrested for taking part in a grandparent fraud operation that stole from more than 70 older Americans.  A federal judge called the ringleader Timothy Ingram “heartbreakingly evil.â€Â    He was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing almost $2 million from grandparents, including 10 people who lost more than $300K.  The gang would call the grandparent and pretend to be their grandson or granddaughter and say they were in jail and needed money wired to get them out.  U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo said during the sentencing hearing that she hoped tough sentences would warn others against participating in what she said was one of the most harmful she had seen in her 17 years on the bench.

Couple Jailed For Medicare Scam

A building with the capitol in the background.


The owners and manager of a string of Houston health companies have been sent to prison for bilking Medicare out of millions of dollars in services.  They would bill Medicare for procedures done for people who were dead or in prison.  Felix Amos, a senior citizen himself at age 72, was given 30 years in prison.  His wife had already been sentenced to six years in prison while an office manager received a 12-year sentence.  The trio improperly billed Medicare for more than $21 million and spent it on things like a $3.5 million home and a small business for the office manager.

AARP Keeping On Top Of Elder Abuse Financial Scams

A red square with the word aarp in white


AARP has been great at tracking down fraudsters, alerting the public and passing on information to the authorities to make sure that they get permanently shut down.  Six people have pleaded guilty and two are charged but not yet arrested for taking part in a grandparent fraud operation that stole from more than 70 older Americans.  A federal judge called the ringleader Timothy Ingram “heartbreakingly evil.â€Â    He was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing almost $2 million from grandparents, including 10 people who lost more than $300K.  The gang would call the grandparent and pretend to be their grandson or granddaughter and say they were in jail and needed money wired to get them out.  U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo said during the sentencing hearing that she hoped tough sentences would warn others against participating in what she said was one of the most harmful she had seen in her 17 years on the bench.

Trio Jailed For $21 Million Medicare Scam : Off To Prison They Go

A building with the capitol in the background.


The owners and manager of a string of Houston health companies have been sent to prison for bilking Medicare out of millions of dollars in services.  They would bill Medicare for procedures done for people who were dead or in prison.  Felix Amos, a senior citizen himself at age 72, was given 30 years in prison.  His wife had already been sentenced to six years in prison while an office manager received a 12-year sentence.  The trio improperly billed Medicare for more than $21 million and spent it on things like a $3.5 million home and a small business for the office manager.

Monterey, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Working From Home Scam

A pile of money sitting next to stacks of cash.


There are so many online scams to watch out for it just gives me a headache.  One of the latest discovered by AARP involved a woman who was offered a job that she could do from home.  They sent her a W-9 form and a check for $3,000.  After she deposited the check, she was instructed to transfer $1,900 via a Bitcoin ATM to “ensure their financial linkup was secure.â€Â  After she made the transfer, her bank called her to inform her the check was fake.

Pacific Grove, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Beware Of Online Dating

A pile of money sitting next to stacks of cash.


There are a plethora of elder abuse scams out there, and one recently discovered by AARP was first initiated when a woman joined an online dating site.  After some weeks of chatting, he touted his success at day-trading and convinced her to invest $70,000 in a legitimate crypto exchange.  He buttered her up and eventually talked her into transferring that cryptocurrency to his “investment platform.â€Â  You can guess the rest.  Her online beau quickly disappeared along with her $70,000

Carmel, CA Elder Abuse Alert : PayPal Scam

A pile of money sitting next to stacks of cash.


It never ceases to amaze me the crazy scams that seniors fall for.  We are always on the lookout for the newest, and one I had had not heard about before involves a bogus email which is supposedly coming from PayPal.  They tell you that there is an incorrect charge on your PayPal account and that you were overpaid and have to pay it back.  You are then texted a QR code and told to scan it in at an ATM and transfer the money.  The funds are then rerouted to a Bitcoin account which is untraceable and your money is now gone.