Unfortunately, seniors are a vulnerable community when it comes to money scams. Thieves seek out the elderly to ask for money in ways that will play to their emotions. If you are the caregiver of a senior citizen, there are safeguards that you can implement to ensure your loved one doesn’t fall for a financial scam. Look at these five tips:
Set Up Bank Alerts: Most banks offer text message alerts for each time money is spent. Set up alerts and inquire about any charge, no matter how big or small.
Get a Prepaid Bank Card: Instead of offering full access to the whole bank account, set up a prepaid debit card that will cover all groceries and bills for the month. Then if your loved one is met with a request to send money, they will have to talk to you about it first.
Look for Recurring Activity: Financial scams may show up in the form of magazine subscriptions that are never delivered or other monthly charges.
Recognize Charges that Start Small and Increase: Many times, the scammers will commit seniors to pay small amounts that they hope will go unnoticed. Then, once they have their credit card number, the charges will increase significantly.
Speak with Your Loved One about Common Scams: Keep an open line of communication with your elderly loved ones. Arm them with knowledge so that they know how to protect themselves:
Never give your credit card number over the phone
Never send gift cards to an unverified address
Do not reimburse someone for an overpayment
Watch for these signs and know how to recognize a scam. Then, share this with your aging loved ones to prevent financial scams in the future.
Paul Hynes
Director in Wealth Management, Partner
Paul joined Aspiriant in 2021 via a merger with HearthStone Private Wealth Management, the San Diego firm he co-founded with business partner, Wendy Wildey. Paul serves as a Director in Wealth Management and Aspiriant partner. Paul also directs the fiduciary investment services team at Aspiriant. He brings more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry.
Prior to joining the firm, Paul served 11 years as president and CEO of HearthStone. Before that, he spent 22 years with a large Wall Street brokerage firm. During that time, the firm changed its name 13 times and is currently known as Morgan Stanley.
Paul earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia. He earned the right to use the Certified Financial PlannerTM Professional designation in 2012. Paul founded Senior Safe & Sound, a non-profit educational resource and video library that seeks to educate and empower senior citizens and those they love to prevent elder fraud and abuse. He serves on the Investment Advisory Board of United Way of San Diego, as well as several other non-profit boards and committees.
Paul and his wife of over 40 years, Joanie, are empty nesters after raising two incredible and wonderful humans, Chris and Lauren. Together they enjoy sports of all kinds — currently golf, tennis and pickleball are favorites. They also enjoy travel, wine tasting and reading.
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