Senior Citizens, you’ve been warned!
Scammers are out there, and they are targeting you.
My thanks to our great panel that joined us last night on ‘Live From the Newsroom’ to follow on reporter Rose Quinn’s strong Monday story on senior scams. We put together a blockbuster panel headed by Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan and CID boss Joe Ryan. Both law enforcement bosses said the problem is widespread and getting worse, aided by the huge boom in technology and the Internet.
If you missed the show you can catch the replay here.
Whelan announced his office was launching a special Senior Exploitation Unit that will be headed by Assistant District Attorney Erica Parham, who also was on hand for the show. Parham stressed that help is available for seniors. If you think you’re being targeted by scammers, you can contact Parham’s special unit at 610-891-4181
We also were joined by a woman who works first-hand with seniors who unwittingly become victims. Lori Holcombe is a certified victim advocate with the county office of Seniro Victime Services.
Finally, Ridley Township Detective Sgt. Chuck Palo reviewed a couple of recent scams pulled off in Ridley.
Here’s the bad news: Business is booming for scammers.
I found our first hand when my mother-in-law was targeted. It was old ruse of someone identifying himself as my son, saying he was in jail and needed money for bail. He wanted “mom-mom” to wire the money - oh, and please don’t tell anyone because he was so embarrassed at being arrested.
Of course, it wasn’t my son, but it sure fooled “mom-mom.” What was stunning to me was the amount of information they these shysters had about my family that they fed to my mother-in-law.
Seniors, don’t be easy prey. Learn the pitfalls of the information superhighway. In short, it can be a pretty bumpy ride.
If you have questions, Holcombe urges you to contact Senior Victim Services at 610-627-2292.
Be careful out there!
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