Aging, disabilities department warn seniors of fraud

A Glen Burnie resident didn't think much of the call she got alerting her to a new Medicare card.

Last week the caller identified himself as an employee of the National Medical Corp. and said he needed to verify her name and address. The 76-year-old resident didn't get suspicious until he asked for the name of her bank and her account number.

Then she remembered a similar call she received two years ago. That time she pretended she had dementia and refused to answer questions. This time she didn't give any information, a move local officials applaud.

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"I told him, 'If you have information, can you put in the mail and give it to me?' " said the resident, who declined to give her name. "There are so many people out there trying to scam (the elderly). ... This could be a problem for people a little older than me."

The county Department of Aging and Disabilities is aware of fraud against the elderly. The department issued an alert on its website last week.

There are several scams. In some, the caller will pretend to be from a government agency and offer a fake employee identification number. They tell the senior that they've won government grant money as a reward for something such as paying taxes on time. Then the caller asks for personal or financial information, like a Social Security number or a bank account number.

Each year, telemarketing scam victims - 57 percent of them are age 50 and older - lose a total of $40 billion, according to the Retirement Industry Trust Association. The organization has identified nearly 30 types of crime geared toward seniors.

In most cases, the incidents go unreported because seniors don't know where to turn or are too embarrassed to admit being victimized, according to the organization. Still, county police encourage seniors to report the crimes, as well as to avoid door-to-door solicitors and telemarketers.

There also have been occasions on which seniors have been sent packages that look like they come from the federal government and contain requests for money or identifying information. Those packages, like the telemarketers, should be ignored, said Mary Felter a spokeswoman for the Department of Aging and Disabilities.

"The answer is: Don't give any information out over the phone," Felter said. "Do not respond (to those calls). Hang up the phone."