Phone scammers are notorious for targeting senior citizens, as they find that they’re more likely to go along with what they’re asking.
As the child of an elderly individual, it’s difficult to imagine that someone would attempt to take advantage of them. Unfortunately, this is all too common in today’s day and age.
Since you can’t be with your parent 24 hours a day, you need to provide guidance on how to best avoid phone scams. Here’s what you should do:
- Tell your parents to hang up on anyone they don’t know: Even if they make a mistake every now and again, it’s better than getting into a conversation with someone who is trying to scam them.
- Ask them to talk to you before doing anything: By doing this, your parent will get off the phone with the scammer and then contact you. You can then explain what’s happening, while also reporting it to police.
- Share recent news about telephone scams: For example, if someone in your community was recently scammed, share the news story with your parent. Furthermore, explain exactly what happened and how they can protect against the same.
Even if you take all these steps, there’s no guarantee that your parent will follow your advice every time.
If your parent becomes the victim of a phone scam, ask them what happened and then contact the authorities. You should also dig around for any information that will help you unearth the origin of the call. Following these steps allows you to take action, while protecting the legal rights of your loved one.
