What starts as helping someone in small ways can get out of hand
Elders in our community can sometimes become the target of financial abuse from others in their circle or scams from outside of it. Cst. Paul Human a community policing officer with the Selkirk RCMP wants residents to know to look out for each other and themselves.
Human says it’s not just one month of the year that we need to be keeping an eye out for frauds, scams and others taking advantage. This needs to be a year-round effort.
“We keep hearing the same stuff coming around and around. We need to get the message out to people. You’ve got to be proactive with this stuff. You’ve always got to be on your guard for it, because a lot of times we get caught in situations, even a family situation. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one, or you’re a widower or widow, and somebody comes along, like a romance thing, or even a friend, and they’re not really being truthful,” he said.
He explained that setting up power of attorney with a trusted individual is something that seniors in our community can consider, as well as making sure that they have trusted people around them who can look out for red flags that they may have missed.
Human wants residents to know that it’s not people who are out of touch or who are vulnerable in some way that are targets of these financial scams. At this point, they are so sophisticated that it could be anyone who could be targeted and fall for something like this.
“There’re people out there that this is what they specialize in. This is what they do and that’s horrible. They’re preying on other people, making their living off of somebody else’s past, like their pension,” he said.
The difficult thing when it comes to identifying scams and financial abuse targetting seniors is it can be targeted at people who initially feel they are helping someone else and that can grow into more. These scams can come from strangers who develop a relationship with you or from family members who start becoming more reliant on the senior over time.
Human explained that like sexual exploitation investigations, it can come down to grooming behaviours where the person doesn’t realize they are being taken advantage of because it increases gradually.
He said that an example of how this might work is nearly everyone would buy a coffee for a friend if they left their wallet at home. Then the next time maybe they ‘forget’ their wallet when you go out for lunch. It compounds from there into needing help with a missing bill payment but by that time the person is a friend so you feel like you want to help. This is just one way that these things can get out of control.
“It starts small, and then it starts ballooning,” Human explained.
This is why it’s important that we look out for our friends and family members.
“If that individual doesn’t have close family or somebody that’s helping them out, or somebody that’s close by, these are the ones that sometimes fall through the cracks,” he said.
An example of a way that you can help a senior in our community is to be involved positively in their lives. Human gave the example of giving them a call and if they don’t pick up following up the next time to see what they were up to. If they have a new friend in their lives, be a bit of an investigator and ask some questions to keep up to date and if they don’t answer or change the topic that might be something to come back to.
“If they shut up, if they clam up right away, it might be that whoever that is, that person is manipulating them to not tell anybody. It’s big over the phone, they’re doing the emergency scams all the time (and they say) don’t tell anybody because I’m really ashamed. Don’t call family. (Seniors should also be aware that) if they’re (hearing), ‘Don’t betray our friendship or don’t betray our relationship,’ they (the scammers) use that circle to contain people and it’s so manipulative,” said Human.
Other signs that you should look out for in the people in your life are people saying that they can no longer afford activities they used to attend often, missed bill payments or other signs of financial hardship.
Just like we tell children, if someone is asking you to keep a secret for them it’s best to tell someone you trust and when it comes to scams, people have to learn that it’s not shameful to have gotten taken advantage of because it’s so sophisticated at this point.
When helping someone you’re worried might be being taken advantage of, Human advocates for communication.
“It comes down to talking and listening, because there’s been a hole in this person’s life, and somebody else has filled it, but it’s fake,” explained Human.
He also says it’s important to be respectful.
“It’s got to be shared with respect. It’s got to be shared with love too, at the same time. That can be the hard part, right there. It’s the respect and the love part because sometimes families don’t get along,” said Human.
If you are a senior in our community and you feel that someone is pressuring you to financially support them, Human also wants you to know that it’s ok to call the police to talk to someone.
“You can call the police and just report it. It’s okay. If we take it as a file, we take it as a file but you know what? Most of the time, if a member is available, then they can speak with an individual, and maybe give them some tips. If they’re not available, most of the time, the police will just refer them to the Canadian anti-fraud centre, and those people are fantastic. In fact, there are seniors that work for the Canadian anti-fraud centre who volunteer their time,” said Human.
He said that sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone your own age and so the seniors at the Canadian anti-fraud centre might be the perfect people to call with questions.
Human also says that it’s always a good idea to look out for others in our community.
“If you have noticed some changes, ask ‘Is everything cool with you,’ and sometimes that might be just the time the dam opens and you’re like, ‘Holy cow. Okay, we’re going to get some friends, and we’re getting some family, and we’re going to get some help for you,” said Human.
Residents in our region can connect with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or by phone at 1-888-495-8501.
