Seniors Living Alone are at Risk

I recently heard about something very scary in relation to an 80 year old man living alone. A couple knocked on the door saying they were friends of a neighbor and wanted to come in and see his antiques. Once inside they scoured the home for valuables. They questioned the man about what was going to happen to his antiques and other possessions once he died, which is totally inappropriate. They kept asking probing questions about how much the antiques were worth, where do the family members live and who is he leaving these to in his will. After he finally got them to leave, he called the neighbor and asked if she knew them and she said she wasn't sure, but their name seemed familiar.

The next day, the man received a call from someone claiming to be his granddaughter who wanted money of course. The man realized it was a scam and hung up, since he didn't have any granddaughters.

There are several things to be aware of here. One is that those people could have knocked this elderly man in the head and taken whatever they wanted, or worse killed him. He should have never let them inside since he didn't know them.

Second, they could be setting him up for a break-in later, now that they know the layout of the home. They could be watching his house looking for him to leave and swoop in and steal whatever they wanted.

Further, these scammers could easily find out who lives in the neighborhood and pick out an equally elderly neighbor that they might rely on for a faint memory. They simply act as if they know the neighbor when in fact they just "googled" the neighbor and got their name figuring the elderly man would know the close neighbor. In reality, the neighbor doesn't know them at all.

Finally, they could be in cahoots with the supposed granddaughter who called the next day. The fact that this call was the very next day after this couple's visit was pretty suspicious.

It is hard to believe that there are people like this who prey on the elderly, but sadly there are way too many of them. If you have elderly family of friends, then make sure you check on them often and report any suspicious activity to the police.