In my last blog post, I discussed some of the reasons why seniors can be susceptible to con artists. I should point out that all groups in our society can fall victim to the con artist. In a future blog post, I will outline frauds that target teenagers in our society.

But what are some of the signs that family members can watch for that might indicate that their relative is falling victim to a professional con artist.

Here are a few warning signs that might indicate that a relative is being targeted by a fraudster.

• The family member receives a lot of junk mail often touting that they have won a free trip or some form of sweepstakes.

• The family member is constantly being called by tele-marketers who offer valuable prizes or other opportunities.

• The family member receives numerous shoddy items in the mail such as pens, pencils, beauty products etc.

• The family member has made numerous withdrawals from bank accounts in ever increasing amounts and sending the amounts to unfamiliar companies and locations.

• The family member receives phone calls and acts very defensively or secretly when speaking on the phone.

• The family member is wiring money to unusual locations either through banks or money transfer services.

• The family member is having trouble making every day financial commitments or buying every day items such as food.

As a concerned family member, it may be time to take action. Don’t accuse your relative of being stupid or greedy. Remember, they have been targeted by professional fraudsters that know what they are doing. We have all bought something that we did not really need or want yet we let the sales person talk us into it. The other thing that should not be done is to threaten to take away the family members financial independence. This will make it harder for the relative to accept the advice and help they need.

So what can be done? Here are a few simple steps:

1) Help the fraud victim assemble all the information on the fraud (letters, e-mails, bank documents, etc) that outline exactly what has happened.

2) Attend with the fraud victim to your local law enforcement agency to go over the matter.

3) Emphasize to the victim that fraudsters are professional criminals who are targeting their assets. All they want to do is steal as much money as possible.

4) Encourage the fraud victim to hang up on telemarketers or to rip up mail solicitations.

5) Try and have a calm rational discussion with the fraud victim on how to handle finances in the future. It may be best to introduce a trusted financial adviser into the conversation at this time. If the family member appears to be mentally incompetent to handle his or her own financial affairs, then the advice of a lawyer may be required.

There can be no absolute course of action to take for every case. Each fraud victim is different and the course of action to help them get over their victimization is also different.

I want to hear from you how you were able to convince a family member of friend that they were a victim of fraud.

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