How do you know if you can trust the travel agency? Inside. Elder Resource SCAMS. Scam Updates & Tips for Citizens

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1 Elder Resource SCAMS Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan February 2013 Inside ~Telephone Medicare Scam ~Reverse Mortgage Scam ~The Grandparent Scam ~Medical Equipment Fraud ~FBI tips to Avoid Scams ~Funeral/ Cemetery Fraud ~Counterfeit Prescription Drugs Scam Scam Updates & Tips for Citizens How do you know if you can trust the travel agency? TRAVEL SCAM Timeaway Tours books tours they do not deliver. The scammers post a newspaper ad for destinations like the Kentucky Derby or Florida. The perpetrators collect a sizeable cash deposit and keep it. They do not accept credit cards. Over 100 of the victims live in Michigan. The victims are from Detroit, Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Lansing and Jackson. The Attorney General Bill Schuette issued charges against these scammers on December 19, Avoiding the scam business- Pay with a credit card. If a company does not accept credit card payments beware. Check the physical address of the company. Find out how long the company has been doing business. Call the Better Business Bureau or consumer groups to find out more. If it is too good to be true, it probably is not true.

2 Phone scams target older adults on Medicare The phone rings and a nice man is there to tell the older adult it is time to update the Medicare file or you will lose your benefits in a few days. If the older adult wants to check with anyone, the nice man replies, you seem very capable or you do not need to burden others with that. The caller will request bank account and routing numbers, social security numbers, and address. They ask for anything that may be helpful for identity theft. According to The MetLIfe study of Elder Financial Abuse published in June 2011, elder financial abuse results in an estimated annual financial loss of $2.9 billion. This may only be the tip of the iceberg. No need to burden your child with this, just tell me your routing number and let us take care of it! The Grandparent Scam A similar scam is called the grandparent scam. Con artists will call pretending to be a grand child in trouble. They will say something like: "Hi Grandpa, do you know who this is?" The older adult will often guess which grandchild is on the phone. They are embarrassed and worried that their memory is worse than suspected. This guess gives the scammer an identity. They use that name and identity to ask for money for any number of financial problems. Payment is made via Western Union or MoneyGram, as neither company requires identification to pick up money. The scammer finishes the call with, "Please do not tell my parents, they would be angry that I asked you, but you have always been the kindest to me." 2

3 FBI LIST OF COMMON FRAUDS - Telemarketing Fraud - Nigerian Letter or 419 Fraud - Identity Theft - Advanced Fee Schemes - Health Care Fraud/Health Insurance Fraud - Investment Scams - Internet Scams - Counterfeit Prescription Drugs Protect Yourself From Fraud Register on the nations Do-Not-Call Registry. Do not open your door to strangers. Do not allow strangers in your home. Never hire anyone who is going door-to-door asking for work until you can verify that they have a reputable work history in the community. If you have someone helping you with your finances, make sure you have a third party that will monitor the accounts. Remember an honest person will welcome confirmation of a job well done. Freeze accounts at the first sign of suspicious activity. Quick action may preserve a lifetime of savings. Check in often with the older person. Ask whether the older person has had any contact with strangers. Find out what they wanted. - Funeral and Cemetery Fraud - Fraudulent Anti- Aging Products - Reverse Mortgage Scams - Medical Equipment Fraud 3

4 MEDICAL EQUIPMENT FRAUD Older Adults are frequent targets of Medicare Fraud. There are frequent advertisements for free medical equipment. No equipment can legally be billed to Medicare or insurance unless a physician (presumably your physician) signs a form to certify that equipment or testing is necessary. Anyone claiming to offer you equipment that your physician has not authorized may be attempting to scam you or Medicare. Con artists will fake signatures or find corrupt doctors to sign forms for them. Be wary of advertisements promising free equipment that your doctor did not order. Tips for Avoiding Health Care Fraud or Health Insurance Fraud: Never sign blank insurance claim forms. Never give blanket authorization to a medical provider to bill for services rendered. Ask your medical providers what they will charge and what you will be expected to pay out-of-pocket. Carefully review your insurer s explanation of the benefits statement. Call your insurer and provider if you have questions. Do not do business with door-to-door or telephone salespeople who tell you that services of medical equipment are free. Give your insurance/medicare identification only to those who have provided you with medical services. Keep accurate records of all health care appointments. Know if your physician ordered equipment for you. All safety tips are from the Federal Bureau of Investigations SCAM Alert at Reverse Mortgage Scams Reverse mortgages have increased more than 1,300 percent between 1999 and 2008, creating significant opportunities for fraud. Reverse Mortgages are also known as home equity conversion mortgages (HEMC). A legitimate HECM loan product is insured by the Federal Housing Authority. The NY Times reported in October 2012 that the very loans advertised to help seniors stay at home are driving them out. Lenders are aggressively pitching loans to seniors who cannot afford the fees. Now that property values have eliminated large pools of home equity, most of these plans have lost validity. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Met Life have all quit the market finding it too difficult to assess the borrower s ability to repay the loan. Smaller brokers have stepped in to fill the void left by the big banks. Some are steering seniors into expensive and risky loans with deceptive sales pitches and highpressure tactics. Couples are told that they can have a bigger loan if the sole borrower is the oldest spouse. The commission is also higher. When the oldest spouse dies, the remaining spouse may become homeless unless they can pay off the full loan. 4

5 COUNTERFEIT PRESCRIPTION DRUGS Sawdust The FDA confirmed that counterfeit versions of Ambien, Xanax, Lexapro and Ativan are available for Americans to purchase online. The most commonly counterfeited drug is Viagra. Reputable pharmacists will not sell you a controlled substance without a prescription. If you order from an Internet site that does not require a prescription you may be purchasing fake or low-dose items. There are three popular forms of counterfeit. The first is a fake pill. It looks like the real drug, but contains nothing but filler like flour, talcum, or sawdust. The second is called up-labeling. This method involves using the real active ingredient but at a much lower dose. For example, a dealer would sell a 40 mg capsule of a drug but use only 10 mg of the drug mixed with 30 mg of filler. The third is the largest growing counterfeit area: counterfeit medical supplies. These knockoffs include; diabetic test strips, contact lenses, condoms or surgical instruments. It is relatively easy to avoid counterfeit drugs, merely avoid certain types of merchants. Tips for Avoiding Counterfeit Prescription Drugs: Be mindful of appearance. Closely examine the packaging and lot numbers of prescription drugs and be alert to any changes from one prescription to the next. Consult your pharmacist or physician if your prescription drug looks suspicious. Alert your pharmacist and physician immediately if your medication causes adverse side effects or if your condition does not improve. Use caution when purchasing drugs on the Internet. Do not purchase medications from unlicensed online distributors or those who sell medications without a prescription. Reputable online pharmacies will have a seal of approval called the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site (VIPPS), provided by the Association of Boards of Pharmacy in the United States. Be aware that product promotions or cost reductions and other special deals may be associated with counterfeit product promotion. 5

6 FUNERAL AND CEMETARY FRAUD Disreputable funeral homes will take advantage of grieving family members to add unnecessary charges to a bill. One of the most common scams is for a funeral director to insist that a casket, one of the most expensive items at a funeral, is required even when performing a direct cremation. This is not true. A cardboard casket is perfectly acceptable; some might even argue it is the green thing to do. Tips for Avoiding Funeral and Cemetery Fraud The FBI also warns that scammers will read obituaries to find victims. The scammer will call, visit or attend the funeral, or any combination of the three. Total strangers will take advantage of a vulnerable widow or widower, claiming the deceased owed them money. Of course the con knows the right things to say to make the spouse feel that paying the stranger is the only way to honor the memory of the deceased. Often the surviving spouse will just give the money to the stranger feeling like it is necessary to let the dead rest in peace. CONTACT US PAAM Elder Justice 116 W. Ottawa Street, Lansing, MI Funeral homes are required to provide detailed general price lists over the telephone or in writing. Educate yourself fully about caskets before you buy one, and understand that caskets are not required for direct cremations. Catherine Emerson, Resource Prosecutor, ext. 820 Jessica Sutton, Conference Coordinator, ext 801 PAAM If possible, make the major choices before meeting with the director and bring a trusted friend. The Elder Justice/At-Risk Adults project is funded by the State of Michigan.