If you're suspicious of a charity or company hounding someone in your family, check with the Better Business Bureau to see if they have a record of complaints. Likewise, check with your state Attorney General to see if there are any criminal actions or complaints against the firm your loved ones are considering doing business with. The best place to report investment fraud is through the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Bankers can set up a checking account that is funded by a second checking or savings account, so that the first account has a small amount in it, say a month's expenses. In the event someone tries to withdraw from that first account, they are limited from taking the elder's life savings. It can keep an unscrupulous worker in the elder's home from stealing unlimited funds by check or from having the forgetful elder write unlimited checks to that person. Additionally, setting up internet access to the accounts can allow you to monitor activity and make account transfers from virtually anywhere, thereby helping your family member manage their account.
This article was OK as far as it went, but there is much more to know. I just returned from a week's visit to my father who lives three times zones away. He had gotten scammed by numerous telemarketers and direct mail solicitors and was thousands of dollars in debt. I spent all of last week trying to get this straightened out. Following up on this article, I suggest the following: 1. Make sure your parents have caller ID and rehearse with them ways to answer, or NOT answer, their phone. I got my dad a phone at Radio Shack that has not only visual caller ID, but spoken caller ID. I programmed the phone with all of his friends' numbers. I worked with him to learn to ignore the phone unless he saw and heard that the call was from someone he knew. I also put a yellow sticky note on the phone with a script in case he answers the phone: "Thank you, but I'm not interested. Take me off your mailing list. Good-bye." 2. Get your parents to go to the bank with you, sit down with a banker. Make the accounts Joint Accounts. Sign up for online Alerts that tell you, daily, what the account balance is, what checks have been written, etc. Get the banker to be your advocate, asking your parent how things are going and monitoring when your parent makes a large withdrawal. The banker told me that they cannot legally prohibit withdrawals, but they can ask, "Are you sure you want to make that large a withdrawal?" Give the banker your phone number and encourage them to call you if they are concerned about activity on the account. 3. Set a low limit on checking accounts and credit cards. 4. When fraud occurs, call the Fraud Division of the credit card company and bank. I was able to recover approximately $2,000 in charges because I told them that my dad had signed up for these things that were unknown companies, had never used the services, etc. It is easier to do it through the bank than trying to cancel these services with individual companies, many of which have no listed numbers or websites. 5. Enlist a local, trusted, person to check in with your parent to look at incoming mail. 6. Stay on top of accounts for a month or so to make sure everything has been credited back and that your parent is no longer making unwise choices. I know that this is a life-long "job" for me now, but at least I was able to get a handle on it before it got any worse.
Perhaps it would be wise to have a little list by the phone for your parents to use in case a call like this is received. What's the name of the outfit again? Phone number? Name of supervisor? Or even just advise them to hang right up. If they get continual calls, they can file a complaint.