010 Scams, Elder Abuse, and Financial Exploitation

Aug 21, 2018

Financial scams targeting seniors have become so prevalent that almost everyone knows someone who has fallen prey to a scam perpetrated either by a stranger of a loved one.

Unfortunately, there are people out there that prey on the elderly for financial gain in many ways that may include a loved one taking advantage of them, identity theft via phone scams, or online trickery. Older people are more at risk for these kinds of scams and fraud attempts so it is important to know what to look out for.

In this episode of The Chris Berry Show, I’ll explain some of the scams, elder abuse, and financial exploitation that I have witnessed with clients and some useful tips on how you can protect yourself and your loved ones.

In this episode, you’ll learn...

Chris’ positive focus for the week.
Chris talks about going to a national conference and why it is important to him to always be learning and improving himself.
What long-term care insurance is and how it works.
The issues with traditional long-term care insurance and how the money that you pay into it can be lost if you don’t ever require long-term care.
A new long-term care insurance strategy and why Chris is a big fan of it.
The benefits of the new asset-based long-term care insurance.
How asset-based long-term care insurance can help protect your retirement accounts, IRAs, and your 401Ks.
How asset-based long-term care strategies can help empower you and give you more options and choices.
Some of the elder abuse and financial scams that Chris sees people falling victim to and how to protect yourself from them.
How to find and register for any upcoming workshops that Chris puts on throughout Metro Detroit.
A client that Chris had that dementia and was scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and how they set up a way for him to still have his financial independence but also had money put aside to protect his spouse.
How money can even make a family member the villain when it comes to scamming elderly people.
A text based scam called “spoofing”, and how a simple text message can lead to identiift theft.
Why you should be careful as to what you are liking and clicking when on Facebook.
How, when browsing the internet, you should avoid pop-ups that tell you to click a link of any kind.
When buying tickets online you should try to always buy from an official provider to avoid what is known as “white label ticket scams.”
Ransomware and how it works.
How you should be wary of charitable scams or phoney online fundraisers or crowdfunding campaigns.
What you should do and who to contact if you think you or someone you know may have fallen victim to a scam.
How older people that are susceptible to persuasion can be taken advantage of when talking to people in person, on the phone, or online.
That if it looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.
Some of the common classic scams that have been around for a long time and how they work such as lottery sweepstakes and grandparent scams.
The difference between a will and a trust.

Q&A

In each episode, I take questions from listeners. If you do have any questions that you want answers to, feel free to email us at askchris@thechrisberryshow.com. Here are the questions I covered in this episode:

William asked: "Where do I register a living trust?"
Laurie asked: If you have a $24,000 standard deduction, how does that 7.5% medical expense deduction work? Is that on top of the $24,000 standard deduction?"
John asked: "Can I apply for guardianship for my wife? She has dementia and cannot drive or make decisions for herself, how do I help her?"
Todd asked: "My father died in May. His will stated that my stepmother gets everything. Do my four siblings and I have any rights?”

Links & Resources

TheElderCareFirm.com

CJBerryGroup.com

TheChrisBerryShow.com

Michiganestateplanning.com

Follow us on Social Media

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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christopherjberry