There are plenty of unscrupulous individuals out there who have no second thoughts about scamming Granny and PopPop. Besides the emotional stress, embarrassment and immediate financial set back from being taken advantage of, the older adult will have a great deal of difficulty recouping money lost to a scammer.
The lonely senior citizen, particularly the female senior citizen is a prime target for the type of lowlife who will smother her/him with verbal and sometimes physical affection and take as much money as can be pried out of the bank account. If this is happening, get help from the police and others to stop the drain on resources. This will be as difficult as getting your loved one out of a cult. Prevention is not easy but if you can keep your senior connected to friends and family you will be able to limit loneliness that makes them vulnerable.
Seniors also are targets because they want to help. The varieties of scams are numerous and are updated regularly. Remember that the bank and the police do not need your help to catch the dishonest teller or the officer on the take. Do what you can to help your senior understand that it is best to report this to the authorities before any money changes hands.
Remember that no reputable contest requires fees to be paid in order to collect the prize, you also will not be likely to win a prize in a contest you did not enter.
This list of types of scams is by no means extensive. Keeping in mind that something for nothing will leave you with nothing.
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