Community Chat

[Moonchilde]

Any legitimate "program" involving Social Security would be all over every type of news media and everyone "of the age" would be discussing it. If that was not the case, I would assume it was not legit.

[Spurt]

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@millieshops wrote:

@depglass  Makes me wonder, too,  except that I know any number of people retired for 20+ years and there are too many of them who truly do not think as quickly as they used to and many of that number don't pay much attention to social media where they would see others talking about these scams.

Sometime I'd love to see a breakdown of who it is that gets caught most often in these schemes.  I always think the vast majority must be over 80 or 85 and live alone, but what I think and what reality is could be vastly different.

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@millieshops

I don't know if you saw that other fraudulent scam on that video on the same page, where people were spoofing Facebook friends telling about ways to receive a free government grant and they said millenlials were falling for this one.....

[Spurt]

Anytime anyone tells you to send money using gift cards or those Visa debit cards to pay a fee to get something,(and remember the old adage if it sounds too good to be true, it is)....or they tell you to use those methods of payment to pay a fine because you didnt show up for jury duty, or you owe the IRS you know it has to be a scam!  

[Kachina624]

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@depglass wrote:

I have never understood how reasonably intelligent people suddently get so stupid in their retirement.  You wouldn't have fallen for this when you were 30 or 40 or 50, so why now?  Be on your guard, people. 

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@depglass  Speak for yourself.  I've been retired 19 years and nobody is pulling anything over on me. 

[shoekitty]

I think the very elderly sometimes have too much trust in people.  They come from a time when your handshake was your word and your oath.  And people honored it.  People paid their debts before bankruptcy.  Stores honored their products without question, people walked miles to check in on their neighbors.  There wasnt welfare, social security etc.  when you got old your family took care of you, even if you only had a distant cousin they had to take care of you.  They did have " old folks homes" and poor houses so to speak, but it was concidered a shame to go there. 

i guess what i am saying is many old folks who arent internet saavy, or have used them at all arent always aware of every scam.  They may be too trusting.  Also many elderly might have borderline dementia, or have lost some reasoning , judgement skills.  They can get taken in.

I am 69, and would say most seniors under 80 are pretty internet, scam, indoctrinated. But there are many widowers out there over 80 who had a husband or wife take care of financial matters their whole adulthood.  When they are widowed they are sometimes lost to the ways of the world.  I have known men and women who never paid a bill or had to take care of any financial matter ever!  When the spouse passed the had no idea how to pay a bill or take care of finances.  They can sometimes be taken in.  Just sayin