I live in an apartment for seniors. My neighbor is 99 years old. She just got scammed. Any experience with this?

As a side note, when I had to move due to a huge rent increase, My son, daughter in law and myself had a discussion on me moving in with them. (They have an apartment in their house). They said they were more than willing but I'd be required to turn my checkbook over to them and put on an allowance. My daughter in law is an accountant and probably would have done a great job building up my savings. But I was kind of offended. But after reading about other seniors and how they get scammed and stuff, I now see where they were coming from. I did end up in my own place as I had no desire to move to Wisconsin which is a whole lot colder than Ohio. Now I visit them a lot and we are all happy. :-)

If at all possible for those with very elderly parents who live in close proximity I would suggest not letting them have the checkbook to their account. Of course one would need POA with their name on the account as well. I realize this is not always possible. It just is what I have done with my mother. She has the use of a credit card also with my name on it. I have had issues there but was able to resolve them albeit with great time and frustration. We had serious talks about it and it is under control at least now. When my mother wants/needs a check I write it out for her and give it to her. I have told her that thousands of dollars could disappear if she had control of the checkbook. I won't even give her a blank check. The amount has to be written on it. I am sorry this has happened to all those involved.

Just remembered a few incidents that could inspire cheering and clapping:   

1.    https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/02/12/william-webster-ex-fbi-cia-director-helps-feds-nab-jamaican-phone-scammer/

Note that the scammer in this case claims to "have seen" the man's wife.   Veiled threat?   You bet!   And the scammer even threatened to shoot the man's wife, adding the element of fear and extortion to his scam. 

Other important facts are that the sentencing judge determined that the scammer was engaged in organized crime, and imposed additional time.   The RICO  (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) statute was probably applied for the "enhanced" penalty.  

This is something for all of us to consider:  the element of extortion, or threats, MAY elevate the scam to a RICO level.  

And another:

2.   LEO turns the tables and scams the IRS scammer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Rwc8lNn0k

There's also a list of other scams on the right hand side of that same page.

A 70+ lady was told to wire 2 checks for $900.00. Her checking account was "compromised". It was 9:30pm and. It's not unusual for her to go to stores late at night, often to the 24-hour drug store to pick up prescriptions. She said if I could't take her, she would get a cab. Nothing out of the norm so far.

He called her again while driving to the store. I told her to hang up and not answer her phone the rest of the evening.

I finally told her "OK, we'll go to Target." In the mean time, I called another neighbor and asked if she would call Target and tell them she planned to wire 2 checks. I drove slowly so as to arrive at the last moment. I told her to go the manager at the service desk and I would be there after parking the car. My neighbor agreed this was the best way to deal, given her mindset.

We decided (on the fly) to plot this journey so as to shut off all avenues of destruction. Target's manager on duty acknowledged the call from Brenda. He said Target will never cash big checks or send big money orders without carefully asking what it's for. He said this happens all the time, so they are on the lookout.

I developed my own plan and told our neighbor that tomorrow morning I'm pounding on her door and she WILL go to her bank. I told the manager in front of her, that we would ask that her checking account/debit card be closed. On our way to the bank I told her to just go inside and not worry as the employees know how to handle this. By morning she had figured out she was in fact being scammed.

Just so frightening to see this unfold. It's real so we all need to be on the lookout.

Help her put a freeze on her credit reports, all three agencies.

JoAnn makes a good point about cashing checks; they may also be using payday outfits to cash them.

1.  If she can afford it, suggest she get a post office box, have new checks issued with that address.   Or at least have that account closed ASAP and a new one issued.   

2.  Alert building security to screen for strangers and get ID (although the scammers could be using fake ID); scammers also make "house calls".

A friend moved years ago into a gated community, with security at the gate.   Visitors had to present a driver's license, the info on which was copied and I believe stored.   I stopped visiting her there as I wasn't going to give anyone except LEOs my driver's license information.

I mention this b/c entry security is just as important as mail monitoring. 

3.   How was she approached?   The PCH scam is usually through the mail.

4.   If you want to learn more about scams, use the search function on the toolbar (little eyeglass)next to your avatar; you'll get plenty of other posts on the same issue.

Here's the link to get you started; just click on the posts and be prepared to be startled at the breadth of scams, not just of the elderly.

https://www.agingcare.com/search?term=elderly+scams

5.    I would ask the building management to post scam alert notices in the common areas, as well as distributing a flyer to every apartment in the building.  Awareness can partially help avoid these financial disasters.

Good luck, to you, your neighbor and the residents of the senior complex.

Just a thought. I would think they would need an acct at the bank the checks are being cashed at. I cannot cash a out of state check at my bank. I have to deposit it and then withdrawal the money.

That’s just so very sad. Just awful!

Another one to watch out for... I'm 74 and bought a new car at the end of winter this past year. Got contacted by a company that wanted to "wrap" my car with advertisements and I'd get paid for driving the car around. Sounded great so I did talk to them. They sent me a huge check (well over $2000.00). I was suppose to cash the check, sending them my bank information, use part of the check to pay for the advertisements to be put on my car and keep the rest. I knew better than to try and cash it so called the bank it was written on. Yep, that account had been closed. I emailed the so call company and asked them to send me a new check. Decided it might be fun to see just how far they would go. They kept telling me I needed to send them my bank information. Yeah, right. Turned them into the police and they said I was smart to have called the bank it was written on. The're out there, so be careful.