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By Danny Cain 

They search out whom they perceive as the most vulnerable - often those living alone, on fixed incomes and trusting of the sales pitch. Their visits or phone calls come unannounced and their offers seem "too good to be true". Their scams range from telemarketing, sweepstakes, home repairs, miracle cures, misrepresentation of charitable organizations, slamming, identity theft, living trust frauds, pyramid and get rich schemes. Inevitably, their primary targets are seniors.

Crime has always been and continues to be a major concern in our society. We are constantly bombarded with daily news stories reminding us of our vulnerabilities and associated risks to violence. Prevention has primarily focused on the investment of millions of dollars in purchasing home alarm systems, installing safety locks in our homes and purchasing guns for our self protection. Many communities are also proactively establishing partnerships with local police departments and initiating neighborhood watch block programs.

The elderly have been especially targeted for specific types of crimes even though statistics from the United States Department of Justice indicate that as a group they are less likely to become the victims of violence than younger age groups. However, the elderly exhibit a higher level of fear of crime because of their perceived vulnerability to being victimized.

Seniors can protect themselves from these crimes by knowing how to identify these various scams and taking the necessary preventative measures. Unfortunately, elder crime is usually difficult to investigate and resolve because victims generally hesitate to come forward and report the crime. There are many behavioral issues that come into play regarding the hesitation of the victim to pursue prosecution. These range from fear, embarrassment, greed, and reprisals from their spouse or caregivers.

This article will address some of the more common crimes against seniors and will explore some of the behavioral elements that put us at risk for these various crimes. The best approach in fighting specific types of crime against the elderly is being well informed and taking the necessary steps to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place.

Why We Fall for Such Scams

One of the difficulties with human nature when it comes to fraudulent crimes or scams is that we allow our emotions and behaviors to effect our better judgment. We base many of our actions and decisions on factors that include our personal upbringing, belief systems, past experiences, trust worthiness of others, religious and moral beliefs and a whole host of other dynamics.

For many seniors it is difficult to associate the friendly voice on the telephone with a potential crook that is out to steal their money. Most believe that the caller has a legitimate business reason for calling and that their actions are not criminal. After the scam, they attempt to rationalize that the loss wasn't a crime, rather, they didn't get their "money's worth".

Some of the personal dynamics that can come into play in being swindled include the following: 

• Crooks are often very convincing and it is often difficult to differentiate them from legitimate salespeople. 
• It's impolite to hang up. Many people feel uncomfortable about hanging up on people. A good swindler, however, takes full advantage of this by taking control of the conversation and attempting to get you to act upon your emotions. 
• Wear Um Down Tactics- Multiple attempts to get you to buy in are primarily focused on getting you to break in order to get rid of the person. 
• Trustworthy Intuition - Many of us want to give the benefit of the doubt to the caller believing that their story or offer is true. 
• False Beliefs - Who doesn't want to believe that the prize being offered must be the person's lucky day?

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