 August 27, 2002
"Fraud complaints are on the rise, and more and more people age 60 and over are becoming victims," said Postal Inspector Lee Heath, as the Postal Inspection Service kicked
In Alaska, Attorney General Bruce Botelho echoed the concern about senior fraud. "It is imperative that we reach out to our senior population and keep them, and all our citizens, informed about schemes intended to defraud them," Botelho said. "Education is the best means of preventing victimization. We must be diligent in our efforts to protect our seniors from these unscrupulous con artists." Mail fraud complaints are up 27 percent, according to the Postal Inspection Service. The agency responded to 66,000 mail fraud complaints in 2001. In 2002, postal inspectors have already responded to more than 68,000 mail fraud complaints. "The Inspection Service has shut down 40 illegal telemarketing operations so far this year, a 43 percent increase over last year. We have also stopped 80 deceptive mailing operations, up 40 percent from last year," said Chief Inspector Heath. According to the Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing and Electronic Commerce, people 60 years of age and older accounted for 26 percent of telemarketing fraud victims. The same group was, however, represented significantly more in certain categories of fraud, such as prizes and sweepstakes, where they account for 60 percent of the victims. According to the National Consumers League, it is estimated that illegal telemarketing operations bilk U.S. citizens out of at least $40 billion annually. A significant number of illegal contest and prize scams originate in Canada. In conjunction with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service consumer fraud prevention efforts, the U.S. Senate designated the week of August 25, 2002, as "National Fraud Against Senior Citizens Awareness Week." The nationwide campaign warns senior consumers about fraud by:
"In uncertain financial times, people are looking for a secure place to invest and grow their retirement money," said Inspector Heath. "These conditions make it easier for con artists to swindle investors, especially senior citizens, out of their entire life savings." For example, postal inspectors were alerted to the actions of an elderly North Carolina woman, retired after teaching school for 43 years, who had become a victim of fraud. She received numerous telemarketing and mail contacts regarding donations and sweepstakes. She was enticed into mailing a $94,000 check to a "marketing service" in the Netherlands. The "marketing service" informed her that she had won $55 million and she needed to send $94,000 for fees in order to release the funds. She sent the check by Express Mail. Postal inspectors were notified and the Express Mail piece was intercepted before it left the country. The $94,000 check was returned to the victim. Unfortunately, she had previously sent $168,000 - money she could not afford to lose - to the "marketing service" before postal inspectors learned of the situation. Attorney General Botelho said similar lottery scams are regularly pitched to Alaskans and he urged consumers to think twice before paying money to receive prize winnings or a free gift. "The requirement that you must pay money up front for something that you have won or is 'free' should be a red flag to all consumers," Botelho added. Many seniors find it hard to tell the difference between legitimate telemarketing calls and telemarketing scams. It is important that seniors know that their good judgment is the last line of defense against the con artist. Consumer advocates advise seniors to be skeptical of any offer that sounds "too good to be true" and offer these crime prevention tips:
If you've
been the victim of telemarketing or mail fraud, you can file
a complaint with the Attorney General's Office. For more information
about consumer protection issues, go to www.law.state.ak.us.
Source of News Release:
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