By KELLEIGH COLE
Fraudulent telemarketers steal $40 billion from senior citizens every year in the United States.
These telemarketers use everything from fake sweepstakes to posing as charities to taking advantage of people with Alzheimer's and steal money from seniors, said Maria Diaz, southwest region consumer representative for the American Association for Retired Persons.
'Telemarketing fraud can come in many forms,' Diaz said. 'It's any deceptive practices to get a person to send in money.'
Fraudulent telemarketers will call the elderly and tell them that they have won a prize, but say they need to send in an entry fee to claim it.
'If they've already won a prize, they shouldn't have to do anything,' Diaz said.
Many fraudulent telemarketers will also tell their victims they must send in money for taxes on their prize, said Lee Norguard, lead investigative specialist for the AARP.
Fraudulent telemarketers that pose as well-known charities are also a danger to seniors.
These telemarketers will usually make up a name similar to a well-known organization to gain the trust of their victims, Diaz said.
Diaz said seniors should check out the organization before they send any money.
'Never agree to send money right away,' Diaz said.
Diaz also suggested that people decide which charities they would like to donate to and take the initiative, rather than being approached by telemarketing charities.
Another common scam that fraudulent telemarketers use is targeted directly at Alzheimer's patients.
'These people will call seniors with Alzheimer's and tell them they didn't receive a donation they had promised,' Diaz said. 'They get embarrassed because they think they forgot, so they send the money in.'
Another tactic fraudulent telemarketers use is a 'mooch list' of their victims, which they sell to other telemarketers so the same people get targeted over and over, Diaz said.
'Once they're put on the list, these people are taken time and time again,' Diaz said.
Fraudulent telemarketers will pay as much as $200 a name if the 'mooch list' is a proven one, Norguard said.
The facts that most seniors have disposable income, are home most of the day and are generally trusting make seniors easy targets, Norguard said.
'It's not a matter of being gullible,' Norguard said. 'Many older people perceive the caller as someone like a neighbor or friend or someone just like them trying to put bread on the table. They feel it's their duty to listen to their pitch.'
In response to this problem, the AARP is sponsoring a conference to teach seniors how to fight back against telemarketing fraud at the Murray Heritage Center.
The April 3 conference will be aimed at teaching seniors how to recognize and prevent being taken advantage of by telemarketers. Seniors will learn the various ways consumer fraud criminals may try to approach them.