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Easy Ways to Keep Your Mom From Getting Scammed

Caregivers in Danville CA
Caregivers in Danville CA

The FTC surveys millions of people regarding fraud. The October 2019 survey found that 40 million adults were victims of at least one fraudulent activity. Older adults were less likely to admit it, but those that did admit to losing money tended to have lost the most money.

While all ages were at risk of being scammed, the survey found that older adults were more likely to fall for these scams.

  • Contest/lottery scams
  • Family/friend impersonation scams
  • Government agency impersonation scams
  • Romance scams
  • Tech support scams

Has your mom been caught in a scam? If so, she needs to report it. She can’t let embarrassment keep her from calling the police. If she hasn’t yet, scammers are out there. Make sure she knows these tips to prevent scams from happening to her.

Never Give Money or Gift Cards to a Stranger

Your mom cannot give any money or gift card numbers to someone who calls. The police, IRS, and other government agencies will never demand payment through gift cards. They’d also never require money to be packaged and sent to them using UPS or another courier service.

Verify Grandkids Really Have Been Arrested or in an Accident

The grandparent scam is one of the easiest for grandparents to fall for. The scammer uses social media to find personal information, which makes the scam believable.

If your mom is the victim of a grandparent scam, she needs to hang up and call family members to verify that there really is an issue. Your mom must always be suspicious of a caller in this situation.

Call Spoofing Makes It Hard to Know if a Call Is Legitimate

Call spoofing is a technique scammers use to get people to answer the phone. Instead of calling from a foreign or out-of-state number, they make it look like a local business is calling.

Make sure your mom is aware that call spoofing exists. When someone calls her, it may not be a legitimate call. If she gets a call from a local store that she’s never shopped from or been in, she shouldn’t answer the phone. If it is legitimate, they’ll call back.

She Doesn’t Have to Answer Her Phone

Some older adults are more likely to pick up the phone. While younger generations tend to let unknown calls go to voicemail, older adults often feel obligated to answer. It goes back to common etiquette where you answered a ringing phone by the third ring and had to be engaging and polite.

Make sure your mom knows she doesn’t have to answer the phone. It’s acceptable to let the call go to voicemail and call back if it was a legitimate call. By doing that, she avoids calls from scammers.

If she answers the phone simply because she’s lonely and wants to hear another person’s voice, it’s time to talk about caregivers and companionship visits. Instead of talking to a stranger on the phone, she can talk to the caregiver who stops by.

With companionship visits, your mom has caregivers to engage with over movies, a game of cards, or a meal. Call a home care agency to schedule caregivers.

Sources:
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/protecting-older-consumers-2019-2020-report-federal-trade-commission/p144400_protecting_older_adults_report_2020.pdf

If you or an aging loved one is considering caregivers in Danville, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.

Understand How Isolation Impacts Your Dad’s Health and How You Can Help

Caregivers in Danville CARight now, it’s hard to navigate being a family caregiver. You know if you’re not with your dad that he is isolated. You can ease some of this by calling him daily and trying to get him to video chat.

Family caregivers cannot ignore the impact isolation can have. You might feel stir crazy. You want to get back to normal and visit your friends and family like you used to. You want to get back to work. You want to go shopping without fear.

Your dad is experiencing that, too. Not only is he alone and isolated, but he’ also is in the higher-risk group for coronavirus. Social isolation increases the risk of inflammation, high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression.

How Does Isolation Impact Your Health?

Why does social isolation impact your health? It comes down to stress. When you’re stressed, you tend to turn to those closest to you. They’re there for comfort, which helps ease the stress.

When you cannot turn to others for comfort, it’s harder to ease the stress. Exercise may help your dad ease some of that angst, but if he’s not as mobile as he used to be, it’s hard to get enough exercise to lessen the stress.

Stress prompts an inflammatory response in the body. Stress hormones impact blood pressure. High blood pressure can put extra strain on the blood vessels, veins, and arteries. This impacts the cardiovascular system.

Experts don’t believe short-term isolation will impact many people, but it’s hard to tell how long COVID-19 will have people self-isolating. Finding ways to handle stress is important.

Ways to Beat the Stress

Video chats are one of the ways your dad can ease stress, but he may struggle with the technology. A phone call is also beneficial.

He can burn off some of his stress by finding a hobby that keeps his mind occupied. It’s a good time to find new things to do. He could start gardening, learn to paint, or take up baking. Kneading dough works the muscles in the arms and wrists and also provides him with food.

Have You Considered Caregivers for Now?

Caregivers are one of the best ways to help him avoid feeling lonely or isolated. It’s important right now as isolation also impacts a person’s health.

With this pandemic, you’re also supposed to stay home. While you’re tempted to travel to and from your dad’s home to check on him, you need to put his safety first. Caregivers can stay with him and make sure he’s not feeling isolated and has the help he needs.

If you or an aging loved one is considering caregivers in Danville, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.