Police Offer Education to Protect Elderly from Scammers

As the summer months approach, police are once again warning the public to be on the lookout for scammers, especially those targeting the elderly.

Education is best defense

North Woodbury Township Police Chief Dave Rosamilia, said scammers who prey on the elderly are predators who target the most vulnerable of the population.

With two retirement communities in Martinsburg, Rosamilia said scammers have a lot of people in one area to target.

"They try to scare people into giving up their money and with our high elderly population, the scammers see it as an opportunity," Rosamilia said.

Rosamilia said once a scammer has gotten hold of your money, the chances of getting it back are slim, and the best way to combat scammers is to recognize them before it's too late.

To help keep people from losing their money, Rosamilia recently enlisted the help to Martinsburg Borough Police Chief Kerry Hoover, Blair County Sheriff James Ott, and State Sen. Judy Ward to gather at Homewood in Martinsburg to give an informational presentation to the residents on how to avoid being the victim of a scam.

"If people know what to look for and how to recognize a scam, they can avoid losing their money," Rosamilia said.

Rosamilia said scammers use a variety of tactics to scare the elderly into giving them money, and technology has made it easier for them, something the sheriff's office and Martinsburg Police Department have had to contend with recently.

Impersonating police

Ott said his office is often used by scammers to try to trick people out of their money. Using a method called "spoofing," the Sheriff's office actual phone number shows up on the caller ID, making it seem like a legitimate call.

Ott said the latest scam to hit his office is someone calling people and identifying themselves as "Officer Alwine" or "Officer Bennett." The caller claims that a contempt of court order has been issued resulting in an arrest warrant for the victim.

Ott said the victims are being instructed to travel to a kiosk or similar location in an attempt to obtain a monetary payment. What makes this scam particularly dangerous, Ott said, is that there are two deputies in his office with those last names, and that may be enough to convince a victim to follow the scammer's demands.

Ott said while his office will occasionally call people who have outstanding warrants or paperwork, those calls are only to provide information on how to arrange a time to come into the office to address them, but will never make monetary arrangements over the phone.

"If you receive such a call, please report it to our agency to determine if the call is legitimate or a scam," Ott said.

Hoover said he has been getting complaints from citizens about receiving calls from the Martinsburg Police Department's phone number with the caller identifying himself as a police officer. Hoover said the caller is telling people they have outstanding warrants and instructs the victim to purchase gift cards to pay the fine over the phone or face arrest.

Hoover said police will never ask for payment over the phone and that police departments do not collect fines.

"That is all done through the courts," Hoover said. "And gift cards are never accepted for payment of fines."

A daily battle

Ward said she has had calls from scammers and knows how believable they can be.

"It is important that we educate people on how to avoid falling victim to scammers," she said.

Ward said people should never rely on caller ID to determine if a call is legitimate and should not give money over the phone. She said if a caller is putting a lot of pressure on, or using scare tactics, that is a good indication it is a scam and to hang up immediately.

Teresa Patterson, associate marketing director at Homewood, said she is approached monthly, sometimes weekly by a resident who received a call from a scammer.

"Is it a problem? Yes," she said. "I hear it from my own mother, my grandmother, about getting scam calls. It's everywhere."

Patterson said the main reason for wanting to have the police do the presentation was to make her residents more aware of the dangers lurking on the other end of the phone.

"They get phone calls all the time," she said. "We try to educate them."

Safety in numbers

Patterson said Homewood is a community and that has helped ward off the scammers because the residents talk to each other, and if someone gets a phone call or letter that doesn't seem right, they tell the others and they know what to look out for.

"The residents talk to each other," Patterson said. "Word gets around about a call or letter and that helps others recognize a possible scam."

Patterson said there is always a new scam to deal with whether it's a social security scam, tax scam, and this past year, COVID-related scams.

"There is always something new," she said. "We try to keep up with them and if we see a new scam, like something Sheriff Ott may post, I share it to our Facebook page. It is always something."

Patterson said the residents of Homewood have the advantage of community to help each other combat scammers, but the elderly population who live alone can be more vulnerable.

"I feel bad for some of the seniors who don't have this community as far as the socializing," she said. "A senior at home who maybe doesn't socialize as much and don't have a lot of family or a family who isn't close, they are not aware of these scams."

Patterson said elderly who live alone are more likely to fall for the scare tactics scammers use, as well as the lottery scams where the victim is told they won a lot of money, but they have to send money in order to process the win.

"They are thinking they won all this money, and they can help their family, but the scammers keep telling them they have to send more money in order to release the funds," she said. "They want to help their family, so they keep sending money to get their winnings."

A violation of trust

Patterson said the elderly are more vulnerable to falling victim to scammers because of their trusting nature.

"They are more trusting," Patterson said. "They grew up in a time where you kept your front doors unlocked. A handshake was a contract. They took people at their word."

She said she has seen the consequences of that trust, which resulted in a lot of money being lost forever.

"I know several people who have had family members who were taken for many thousands of dollars because they were trusting and not realizing it was a scam," she said.

Rosamilia said people, especially the elderly, cannot be reminded enough about looking out for scams, and although it can be difficult, often impossible, to track scammers down, he said if caught, they should be severely punished.

"Predators who scam the elderly out of their life savings are soulless criminals," he said. "The retired community worked hard their entire lives and to have everything taken away in mere minutes is evil. There should be life sentences implemented on all scammers when caught, no matter how small or large the amount they stole."