Elder Financial Fraud Attorneys in California
If your elderly family member is still managing their own finances, you
may have good reason to worry about their susceptibility to theft, scammers,
and other forms of financial fraud. Older Americans are particularly vulnerable to
elder financial fraud and are deliberately tailored to exploit the weaknesses of senior citizens.
In fact, elderly people in America collectively lose billions of dollars
per year to scams. When you suspect that your aging family member is vulnerable
to being taken advantage of financial fraudsters, there are a few things
you can do to protect them:
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Talk about common scams. According to
Forbes, top elder scams in the United States include pension advances (“exorbitant
loans with little or no regulation”), so-called senior specialists
(individuals or groups who claim to have special training to advise seniors),
high-yield investment schemes (gold, silver, real estate, etc.), and sales
by unregistered brokers who are always bouncing around to different firms.
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Talk about proper vetting. One of the best things you can teach your senior is how to research a broker
or financial advisor’s history online. The Internet also provides
a great platform for researching various pitches and investments and get
a sense of its legitimacy. The
California Department of Business Oversight is a great resource for seniors who are trying to determine whether an
investment pitch is a scam or not, and it also provides a list of known
scams and consumer complaints.
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Opt out of all solicitations. Another great way to preemptively block scammers is to place your elderly
family members on the no-call list and stop all sales calls, commercial
mail solicitations, and credit offers.
If you are on the other end of elder financial fraud and fear that your
loved one is already being taken advantage of, do not wait to call our
investment fraud attorneys at
Baldwin Mader Law Group. Our elder fraud lawyers are available to discuss your case and provide a
confidential evaluation at no cost. Call (310) 220-0988 to get started today.