I must confess that I feel a great deal of passion concerning this topic.  You see I have seen firsthand the damage that these acts of criminal fraud have wrought.  I have seen too many of my clients get victimized by these fraudsters.  I have seen people, good people, seniors lose too much, and I am proud to say I have been able to stop a few attempts along the way. 

Sadly, not enough is being done to stop this epidemic that turns seniors into casualties.  The damage that is done to senior victims goes far beyond just the money.  That is bad enough.  However, the real psychological damage that is done is the tragedy.  Unfortunately, I have seen some seniors completely withdraw from the world once they have been targeted. 

The numbers tell the story.  In Ontario phone scams alone amounted to $648 million in 2024.  However, this number is probably low as we know that this crime goes under reported.  Shame and embarrassment are hard for a senior to overcome especially when a family learns about a fraud.  In many cases the family immediately takes steps to reduce the independence of the victim.  Suddenly Mom/Dad can’t be alone.  “They need to go into a home”, or worse, the family does some horrible victim blaming.

These are the common phone scams.  First, in the Impersonation Scam the scammerposes as the bank, credit card company, Canada Revenue Agency etc.  Depending on who they are impersonating will determine how they move forward with the scam.  “This is the Credit Card Company, and we are seeing some abnormal activity”, or” This is the Canadian Revenue Agency, and we are going to seize your accounts” etc.  The scammer convinces the victim to give account information, credit card numbers and then the bank account is emptied, and the credit cards are maxed.

The next one that comes around is the Emergency Scam.  The phone rings and the voice on the other ends says “Grandma, it’s me”, and Grandma says” Matthew, is that you?”.  Then that scammer says “Yes Grandma, it’s Matthew.  I’m in trouble.”.  From there the scammer gets the victim to wire money, etc. which is untraceable.  This scam has been used for a very long time.

Another common telephone-based scam is the Unwanted Sales-Scam.  By using high pressure sales tactics, limited time offers and the like the senior feels stress and pressure.  In some cases, the senior feels forced in a corner and agrees to a product or service they do not need.

What these illegal activities all have in common is they use the telephone as the entry point to gain access to the vulnerable senior.  If we stop the scam calls, then we stop the scams.

There is a way to stop, or at least severely limit the scam calls. I have tested it, and it works.  So, here is how it works, and it does not take away any of the conveniences and necessities of the telephone.  The senior does not lose anything except the threat of impersonation scams, emergency scams, or unwanted sales scams. 

There are some steps that involve technology, but don’t worry it is nothing that you can’t handle.  Leveraging the contact list and call blocking functionality of a cell phone, the ability to use a Bluetooth link from a cell phone to a standard wireless handheld phone means that individuals can stop the scams in their tracks.  Add to this the ability to move your land line phone number to a cell network, and the circle is complete.

The senior’s phone number does not change.  The family, friends, doctor, pharmacy gets to call Mom/Dad on the same number they have had for fifty years.  The senior gets a wireless phone that they would be used to, and you can rest just a little bit easier.

There are some steps for sure, and as a service to our community we are offering to walk anyone who is interested through the process step-by-step.  We have set-up a demonstration display in our offices if you want to see the system and process in action.  Call and set-up an appointment and I will personally walk you through it.

This is a free service we are offering, and I would not take a penny for it.  My reward is stopping the scammer.  Let’s do this together and save our cherished and valued seniors from the harm that this epidemic of fraud has caused.

Chris Treftlin – Shine at Home 519-336-9898