Scam Victims Beware

Edna Livingston of Forest Hills was Millers first client and indisputably the recipient of the cruel punishment for the crime of placing her trust in a seemingly kind and gentle woman with whom she was in constant contact. From 1998 to January 2000, the housekeeper allegedly tricked the 83-year old out of her money by using Livingstons ATM cards and checkbooks to empty her bank accounts and by forging documents to take out a second mortgage on her unsuspecting victims home. Miller also sold the widows jewelry and furniture and even asked Livingstons neighbor for a $2,000 loan, insisting it was on her employers behalf. Livingston was forced to sell her home of 60 years to pay off creditors and is now living in a nursing home.
After totally draining Livingstons nest egg, Miller moved on to work for Dennis McGowan, 54, a retired NYPD officer suffering from multiple sclerosis, on the terms of $100 a week plus room and board. Miller, who worked for McGowan from July 2000 until her arrest on August 1 forged power of attorney documents and was about to use them to sell her employers co-op for $190,000 without his knowledge. Fortunately, police came just in the nick of time and stopped the unscrupulous act and placed Miller under arrest.
A big-time scammer like Miller may have gotten away with hundreds of thousands of dollars from a trusting elderly woman, but that doesnt mean other elderly and otherwise homebound citizens have to fall victim to such a tragedy. Aurora Salamone, director of Elderly Crime Victims Resource Center at the Dept. for the Aging has given The Queens Courier exclusive tips our boroughs elderly population can use to defend themselves from con artists.
Most of the time, said the director, once a senior has fallen victim to a scam, the chances of getting back their lost funds and/or property are slim. And the longer the time period between the occurrence of the crime and the time it is reported the slimmer the chances become. Therefore the most powerful defense from a con artist in a seniors arsenal is prevention. According to Salamone, one of the most common scams is for a con artist to call a senior and spin wild tales of winning a free vacation. Usually to obtain these "free" trips, the victim is required to purchase a nonexistent product or simply send money to a P.O. box to what is many times a false name. "When someone you dont know tells you over the phone that youve won something, always ask for written proof," Salamone told The Queens Courier. "That usually scares scammers away."
Another version of that scheme, explained Salamone, is when someone pressures a senior to sign a contract without taking time to make sure theyre doing the right thing. "One approach to this is telling the victim that they are offering the "deal" only for a limited time." she said. "If that person really wants your business and wants to make a legitimate business transaction, theyll wait."
The director also said that often, as was probably the case with Miller and her employers, con artists win their victims trust by becoming their sole contact with the outside world. Its possible that Livingston had few living friends and family members that resided close enough to visit on a frequent basis. Miller may have used that loneliness to her advantage. "Seniors should keep themselves active so they dont have to fall into that situation," Salamone said.
Another big issue among seniors and scammers is power of attorney, which can be as specific as power of attorney over a persons financial issues or as all encompassing to power over all of the persons matters. "[At the department] weve had people who had signed their deeds over to people they thought they trusted who turned around and kicked them out of their own homes," Salamone said. And people outside of the family arent the only culprits. Often family members, even within the immediate family, have been known to abuse their elderly relatives power of attorney. One suggestion she had for that issue was, if bestowing power of attorney became absolutely necessary, to divide it among more than one person.
"Im not saying that one should be suspicious of every stranger that comes their way," Salamone concluded. "I just think people should be very cautious when making important decisions that could greatly affect their lives." Hopefully, with organizations like the Dept. for the Aging on the lookout for con artists like Miller and some caution practiced by senior citizens, the next scammer just may be revealed for what they really are before its too late.