Senior Scams and the Holiday Season: What Families and Caregivers Should Look Out For

Edmonton Senior Home Care  |  December 17, 2024

What Every Senior in Edmonton, AB Needs to Know About Preventing Holiday Scams

When it comes to holiday senior scams, it seems that no matter where we turn, a nefarious individual or group is looking to take advantage. Scammers and con artists are all around and the holiday season seems to inspire more. To make matters worse, the scams are becoming more sophisticated in their approach.

As society relies more heavily on technology, sometimes a wrong click on the wrong link compromises one’s personal information.

Holiday Senior Scam FACTS: #DYK The Canadian Government reports that from January 2014 to December 2016, Canadians aged 60 to 79 lost almost $28 million to various scams.

The holiday season is a time of giving, charitability, and all-around goodwill – but all of that can make us more vulnerable to the schemes that are out there. Seniors are certainly no exception. It’s common for scammers to target seniors because they often have large nest eggs and exceptional credit scores, but little financial management. Additionally, memory issues and cognitive decline may make seniors more likely to give up valuable information.

Holiday Senior Scams and Fraud Protection

According to CPA Canada’s Fraud Protection for Seniors webinar, seniors are targeted more frequently because they: are home, often alone, all day; may feel lonely, isolated and overly trusting; struggle with health issues, and have more readily available money. Fraudsters play off these vulnerabilities.

Knowing what to look out for can save seniors from having their finances or even identity compromised. Below are some of the more common scams that target older adults during the holiday season. Share these with senior clients so that they can stay guarded and safely enjoy the holiday season.

Common Holiday Senior Scams for Families to Watch Out For

#1. “Emergency” Calls: 

This tactic, which has gained considerable traction over the last few years, involves the scammer calling a senior, claiming to be a grandchild or other family member in need of money. They often say that they’ve been arrested, in an accident, or just need emergency funds in general. Seniors who receive such calls should ask specific questions that will trip up the caller. In most cases, the scammer will not be able to answer these questions and hang up in frustration. When in doubt, the best thing to do when an unknown number pops up is to simply not answer.

#2. Phony Email Offers: 

Most personal email inboxes are full of promotional offers, and this certainly ramps up during the holidays. First and foremost, if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers create emails that look legitimate but contain links that lead to pages requesting personal information. Seniors should look every promotional email offer over carefully, paying close attention to the sender’s address (it should have a proprietary address such as @amazon.com or @target.com) and anything unusual like misspellings. A good rule of thumb when it comes to entering sensitive information into any website is to ensure that the URL begins with “https.” This signifies that the site is secure and encrypted.

#3. Free Gift Cards: 

Speaking of offers that are too good to be true, seniors may come across emails or flashy website ads that advertise free gift cards. While some companies have deals where you receive gift cards after purchase, you can safely assume the ones that say ‘free’ without purchase are entirely illegitimate. Seniors should not click on the accompanying links or ads for these offers.

#4. Illegitimate Charity: 

It’s the season of giving, but it’s important to know where exactly your charitable donations are going. Seniors should be wary of any unfamiliar organizations or those whose appeals are overtly emotional. To confirm the legitimacy of an organization, seniors can utilize the website Give.org.

Comfort Keepers® Edmonton Can Help

The holiday season is the perfect opportunity to spend time with friends, family, neighbours, and all others who bring joy to our lives. That makes it all the more difficult to imagine that there are those out there who wish to rob people of that joy – but they are out there. 

At Comfort Keepers®, we aim to preserve the joy, warmth and wonder that seniors and other adults cherish during the holiday season. We will work to reduce their risk of being conned, not only from the schemes above but also any others that may exist. Our caregivers can also provide help with togetherness tasks and daily routines.

Comfort Keepers® in Edmonton Can Help with In-Home Elder Care!

If you are concerned about the health and well-being of your aging loved ones we can help. We offer retirement care, 24-hour care, respite care, senior care, and companionship care. Our care services also provide end-of-life care, post-surgery care, palliative care, personal care, senior living transition services, and more! 

Companionship Care and Interactive Caregiving™

Our trained caregivers help provide senior clients with the highest quality of life possible to keep them happy and healthy at home. Our Interactive Caregiving™ offers a system of care that addresses companionship, safety, nutrition, mind, body, and activities of daily living (ADLs). Empathetic caregiving starts in the heart and allows us to meet our client’s needs.

Senior Scams and Home Care Edmonton

If you live in Devon, Edmonton, Sherwood Park, or Stony Plain and surrounding areas, contact Comfort Keepers at 780-465-4665.

To learn more about senior care in Edmonton, contact the Comfort Keepers® office to discuss our unique service offering. 

Is Invoicing Modelling and Client Direct Home Care the Right Option for You?

Comfort Keepers® Edmonton is an Approved Service Provider for the Client Directed Homecare Invoicing (CDHCI) Program Offered by Alberta Health Services. Read more about the program HERE.

Recently awarded the “Accredited with Exemplary Standing” seal by Accreditation Canada, our Edmonton location has achieved the highest available certification in Canada for Home Care services. This demonstrates Comfort Keepers’ commitment to offering safe, high-quality home care to its senior clients in Edmonton. Comfort Keepers® Edmonton is here to help you and your loved ones get the best care possible.

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