North Georgia Elder Abuse Task Force offers tips to prevent elderly people from becoming victims to scams

The guest speaker recently at the Toccoa Rotary Club meeting was Chief Dan Flynn. Flynn recently retired as the Chief of Police in the Marietta Police Department where he served 15 years. Flynn has also served as Chief of the Savannah and Savannah-Chatham Departments, and had a 27 year career with the Miami-Dade Police Department. Since his retirement with the Marietta Police Department, Flynn has continued to work with the North Georgia Elder Abuse Task Force.

Flynn says he has seen many of the same problems for many police departments in relation to elder abuse. “As I have worked in different locations I’ve found the same problems exist everywhere. When meeting with our counterparts we ask them what are their problems and it gravitates back to the abuse of the elderly that happens so many ways. So troubling and cruel, it is a problem for everyone in law enforcement. As I have gotten older it seems like a natural fit for me.”

Flynn says one of the more prevalent scams right now is the Romance Scam. “Generally someone will meet someone on Facebook, social media, by telephone, sometime through a date site, and cultivate a relationship with over time and gain their confidence. Eventually, though they have never met face to face, (the scammer) will wind up coming up with reasons why it is necessary to send money and very often large amounts.”

Flynn says the elderly are targeted and vulnerable mainly due to loneliness.” Elderly people suffer from loneliness more than anything else. They lose their friends, sometime family members, my advice is go and visit them. The best thing you can do to tell if there is something wrong with the way they are being treated is go and visit them and don’t just have a telephone relationship.”

Flynn says the generation represented by the elderly is trusting. “We are talking people 65 and older. They grew up in a time different then the way things are now and they have a kind trusting nature. What I tell people at meetings is there are people that will take advantage of your good nature, but don’t stop being that way, just be smart and follow some tips that will protect you from probably 90 percent of the things that could happen”

Flynn provided the following tips to avoid senior scams:

1. Don’t answer the phone if it is a number you don’t know.

2. Don’t pay with cash cards or gift cards.

3. Don’t pay money to get money.

4. Don’t let strangers in your home.

5.Law enforcement do not call to arrest you.

6. Can’t win if you don’t play.

7. Don’t give out bank or financial information to callers.

8. Don’t click on unknown attachments.

9. Don’t send money to a person you haven’t met especially if it involves a romantic relationship.

The North Georgia Elder Abuse Task Force will present programs at the upcoming WNEG Senior Expo on May 26th.