How to Help Your Parents Avoid Fraudulent Investments

Ensure your parents are properly educated when it comes to fraudulent investments.

As your parents age, there are many things to think about and consider. Their health, their living situation, and their financial situation are generally at the top of the list. You realize too that your relationship with your parents has evolved over time and you may feel that you are suddenly functioning more as the caregiver than the child. This is a tough transition for families, but a necessary one. As you think about how best to take care of your parents as they age, you must think about how best to protect them from falling victim to scams, elder financial fraud, and mistakenly trusting their money with someone who could take it or, even worse, steal their identity.

8 Steps You Can Take To Protect Your Parents

1. Explain to your parents that you want to help them by going through their mail and even propose that you monitor their financial account statements online for unusual or suspicious activity.

2. You can even help them request a free credit report to be sure that no one has taken any loans out in their name or opened a credit card with their identifying information.

3. Accompany your parents to all financial meetings, whether it is with brokers or bankers so that everyone who has contact with their money understands that a family member is watching out for them. This small step makes your parents much less vulnerable.

4. Put your parents on do-not-call lists so that they get less pressured and surprising calls from solicitors who might be asking for investors.

5. Encourage your parents to discuss their investment plans with you before committing. This may be tough, but explaining to your parents that there are people out there who are actively trying to take their money may help. Letting them know that lofty claims of low risk, high yield investments are always red flags. When an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is. These scams prey on older individuals who are quick to trust and yearn for some additional attention and companionship.

6. Remind your parents never to give any personal information to a stranger, even if they receive a phone call from someone claiming to be their broker.

7. Finally, if your parents are asked to wire money anywhere, it is likely a scam. Making sure that you educate your parents can help them protect themselves.

8. Be wary of “free lunch” seminars where alleged financial advisors convene a small group of elderly individuals and make promises of high yield investments with little risk. Elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable to Ponzi or pyramid schemes.

Contact Silver Law Firm For Support

If you think that your parents have been taken advantage of or are victims of an investment scam, Silver Law Firm can help. One of our firm’s priorities is educating families about the threat of investment scams on the elderly and our team frequently conducts lectures at local town meetings, and retirement communities. Call us at 1-800-975-4345 to schedule a free consultation to learn more.