Police sound alarm on new round of scams impacting seniors: ‘Don’t give out your personal information’
Boston residents have paid tens of thousands of dollars for masonry, driveway, paving, chimney, basement, roofing and fence repair -- only to be left with worse damage or little to no improvement.
As seasons are changing, scammers are changing with them — as police release another set of warning signs for elderly residents in particular to watch out for.
“Spring brings the increased solicitation by international travelers offering residents home improvement work,” Boston Police said in a recent community alert. “In past years, Boston residents have paid tens of thousands of dollars for masonry, driveway, paving, chimney, basement, roofing and fence repair; only to be left with worse damage or little to no improvement.”
The “Paving Contractor” or “Home Improvement” scams may look like door-to-door solicitation for building work with classic warning signs — offering unrealistic discounts, putting pressure on buyers and asking for checks to individuals instead of companies. The scams escalate from $1,500 paving or masonry repair to tens of thousands of dollars of “foundational damage,” the BPD notice said.
These scams are just some of many that can hit elderly residents particularly hard — listed with telemarketing, Medicare and health insurance fraud on the National Council on Aging site.
Scammers may call older adults pretending to be a grandchild in trouble to get money, or send out links via text or email to collect and sell people’s data or pose as government or other officials in attempts to pressure people out of their personal information.
“I really think we need to make sure we’re raising awareness and making sure that that our older residents are being careful of releasing their personal information,” said Emily Shea, Commissioner of the Age Strong Commission of Boston. “Not everybody has what’s best at heart.”
The Age Strong Commission releases information on different reported scams impacting older adults in Seniority Magazine throughout the year, Shea said, joining national scam awareness tools like AARP’s Fraud Watch Network and the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker.
With the wide range of scams, protection against them can be tricky. Tip-offs to the latest “Home Improvement” scams in the Boston area may include door-to-door solicitation or slick flyers with uninspired business names, discounts because of “left over materials” from neighborhood jobs and threatening or intimidating demeanor after initial work, the police listed.
“Don’t give out your personal information — that is a big one — to somebody unless it’s somebody you trust,” Shea advised on how to watch out for scams generally. “We ask that people not release personal information, hang up the phone, ask for help, if something is too good to be true.”
If someone is targeted by a scam, sources advise, any information on the operation should be reported to the police or Attorney General’s office.