From time to time the issue of resident's
being scammed rears its ugly head in our community. The issue is brought to our
administration usually by a brave resident or two. What usually happens after
we see a pattern or increase in frequency is that the administration office
sends out a memo reminding people not to fall into the current trap that was
reported.
As Activities Director at the community, I
think this is an opportunity for an activity. It is not necessarily a fun
activity, but one that would educate the community about the current trends in
scamming, and more importantly, how to avoid becoming a victim.
First you should understand why residents
living in alone, in continuing care communities, assisted livings and nursing
homes are prime targets for scammers. Take a look at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's (FBI) website. It addresses telemarketing fraud along with
other types of scams that our resident's fall victim to. If you prefer to watch
a documentary from Dan Rather about the
scale of fraud against seniors, this is worthwhile. Many victims of fraud will
not speak up because of the fear of embarrassment, or possibly losing the
ability to get the "big prize." After reading about the many
ways fraud takes advantage of seniors and watching this video, you will see
that it is very important to provide the programming necessary to help our
residents avoid these evils.
In my area we were able to find a group of
local seniors who presented skits on frauds affecting seniors. It was great
because the audience could see the interaction between the scammer and the
victim and put themselves in the victim’s position. It was done with humor, so
it was fun, in a way. Here is an article about another group that does this
kind of show about seniors
and scams.
If you don't have a group around your
community that can perform an educational skit for your audience, you have some
other options. The first is that you, the staff of the community or the
residents might want to put on a skit. It would be a learning experience for
those producing it as well as for those watching the final production.
The other option or educating your community might be found on the Stop Fraud
website that the government
sponsors. There you will find lots of resources with contact information for
national and state-specific sites that might provide you with speakers who will
come to your community.
Based upon my experience in working with
senior adults, this is a subject that you can present to your community a few
times a year. I suggest that you put a new spin on it each time, with a new
speaker or with a skit, to assure the residents continue to come to the
program. I believe that residents can't hear about this enough. Also, encourage
those who attend to bring someone else with them. A victim may be reluctant to
attend for fear that she might be recognized as a victim.
