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shastadakota t1_ixmoz7b wrote

Judging by my parents, they tend to trust people. They are from a different era. Keep an eye on what your parents are doing. Talk to them. Ask if you sense anything fishy. My mother was scammed by an investment person who had a "seminar" at her church! He put her into high commission annuities that were totally inappropriate for a senior. He wouldn't talk to my sister or me to discuss what he did.

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dont-YOLO-ragequit t1_ixmv416 wrote

Old people tend to get tired and bored after retirement which can go into anything to get someone's attention, mental weakness as to something as basic as saying no to persistent people and believing they are taking on a new adventure.

Solicitors know this and take advantage of this. This is why political officials love to go by senior homes near election campaings, why your parents can go in a dealer with a beater compact and come out with the Fully loaded new version of the same model with ridiculous APR, why telemarketers used to get a game face as soon as an old grandma would be on the line ect.

On the other end, the Phone, the TV and buttons are what they used to live by, some kept up and are into social media, layered menus and verifying sources while others will still think if it came from the phone and is a polite person then it must be true.

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Joaquin_Portland t1_ixn36o1 wrote

(Going literal ELI5) Before cell phones and caller ID, when the phone rang, the only way to figure out who was calling you was to pick up the phone and talk to them.

During that time, most of the people who called you on the phone were people you wanted to talk to like your friends and relatives.

Today’s seniors grew up during that time and so they are used to picking up the phone no matter who calls and listening to what the caller says.

Scammers are then trained to speak very persuasively and instill fear into people to get those people to do what the scammer says.

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j_dext t1_ixmq0ld wrote

Speaking for my dad he really wants to quickly become rich. He always has. So he wants to believe these scams.

When he passed we gave up trying to unravel all these websites and emails and folks taking money out of his accounts. It was too much.

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CaptMcPlatypus t1_ixmwhsz wrote

A lot of older people are lonely too. It's hard to say no to a friendly face who has taken time for you. Even more so when saying yes will get you more interaction.

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CFDietCoke t1_ixn3lgg wrote

Lots of reasons

  • General cognitive decline

  • Loneliness/isolation causes them to be more trusting of people who are nice to them

  • Not keeping up with the latest information on scams can make them unaware of the scam they are falling for

  • Financial desperation can lead them to turn a blind eye to something most people would be suspicious of.

  • Once they have been scammed they can be too embarassed to let thier family know and so keep getting scammed

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