Source: Detroit Free PressNov.文件倉 11--Wendell Johnson, 87, received a check sometime back for $2.88 and he figured why not cash it? He wasn't sure where the money was coming from but when he saw his bank statement soon after, he was shocked to see where the money was going.He spotted an automatic payment that took $25 out of his account. When he called the company, he was told 'Sir, you cashed our check' and that he had agreed to automatic payments for some magazine services and something related to a veterans group."I caught it right away," said Johnson, who lives in a senior community in Livonia with his wife of 67 years, Virginia. (His advice on marriage: Once you get past 50 years, Johnson said you're all right.)Johnson felt fortunate to quickly spot the $25 on the statement. He called his bank immediately and he was able to stop extra payments in the future.For seniors, it would seem like everybody has figured out some way to scam you out of your money. The Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan has launched what it is calling the BBB Senior Scene -- a program designed to keep seniors informed of scams and deceptive business practices and to empower them to act as community advocates against fraud.But the discussion on fraud also applies to businesses and others, too. Businesses, as well, can request that the BBB offer such seminars for free to help employees avoid the hassle of dealing with ID theft or scams."The business owners are protecting their business by having educated employees that shouldn't fall prey to potential fraud or scams," said Melanie Duquesnel, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan.I visited with Duquesnel when she gave a fraud presentation to seniors at Oakmont Livonia in October.She warned about a holiday-related personal shopper fraud that took place some time ago in Grayling. A man had talked to various seniors and said he'd be willing to do their holiday shopping for them, if they gave him the money.He convinced five people to hand over their gift list -- and their cash."He took five people and that money was never found again," Duquesnel said.The price of scams can be steep. Duquesnel showed seniors a chart listing average losses. Phony check scams, where a bad check is received when selling a car or furniture, is an average of $3,000. The average loss on Nigerian letter scams -- where con artists offer an "opportunity" to share in millions of dollars with the author -- ends up being about $1,650.Now, Consumers Energy is warning about a phone scam where imposters demand that bills be paid in an hour and say that the money can be sent on a Green Dot prepaid card. Customers in Genesee County and the Grand Rapids area reported such calls.Customers are then directed to call an 866 toll-free phone number to pay the utility bill with these cards.Some scams might involve a few hundred dollars; others can be a life's savings.The federal watchdog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has pointed out one case where a handyman convinced an elderly woman to give him power of attorney. He took ou存倉 a reverse mortgage on the home which the woman had owned since the 1950s, and she never saw any of the money. She almost lost her home because of the scam.In another case reported by the CFPB, a woman in Oklahoma started getting sweepstakes offers in the mail that asked her to send $50 or $100 or $2,000 so that she could claim a big prize. The offers began after her 90-year-old husband moved into a nursing home. Turns out after she contacted her bank that her husband had been writing such checks each month for prizes that never showed up.Some of these so-called "rebate checks" may have small print that show you're agreeing to signing up for a service or a regular payment of some kind.Even legitimate companies can engage in what could be confusing or tricky marketing.The mail at the home of a senior in Warren the other day included a $30 check from Consumers Energy. But cash that check and you're agreeing to a one year Appliance Service Plan. In the end, cashing that $30 check could cost you $23.99 a month or more than $250 in the longer run, net that thirty bucks.Sure, the letter does spell out warnings in more than a few spots."We try to make it as clear as we can to folks," said Brian Wheeler, a spokesman for Consumers Energy in Jackson.A "Special Note" on the front of the check states: "If you do not wish to enroll, please destroy this check."On the back of the check in the spot where you'd endorse the check, you'd see small print that says "by cashing this check, I authorize Consumers Energy to enroll me in the Appliance Service Plan."Sure, it's all spelled out in various spots. But I wonder whether some seniors won't see that fine print.Wheeler said Consumers Energy will cancel the service (minus the $30 check) if someone makes a legitimate mistake and did not understand they were signing up for the plan. But he noted that the company has typically had less than a handful of such types of cancellations.Some scams can start out so innocently.Duquesnel told seniors in Livonia about a woman in her 80s in Berkley who had met someone a few times at a farmers market and the man asked for her phone number. She felt safe after talking to him a few times, so she gave him the phone number.One day the woman was washing clothes in the basement and heard footsteps upstairs.The man had pulled up her phone number on the Internet, found her address and walked into her house when she had left the side door open. Fortunately, Duquesnel said, the woman was able to convince him to leave."That one just floored me," said Duquesnel.One of her main messages: It is OK to say no. It's more than OK to say no. And frankly the louder you say no, the better your odds of holding onto your money.Editor's note: In a previous version of this story, a photo caption misidentified a woman speaking with Livonia residents. The woman was Melanie Duquesnel, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan. The story has been corrected.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at .freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存
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