World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: a day to help seniors learn more about preventing fraud

Canadians lost $638 million dollars to scams last year, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and many of the victims were seniors.

Canadians lost $638 million dollars to scams last year, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and many of those victims were seniors.

To help bring more awareness to frauds and how to avoid them, the United Nations recognized June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. It was a day to concentrate on helping seniors with many issues, including financial ones like preventing scams.

Many seniors are very trusting and unfortunately this means they could be more vulnerable to fraud. Whether its on the phone, their computer, or at their door, everyone is advised to do more to help seniors avoid getting defrauded.

“I’ve got zero. Nothing” said 82-year-old Walter Yamka of Oakville, Ont.

Yamka was scammed out of $750,000 after transferring his GIC to a fake PC Financial website.

In another senior’s case, she was caught in a romance scam and handed $20,000 to criminals.

“He fell in love with me when he saw my picture” said Elaine Harnum who lives in a small village in northwest Newfoundland.

Roofers going door-to-door also convinced a senior woman to hand over $80,000.

“There is way more damage here than we thought” said Judy Porier of Scarborough.

Another senior got caught in the grandparent scam, and lost $8,000.

“I would say it’s the worst thing that ever happened to me in my life” Stuart Irvine, of Mississauga, said.

Irvine told CTV News Toronto it was when he received a phone call from someone impersonating his grandson, claiming he had been arrested and needed bail money that Irvine rushed to withdraw the funds and hand it over to the criminals.

Investment frauds targeting seniors on rise

“We are definitely seeing an increase in investment frauds targeting older people in Canada and the numbers are staggering” said Bénédicte Schoepflin, executive director of the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (CNPEA).

According to the CNPEA, seniors need to stop being so trusting and not worry so much about being polite.

“It’s okay to be rude. No is an answer and you don’t have to justify anything. You will not hurt the feelings of a scammer” she told CTV News.

“Approximately ten per cent in Canada are victimized by some sort of cyber event,” said Schoepflin.

Robert Falzon, the head of engineering with Check Point Software Technologies, said it’s “getting impossible for the average person let alone someone who is a senior to determine whether these things are real.”

According to the company, many seniors over share their personal information online, which can lead them to being hacked.

“If you go onto a senior citizens Facebook account you’ll see their grandchildren, their birthdays, the name of their spouse. It’s a jackpot,” Falzon said.

Seniors are advised to educate themselves about scams and to adopt good online habits like using different passwords and changing them often.

Families are also advised to speak to seniors about scams and the importance of protecting their identity.

Seniors, meanwhile, are advised to speak with a trusted friend or family member if they’re concerned that something is a scam.