Senior Scams Explained by Expert Panel

Experts educated local senior citizens about the scams that target them and presented other infomation that will hopefully help them as they grow older during a conference presented by Bergen Community College in Westwood Tuesday.

Mayor John Birkner said the conference was particularly well-timed because of Hurricane Sandy-related scams from phony contractors.

"They're going to be targeting people, particularly in the senior population," Birkner said.

There are many different kinds of scams that scammers use to defraud unsuspecting residents, according to Valley National Bank vice president of corporate security and anti-fraud officer Dana Marsalisi.

"Education is the key to prevention," Marsalisi said.

Marsalisi explained several different scams, including the "grandparent scam" in which a caller claims to be a grandchild of the victim, asking for money for an emergency.

She also spoke about the "international lottery scam," where a fraudster claims the victim won a foreign lottery and must pay taxes. They offer to mail a check to the victim to reimburse them, but the check is bogus.

In another scam, a con artist will claim to be making a "courtesy call" because the victim has a warrant out for missing jury duty. After the victim rattles off their personal info, the caller says the warrant was for another person with the same name and makes off with the victim's identity.

"There are no courtesy calls," Marsalisi said.

The panel also included Mark Reisman, a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch who is an expert in paying for longterm care. Reisman warned seniors that they will need to prepare in advance for the high costs of care, but many wait until it is too late.

Lita Talbot, a healthcare management consultant, also spoke about the different options for care that seniors have as their needs grow. 

"You don't have to be in a nursing home just because someone says 'this is where you need to be,'" Talbot said.

It is also important for seniors to know all their options because service from those who are not professional caregivers can put them at risk, she said.

Bergen Community College operates the Lois E. Marshall Institute for Learning in Retirement, which brought the conference to Westwood because not all seniors can make it to the BCC campus in Paramus, according to institute Director Ilene Kleinman. 

"Our goal here is to inform and empower people so they are not victims of exploitation," Kleinman said.

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