Here's How the Elderly Can Avoid Harmful Financial Scams

The elderly and their families can fall prey to a host of major financial scams if they're not careful, according to one expert. 'The fraudsters are committing all kinds of scams and preying on those that are vulnerable - elderly folks who are probably alone and don't have a lot of people to call upon for help,' said Margaret Paddock, Twin-Cities market leader at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. She said the scams range from stealing bank account and credit card data to longer-term scams where the fraudster builds a relationship with the victim and asks for small amounts of money over time. 'They take their time with the elderly - and this can happen for months and months if not years,' she said, adding that the victims in this case are used like ATM machines.