Fraud “is a crime that rips people’s souls apart,” says Anthony Pratkanis, an authority on the topic and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California Santa Cruz. When it happens, financial loss is compounded by psychological hurt, feelings of vulnerability and even the death of one’s dreams, he says.
It’s role reversal when a younger person needs to counsel an elder, so you might want to frame these safeguards as steps that you, too, will take, Pratkanis says. As there are many techniques, consider tackling one a week.
Pratkanis and AARP’s Amy Nofziger took the lead in providing the anti-fraud measures below. Nofziger oversees the AARP Fraud Watch Network’s free helpline, 877-908-3360.
Nofziger suggests starting out with a nonconfrontational chat about a common scam and then role playing to game out how to deter it.
Here are the 10 key steps:
1. Start the conversation, if possible, before fraud has occurred. If it has, never blame the victim — it’s the criminal who is at fault.
If a son or daughter has a strained relationship with a parent, they could ask a parent’s friend, other relative or professional to step in, Pratkanis says.
Also, an older person seeking guidance can initiate the discussion by showing this story to someone who can help, he says.
2. Speed and silence will hurt…
