BUTTE — Scammers are always trying to con people out of their money and unfortunately, their most vulnerable victims live in places like one retirement home in Butte, where some residents say they’ve already had some experiences with these predators.
“Oh yes, I have, several times, especially the ‘Hi grandma, I just got picked up, can you help me with some money?’ And I know, I’ve got two grandsons and I know their voice,” said Big Sky Senior Living resident Margie Fogarty.
This is known as the grandparents scam and one of the reasons a representative from the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance spoke at Big Sky Senior Living in Butte recently.
“Seniors are pretty much the most highly targeted group. Our agency estimates that about 75 percent of the fraud we investigate involves seniors,” said CSI educator Blair Stapleton.
Stapleton reviewed some of the common scams such as Ponzi and pyramid schemes, as well as scams involving cryptocurrency. The presentation ended with a game of bingo in which the squares included the various types of scams to help the residents remember them.
“For me, I think of these outreach opportunities in terms of my grandparents and even my parents. It’s just so important to educate this group that’s so highly targeted,” said Stapleton.
More of these scams are being perpetrated online or through text messages.
“We’re old and more vulnerable to hackers and I don’t have a smartphone, I don’t have a computer, I’m just me watching television or watching you all the time on TV,” said Fogarty.
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