NCJ Number
126501
Date Published
1990
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video profiles white-collar crimes against the elderly and suggestions was for citizens to prevent such crimes.
Abstract
The video first discusses why senior citizens are such popular targets for white-collar scam artists. Some factors are the growing number of seniors in the population and seniors' concerns to increase their income from investments and improve their health. Types of scams typically perpetrated against seniors are described, using interviews with actual victims of such scams or dramatizing a scam's operation. The scams profiled include home-improvement projects, where a person takes the victim's money but does not perform the work promised; con games such as the "pigeon drop" and the "bank examiner;" investment frauds such as the "pyramid scheme" and the "Ponzi scheme;" and health and medical scams, which promise equipment and services that do not perform as advertised. The primary advice for preventing such white-collar crimes is to never give money for a product, service, or investment based upon a person's or business' promise without first conducting a thorough background check. Steps for conducting a background check are presented.