Home Care: Seniors are often the targets of scammers who think that seniors will be easy to scam.
And in some cases it’s true. Every year seniors lose millions of dollars to scams that are designed specifically to get seniors to give up their financial information and personal information. But during the holidays the scammers are out in even bigger numbers than usual. There are several ways you can help your seniors stay safe from being scammed, including having a home care provider who can run interference by answering the phone. Your senior loved one’s home care provider can also help them shop safely online. Some of the holiday based scams that target seniors include:
Fake Charities
People are much more likely to donate to charity during the holidays. In order to take advantage of this generosity, scammers will make up fake charities and call seniors to solicit donations. But they can be very sophisticated in their sales pitches. Often they will make up charities that have names very similar to well-known charities hoping that seniors won’t notice the small difference in the name. A good way to combat this scam is to insist on getting a physical address where a check can be sent instead of giving any payment information over the phone. Any real charity will give your senior loved one an address and will accept checks. If they insist on payment over the phone it’s probably a scam.
Grandchild In Trouble
Another popular holiday scam that targets seniors is a variation of the “grandchild in trouble” scam. In this scam, someone will contact your senior loved one either by phone or through email or social media claiming to be their grandchild who is traveling to see your senior loved one but is stranded in an airport or bus station and needs money to complete their journey. These scams are designed to get seniors to give up their credit card information to buy plane tickets, bus tickets, or hotel rooms. One way to keep your senior loved one safe from this type of scam is for you to monitor their social media.
Home Care: Discount Codes
During the holiday season, your senior loved one may want to try online shopping in order to get the best possible deals. Since seniors are often not very Internet savvy they may not know the difference between fake and reputable coupon code sites. If they click on a pop-up or use a site that isn’t safe they could end up giving thieves their credit card information or their bank account information. A good way for you and your home care provider to keep your senior loved one safe from this type of scam is to give them prepaid cards to use for holiday shopping. Put only a small amount of money on the card just in case they do get scammed. That way if they do give up the credit card information they won’t lose too much and the card will be easy to replace with another prepaid card.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Home Care in Stow, OH, please contact the caring staff at Autumn Hills Home Care, LLC today. (330) 217-6090
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from The Pennsylvania State University, and Master’s degree from The University of Akron.He is currently studying Spanish Language at the University of Akron.
He is married to Lisa, and together they have a daughter, two sons, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren.The entire family lives in Summit County, Ohio.
In his professional career he worked in hospitals, taking several assignments in Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Akron, finally settling in Akron in 1987.
His career took him into starting up two specialty hospitals in Akron, then into starting up several Home Health and Hospice programs.
Fourteen years ago he and his wife, Lisa, entered into restaurant ownership and operation.They since started “Lala’s Restaurant and Fireside Lounge” in the Portage Lakes.The restaurant has been open since November 2019, and provides residents of the area with fine food and entertainment.
Toward the end of his service in the Hospice industry, Jeff had a vision for starting a Home Care service to care for seniors in our area.After a search of franchises and other businesses, he started Autumn Hills Home Care.Through this business, he has proudly provided the best of service to seniors throughout the area, as well as meaningful employment for many caregivers.
Most recently, Jeff entered government service as was elected Trustee of Coventry Township.He was sworn in and started service in January 2020.
In his free moments, Jeff enjoys family time, bicycling, golf, learning Spanish, and travel.He can be reached at jeff.houck@outlook.com
- Everything Your Family Needs to Consider About Aging at Home - May 12, 2022
- How Your Senior Parent Can Benefit From 24 Hour Home Care - April 29, 2022
- National Garden Month: Celebrate the Benefits of Gardening Together - April 11, 2022
