Are You Aware of the Top 10 Scams Targeting Seniors? Ep #77

In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, you will learn about scams targeting seniors, what not to do to replace long-term care, and how the sharing economy may help you stay independent longer. You will also learn whether you should invest in the latest marijuana investment craze. Listen to this episode of Retirement Starts Today to help you to learn helpful tips to prepare for your retirement.

Are you aware of the top 10 #Scams targeting seniors? Listen to #RetirementStartsToday to hear these top ten and help you prepare for #retirement. Click To Tweet

Outline of This Episode

[2:52] Fraud against seniors
[7:25] Lyft is targeting seniors ahead of the IPO
[8:42] Another company called Voyage is testing seniors and self-driving cars
[9:55] A viral Facebook post
[13:17] A listener question about marijuana investments

Are you worried about scams targeting seniors?

Seniors are robbed of $2.9 billion from scammers each year. The more that you are aware of these scams the less likely you’ll be to fall for them when they target you. These are the top 10 scams targeting seniors listed from least likely to most likely according to the Senate Committee on Aging:

Identity theft – Scammers steal your credit card information via a card reader and then pretend to be you and buy all sorts of things with your credit card.
Lawsuit scams – Someone calls you to tell you that you will be arrested soon and try to get you to send money over the phone.
Social Security impersonation scams – Someone calls and asks you to divulge your numbers over the phone. (Don’t give your information over the phone!)
Romance scams – These scams often include internet dating, they pull on your heartstrings.
Grandparent scams – This is another scam that plays on emotions
Elder financial abuse – This is where someone will mistreat an aged person for money
Computer tech support scams – Someone may call pretending to be from Microsoft and they say they want to login to your computer remotely. They will install a trojan horse to your computer
Sweepstakes scams – These are big in Jamaica.
Robocalls and unsolicited phone calls scams – These are just annoying.
IRS impersonation scams – This is similar to the lawsuit scam.

Remember these are the top 10 scams targeting seniors because they work. Scammers understand how to trick to people so be aware of the top scams to help protect yourself.

Listen to this episode of #RetirementStartsToday to help you to learn helpful tips to prepare for your #retirement. Click To Tweet

How technology and the sharing economy can benefit seniors

In light of Lyft’s upcoming IPO, the company says that it is trying to grow the healthcare arm of its business. Lyft is hoping to help seniors stay independent longer by partnering with BCBS and Humana by offering rides to patients as a benefit to the Medicare Advantage program. 3.6 million people missed their doctors’ appointments last year, many of them were seniors. Another company called Voyage is testing its self-driving cars in the Florida retirement community, The Villages. Voyage sees the Villages as an ideal place to test its self-driving cars due to the lack of snow, the low-speed limits, and the lack of certain peak hours. Technology and the sharing economy may be helping seniors stay independent longer without having to move to assisted living.

You may not want to compare checking into the Holiday Inn as an alternative to long-term care

Recently there was a viral Facebook post about how seniors could check into the Holiday Inn as an alternative to long-term care. It compared the costs of the 2 places. Seniors staying long-term at the Holiday Inn can stay for as little as $59 per day, whereas long-term care can average $188 a day. The post listed all of the benefits of staying at the Holiday Inn and how they could benefit seniors. It is important to remember that this was tongue-in-cheek and not a viable alternative to long-term care. It is important to plan for assisted care in your retirement since most people will reach a point in their lives where they may need help with self-feeding, personal hygiene, mobility and unfortunately the Holiday Inn won’t help you in these departments.

Learn why you may not want to compare checking into the Holiday Inn as an alternative to long-term care on this episode of #RetirementStartsToday. Click To Tweet

A few things to remember if you want to jump in on the marijuana investment craze

Marijuana is the newest investment craze like the Bitcoin craze of 2018. Recreational marijuana is now legal in 10 states and the entire country of Canada. It will most likely become completely legal across the country within the next 10 years. This means that many people are looking to invest in the next big thing. Unfortunately, you can’t invest in an entire industry and picking a winner is like picking a needle in a haystack. There are 3 things you should remember if you are set on investing in marijuana.

Make sure you have the risk tolerance. Please limit your position to a TINY portion of your portfolio.
Don’t pick one winner. Do your due diligence and invest in several different companies.
Skip pot stocks altogether and consider Phillip Morris or Altria. These tobacco companies are ready to jump into the cannabis market once the federal legal barriers are eliminated.