Call for law reform to help families step in
MYKHAYLO PALINCHAK/SUPPLIED
More and more senior citizens are feeling comfortable on the internet, but there are concerns their new-found online confidence makes them a target for scammers.
Increasing internet use by older people has made them such an appetising target for online scammers a law change is needed, a lawyer believes.
It is too costly and difficult to legally intervene in an older relative's finances when they are getting scammed, especially when they have mental problems such as Alzheimer's disease, Auckland lawyer Henry Chellew said.
"A heap more older people using the internet and some very sophisticated internet fraud means a lot of older people are at risk, especially those ... who are deeply delusional but still functional," Chellew, of firm Stainton Chellew, said.
READ MORE: Beating the online scammers
As people lived longer and increasingly dealt with conditions such as Alzheimer's, more of his clients were struggling to persuade older relatives what they were convinced was an online windfall or chance to help someone was really a scam.
Legislation on personal property rights and mental competency was drafted nearly 30 years ago, pre-internet, and needed overhauling.
While enduring powers of attorney let families act on elder relatives' behalf, it did not stop them giving their bank account numbers to scammers.
In such cases, the family could obtain a doctor's certificate declaring the person mentally incapable, and then, via the Family Court, take over their bank accounts.
However the process was slow and expensive, providing a window of opportunity for scammers, he said.
"Perhaps a half-way house is needed – a targeted approach to deal with someone's financial problem area, without stripping them entirely of control," he said.
A Wellington-based spokesman for over-65s charity Age Concern said scams targeting the elderly had increased.
But caution was needed since three-quarters of elder abuse, including financial abuse, was committed by family members, Age Concern Wellington's Ken Daniels said.
"It's important to protect the free will of a mentally competent older person ... but the line becomes blurred as they approach dementia and it's incredibly difficult sometimes to intervene."
Powers of attorney and Family Court-ordered intervention should be easier and cheaper, as long as protections were in place.
Chris Hails, a representative of Internet safety group NetSafe said because older people are online more and tend to be more trusting, they are getting scammed more often.
"For people who grew up in an era where you could leave your door unlocked, now they're basically stepping into the Wild West."
Five years ago the agency had 1700 scam reports a year, and now there were 700 a month.
Scammers took $40,000 on average per day, for a total this year of $12.5 million, he said.
Online scamming had increased in 2015 and was constantly evolving.
The government's Office for Senior Citizens director Sarah Clark said older people were being targeted by scammers, and should not be ashamed to report it.
"It can be embarrassing to admit that you have been the victim of a scam, but... speaking out may prevent scammers from targeting others."
Family members should also not hesitate to report a loved one getting scammed, as it could prevent them from losing even more.
ONLINE SCAMS:
Love hurts:
Age Concern in Wellington has noticed a trend this year in online "love scams", where fraudsters use email to hook in lonely older people with promises of true love, only to begin requesting money for supposed medical bills, then vanishing.
The "retired American colonel":
A Wellington retiree has lost about $80,000 this year after a "serviceman" she met online began asking for help with hospital treatment ahead of a supposed meeting. But with the real-life encounter continually postponed, she eventually saw through the sham and broke off contact.
The "Swiss architect":
After establishing an email "relationship" with another elderly Wellington woman, the scammer began asking for money for blood transfusions and other bills. The woman lost thousands of dollars, but still believes she is in love and refuses to accept her architect is not real.
STAY SAFE ONLINE
The Office for Senior Citizen's SuperSeniors website provides up-to-date information on new online trends, tricks and traps.
You can report scams via NetSafe, which also provides step-by-step guides on computer security: www.netsafe.org.nz
Got an emailed offer that seems to good to be true? Check the Department of Internal Affairs' list of current reported scams.
The Consumer Affairs department also carries scam alerts and this checklist on avoiding them:
DO:
- Install and update security software and firewall
- Ignore unsolicited emails and don't click on any links in them
- Be wary of following links in unexpected 'pop-up' boxes
- Use long, random passwords
- If in doubt, delete
DON'T:
- Call telephone numbers in spam emails
- Use public computers for internet banking
- Use auto-complete software for online forms
- Stuff
