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Old people getting scammed

Uncle Charlie

Does anyone ever wonder how old people are able to get scammed ?

You would think as an old person they would of seen a lot in their lives and would be very street wise but it seems that many old people fall for scams.

I'm not even old but if someone comes to me who I don't know looking for money for whatever reason, I automatically assume they are trying to scam me.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/elderly-woman-pressured-by-suspects-to-buy-12-chainsaws-11-generators-and-7-power-washers-901030.html

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o1s1n

You do realise that as people get older, the minds can start to go?

Uncle Charlie

o1s1n wrote: »

You do realise that as people get older, the minds can start to go?

I know people in their 50s and 60s who been scammed by people calling to the door.

Thats not really that old.

o1s1n

Uncle Charlie wrote: »

I know people in their 50s and 60s who been scammed by people calling to the door.

Thats not really that old.

They'd probably have been scammed in their 30s or 40s by the same people so.

griffdaddy

Uncle Charlie wrote: »

Does anyone ever wonder how old people are able to get scammed ?

You would think as an old person they would of seen a lot in their lives and would be very street wise but it seems that many old people fall for scams.

I'm not even old but if someone comes to me who I don't know looking for money for whatever reason, I automatically assume they are trying to scam me.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/elderly-woman-pressured-by-suspects-to-buy-12-chainsaws-11-generators-and-7-power-washers-901030.html

It's often because they're fearful, naïve, lonely or just used to people being more honest. Many of them will also become forgetful or lose their sharpness as they get older. Anyone who scams an elderly person deserves to have the sh1t kicked out of them to be honest, there is no lower type of scumbag.

Atlantic Dawn

'Cultural' salespeople pressuring and bullying them in to the sale, not entirely an old person being away with the fairies.

tuxy

With calls to the door there can be intimidation involved. Some people will go along with the scam out of fear of what may happen if they don't.

yoursaviour1989

Uncle Charlie wrote: »

Does anyone ever wonder how old people are able to get scammed ?

You would think as an old person they would of seen a lot in their lives and would be very street wise but it seems that many old people fall for scams.

I'm not even old but if someone comes to me who I don't know looking for money for whatever reason, I automatically assume they are trying to scam me.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/elderly-woman-pressured-by-suspects-to-buy-12-chainsaws-11-generators-and-7-power-washers-901030.html

You do realize this lady wasn't scammed? She was probably put under pressure by the sellers and fearful of her safety so wrote a cheque to get rid of them.
A scam is something completely different to the article you've linked.

alchemist33

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

'Cultural' salespeople pressuring and bullying them in to the sale, not entirely an old person being away with the fairies.

"Cultural" like bullying them into buying tickets to the opera or the ballet?

[Deleted User]

alchemist33 wrote: »

"Cultural" like bullying them into buying tickets to the opera or the ballet?

A tarmacadam expert lining his pockets without doing a "tap" of work.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Uncle Charlie wrote: »

I know people in their 50s and 60s who been scammed by people calling to the door.

Thats not really that old.

I had a aunt who was scammed at her door twice in the weeks leading up to her 72th birthday. After the second robbery her physical and mental health took a nose dive and she died shortly after her 72rd birthday.

An Garda informed us that she was robbed by members of a cultured community (there's a surprise).. Tbh I'd love to do a Paig Nally and blow their fooking brains out.

That was a few years ago, I only hope that their life eventually came to an early and very violent end.

tuxy

Can we go back to calling them travellers? The culture thing has run its course.

lalababa

Old people's brains become almost childlike, you can cajole and intimidate them to do your bidding. Basically bully them using repeated phrases in an ever increasingly either pissed off/or pleading tone.
Also vunerable people, almost everybody can be coerced like this , just older people especially so.
Probably one of the most heinous crimes.
Basically mental torture of what are essentially the brains of babies.

Uncle Charlie

Briar Shapely Poetry wrote: »

Tbh I'd love to do a Paig Nally and blow their fooking brains out.

Padraig Nally should have been given the Garda commissioners job.

anewme

My Dad (72) lived alone and was starting to go "quare". We have to constantly unsign him from Talk Tak, Sky, Eircom, the lot.

My sister had drilled into him that if anyone knocked at the door, he was to ring her and he was to say... " I need to check with my daughter"

So, one time coming up to Christmas he dutifully phoned her.

Dad: Theres a lad at the door and hes selling duty free- a large Smirinoff and large Bushmills for 25 euro.

Sister: Really? Be great for Christmas. I'd get a couple myself if I could.

Dad: I have 50, you can give me it back at the weekend.

So, the Da gives yer man the 50 and he says " will just get them out of the back of the van"

Into the van he gets and drives away like An F1 racer with the Da chasing him up the road.

Both were afraid to tell me for ages afterwards as they knew Id give out yards to both of them.

tuxy

lalababa wrote: »

Old people's brains become almost childlike, you can cajole and intimidate them to do your bidding. Basically bully them using repeated phrases in an ever increasingly either pissed off/or pleading tone.
Also vunerable people, almost everybody can be coerced like this , just older people especially so.
Probably one of the most heinous crimes.
Basically mental torture of what are essentially the brains of babies.

That's a good way of putting it. In some cases it is just like bullying a child, disgusting.

Graces7

anewme wrote: »

My Dad (72) lived alone and was starting to go "quare". We have to constantly unsign him from Talk Tak, Sky, Eircom, the lot.

My sister had drilled into him that if anyone knocked at the door, he was to ring her and he was to say... " I need to check with my daughter"

So, one time coming up to Christmas he dutifully phoned her.

Dad: Theres a lad at the door and hes selling duty free- a large Smirinoff and large Bushmills for 25 euro.

Sister: Really? Be great for Christmas. I'd get a couple myself if I could.

Dad: I have 50, you can give me it back at the weekend.

So, the Da gives yer man the 50 and he says " will just get them out of the back of the van"

Into the van he gets and drives away like An F1 racer with the Da chasing him up the road.

Both were afraid to tell me for ages afterwards as they knew Id give out yards to both of them.

dreadful.

living out here has huge advantages..

gctest50

Just ban door-to-door* selling, no good ever came out of it

( * includes : selling, upgrading existing packages etc )

Wanderer78

Some companies really have no shame!

Canis Lupus

Different times I think, I see a lot of old people getting scammed by those Indian scammers pretending your PC has a virus etc etc and it's a mix of trusting people and also just being completely naive about technology. In saying that it's not always the old. Mate of my partner who is 35ish got a call from the tax office (different state to the one she lives in) and told her she had a tax bill and the best way to pay it was with iTunes giftcards. RIP $3,500.

soups05

So this clever old gal scammed some guys outta a load of gear by giving them dodgy checks which got cancelled. Fair play to her, she would have got away it too if not for those pesky ki...er...gardi.

mr_fegelien

A lot of scams involve computer fraud/financial fraud which older people are not aware of.

I got the Gardai virus a few years back, it's a scareware that tells you have downloaded illegal musics/porn and you need to pay €200 to unlock your machine. I knew it was bull**** and removed the files from my System.

I can laugh but an elderly person with no computer experience wouldn't have known how to do that but more importantly, wouldn't have known that police don't ask for bribes in Ireland in regards to crimes.

The "your daughter/son is sick" scams are the worst and it's easy to see why anyone would fall for them.

Tony EH

The problem is older folk feeling isolated and that they are getting left behind. This is an issue that happens to people at a "younger" age than one might think too. It's not something that just appears in one's 70's.

We live on a street that has a mix of young, middle and older folk. So, if there are any shenanigans going on, the older crew can knock into one of the younger crowed if they are unsure about who's at their door.

But I think older folk are more susceptible to getting scammed because they get out of the loop, as it were, and just feel a little ill-at-ease with the world around them, which seems to change faster when you get to a certain age. Things such as technology appears to advance more rapidly while you're stuck in your ways. More often than not, that's just an apparent effect and not a reflection on reality, but it has the real effect of making the person feel at a loss.

This is worse when the person lives on their own and has no constant companion to converse with about the things that worry them or how "modern life is getting worse" etc. Things like that tend to keep people on their toes. When you live alone, the days can be long, and a random knock at the door is your only contact with humanity.

There are, of course, people who are just naive and they'll be that way whether they're 30 or 80. Age has no real factor where that's concerned. But getting left behind in society can render many people vulnerable to scumbags, who think getting one over on somebody else is a way to live life.

The moral of the story is let that old girl or lad down the road know that you're available if they need to talk something over with you, or if they feel unsure about something.

Feisar

Some lad apparently hacked my computer and had footage of me being a total wanker.

Must send him on that grand to keep my little button mushroom out of the media!

whisky_galore

gctest50 wrote: »

Just ban door-to-door* selling, no good ever came out of it

( * includes : selling, upgrading existing packages etc )

Nothing good ever comes sold door to door.

If I want to buy something, I'll buy in a shop or online.

Edgware

Its not exclusive to old people.
Every year we read of "highly educated" young people being scammed as they seek accommodation for college, buying Electric Picnic tickets, All Ireland tickets etc