Scams are a problem everywhere. All ages are at risk, but the elderly are especially vulnerable.
"I talked to the other attorneys in my firm, and all of us have at least one person who is actively being scammed at this point," says attorney Jana McConnaughhay of Waldoch & McConnaughhay in Tallahassee. She is board certified in Elder Law.
"The woman that I'm working with right now is in her 80s, maybe has a touch of memory issues," McConnaughhay says. "She's running all around every day trying to shut down accounts, not fully understanding what's happening. (She's) recently widowed. I mean, it's just as vulnerable as you can get of a person whose life is being made into a total hell."
Annie Gaynor of Tallahassee has been helping a friend who was exploited. Gaynor says the friend, who we're not naming, is isolated and may be having memory problems. She was embarrassed about the situation and not eager to talk about it.
"I am healthcare and legal advocate for this person, so I was able to speak to her, but even then, she wanted to hide it from me," Gaynor says. "She was a little bit unsure and maybe a little embarrassed that she might be involved in something over her head... These people are so persuasive that you don't know that it's not a friendly approach. They really faked her out, and she is a smart, savvy, incredible human being."
Florida lawmakers are considering legislation that would make it easier to go after scammers via the means by which they contacted their victims.
Twyla Sketchley was behind some of the legislation to help victims go after their scammers. She's a Board Certified Elder Law Attorney with The Sketchley Law Firm in Tallahassee. (Disclosure: The firm is an underwriter of WFSU Public Media.)
"It's not just seniors. Everybody can be scammed," Sketchley says. "A lot of our senior victims of this, they're embarrassed. They don't want to tell their children, their neighbors, their pastors, that they've been scammed. So that prevents the reporting, and that leaves them even more vulnerable."
We talk about common scams — Sunpass toll violations, grandparents needing to quickly help grandkids, arrest warrants, social media romances, and more — on Speaking Of. We even hear Sketchley's personal experience with a phone scammer. Click LISTEN above to hear the full segment.
