CityAndStateNY.com
Stop the scam
A
August 16, 2021
A new law will help the government respond to elder abuse by cutting through red tape.
N OLDER WOMAN was sitting in her southern Brooklyn home a few months ago when the telephone rang. The person on the other end told her that she could finally get her computer repaired. All she had to do was print a form with instructions on how to pay. She then took that to her local bank where she asked the teller to wire a five-figure amount to a guy in Thailand. The teller said this was just not pos-
sible, so she went to a more obliging branch nearby. She sent additional money the following day, but there was no computer repair coming – certainly not one worth the $50,000 she had wired. It took her a little while to realize that, according to state Sen. Roxanne Persaud of Brooklyn, who relayed her story to City & State. The most her staff could do at this point was help the woman secure her financial information. The incident came to mind in early spring when Persaud learned about a bill
that would make it easier to help people like her elderly constituent. Identity thieves have snookered many other people. Additional seniors have been physically, mentally or financially victimized by their own relatives. This problem has only gotten worse during the coronavirus pandemic with many older adults stuck behind closed doors. Identifying clues of abuse can be hard, but a new state law could make it easier for local and state authorities to investigate cases and bring perpetrators to
WK1003MIKE/SHUTTERSTOCK
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