Scams and the elderly

I think hitting myself in the head with a hammer would be more fun than dealing with this. First, my 81 year old neighbor got scammed Saturday by a man she said told her " Mary, I live behind you and the police are holding my wife for a traffic violation and I need cash quick...I have no cash on me..could I borrow some?" For the majority of people, the answer would be "take a hike, buddy" but not so for the elderly. Mary, my neighbor, had just been to the bank for cash and this guy probably followed her the few blocks home, and googled her address on a criss cross, for her name. She only gave him $50 but it's just the principle of the thing. As we headed out for lunch, she was in her yard and told us what happened. When she asked us what we thought, we looked at each other and she knew she'd been had, even though she wanted to believe the guy was really in trouble. What a creep.

Then, this afternoon, they called from The Plaza and wonderful Frank, the concierge, said mom had just done something really odd and wanted us to know about it. It seems she had written a check to the Vietnam Veterans and they would be coming by to pick up the check. Huh?? No envelope--just total weirdness--and she just handed him the check. Frank said he was going to pass on to the Administrators that it must be scammin' time at the Plaza but that we might want to be thinking about how to protect mom, etc. ( She's already given KERA a wad this year since that's her most favorite channel and every time they have their "beg-a-thons", she forgets she's already given, and gives again. And again. And again. Or, even funnier...she wants the gifts they advertise if you give money. I have all of Rick Steves 2010 Christmas in Europe if anyone is bored or bed bound, and needs some entertainment. You can turn your AC down low and pretend you're in Europe, with Rick, for Christmas.) OK....back to the scamming. My sister and I are currently plotting how best to handle preserving mom's independence, while keeping her safe, and taking away her check book and credit cards. I am soooo not looking forward to this.