Seniors Often Target of Credit Repair Scams

Consumer groups are paying more attention to the senior set when it comes to solicitations for financial services including investments, collection agencies, and credit repair companies. There have been increasing complaints that senior citizens are at greater risk for being scammed out of their cash for services they get convinced they need.

The elderly are more likely to take calls from telephone solicitors typically because the have the time to do so. Unfortunately, those who are promoting credit repair or financial services and those who are trying to collect debts that may or may not be legitimate can often force older people into something they don’t need or can’t afford.

Intimidating sales tactics work well on the elderly and as a result many have fallen victims of such scam artists who collect cash upfront and then are never heard from again. With the state of the economy and the renewed importance of good credit scores, credit repair scams are becoming more and more common against the older generation.

Experts are encouraging loved ones of elderly parents and relatives to keep tabs on such calls and encourage their parents or relatives to hang up on such solicitation calls. If credit repair is a necessity for older consumers, it should be made clear that consumers can do the repair work themselves by ordering credit reports and disputing erroneous information while working out ways to effectively eliminate debts. Any sales call asking for funds upfront should be avoided and elderly consumers should be educated about the danger of these telephone solicitations.

Harassing phone calls should be reported to the Attorney General’s office. The elderly should be made aware about the importance of notating the details of harassing phone calls and a report can be filed. Consumer groups also offer information about the hazards of telephone solicitations and erroneous debt collection calls to the elderly.

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