Why are the elderly so gullible?

[Globalti]

My Mum aged 87 was on the phone for over 30 minutes yesterday morning being hectored by somebody from India who Mum thought was from Talk Talk trying to set up something new. The scammer got her to download something onto her laptop but she had to end the call as she had an appointment to keep. We have told her many many times not to talk to anybody on the phone about her computer or her bank or personal affairs yet she still falls for it. "I was so confused and this woman kept shouting that I have lots of things wrong with my computer!" This morning the scammer is still trying to call her back so I've sent her instructions for blocking numbers on her phone.

When I asked her what she is expecting Talk Talk to set up for her she replied: "I don't know, it's something to do with my letters I think. They phoned me and said they would email but they must have got my email address wrong so I've written a letter to tell them!"

She was scammed last month by a TV aerial repair bloke who took £435 off her for 5 minutes work.

I despair. I really, truly despair. This morning she is asking me: "Why am I so naive?" My answer:

1 - The part of the brain that controls belief and doubt deteriorates from the age of 55.

2 - Many older folk are wealthy so have a more relaxed attitude to financial risk.

3 - Older folk grew up when trust was a part of morality and they had that reinforced every Sunday in church. When they were young most people were still trustworthy.

I've explained this to her. What else can I do to make her more aware of fraudsters?

 

[MiK1138]

I think you hit the nail on the head with no.3 we all want to believe that people are generally good and this is exactly what scammers prey on, you just have to keep reinforcing the dont deal with things over the phone, tell her to give people your number that usually scares them off for a while

 

[alicat]

No 1 hits it on the head too.

Have a look here

Get her a BT dect phone that blocks nuisance calls so that strange people can't ring her so easily.

 

[FishFright]

[QUOTE 5077589, member: 45"]I think that as you get older you can get less arsed about stuff. My dad was a mechanical engineer and pretty clever. He still is, but gets overwhelmed more easily now and will call me about the simplest of things (which is fine). He also just goes to John Lewis for electrical stuff now rather than researching, which he used to. I think scammers take advantage of this and know that if they push then some people will cave in.[/QUOTE]

This part applies to how the con people of all ages. These scammers aim for peoples weak spots and peck and peck until the get what they want.

 

[raleighnut]

My Mum gets a few of these calls luckily my Sister lives nearby and is quite 'tech savvy'.

 

[Globalti]

I would also add that my Mum is twice-widowed and in both marriages she took the then traditional, housewife role while her husband did all the money and house & car stuff, so she hasn't had much practice at dealing with tradesmen and utilities. When she got a huge water leak in the main supply earlier this year the carry-on was something else and she almost had a nervous breakdown over it all.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Some people are still around from a time when there was respect. People treat each other like shoot these days.

 

[Lonestar]

This part applies to how the con people of all ages. These scammers aim for peoples weak spots and peck and peck until the get what they want.

This is very true.I have had constant scamming phone calls for a number of years plus the chance it could be work.So I let my answer machine deal with it.Sometimes (like now) just turn that all off (via remote control)so I don't hear the call or ringing.Even my mobile is now in flight mode most of the time.(via a clever little android program called E-Robot.)

 

[SteveF]

My experience with my Mother and In-Laws is that they simply tend to worry more as they have gotten older, what was once trivial becomes a big issue and has to be sorted straight away else they will get more and more stressed over it. Some of the scams (intentionally or unintentionally) feed this, a problem with tech/broadband/banks etc worries them and they want it fixed ASAP. Additionally, they don't want to be dependant on others, don't want to be a "burden" so try to tackle it on their own, which makes them vulnerable.


Not suggesting all older people react like this but it's what I have seen with some of the ones I interact with.

 

[Maenchi]

one thing I remember my mum nearly getting overcharged for was £80 to replace a couple of roof tiles, lucky that I turned up, the bloke looked really sheepish when I asked what are you doing ? I told him to ferk off and I it did myself, just a shame I missed the guy who pulled off the old guttering, and then said that he would have to replace it...............ageing parents and them getting ripped off. bleddy nightmare !

 

[EasyPeez]

The part of the brain that controls belief and doubt deteriorates from the age of 55

Is this a quantifiable, medical thing? I'd never heard of this before.

 

[snorri]

I had an elderly relative who had been paying out relatively small sums to countless "charities" who were sending out appeals for cash. The family only became aware after her condition deteriorated and we became suspicious regarding the amount of mail she was receiving.
She had always been a friendly person willing to assist others in practical ways but was now housebound and probably feeling a bit useless after she had completed the crossword and watched her favourite tv progs. We felt the "charity" donations were a way for her to feel she was still doing something useful in life, although sadly she was unable to make sound choices regarding the appeals she supported.

 

[Cycleops]

I think I’ve become cynical and doubting since passing the age of 55 so I don’t know where that fact come from. I think it may be more of a trust issue.

Only this morning I was reading about a seventy five year old man who withdrew £10000 from his bank account to buy a car advertised on eBay with the seller insisting he should bring cash and meet at prearranged point and be taken to the car. Thankfully the bank staff were suspicious and quizzed the man about the cash withdrawal and stopped him going.

 

[swee'pea99]

When they were young most people were still trustworthy.

Some people are still around from a time when there was respect. People treat each other like shoot these days.

Sorry to hear about this, and it's awful that it goes on, but I have to say that every time one of these threads appears there's a rush of 'good old days' posts that are, forgive me, just nonsense. There have always been scumbags, and there always will be. I see no evidence that there are any more, or worse, than has ever been the case. If anything I'd say the opposite is true - my kids' generation seem much more courteous and considerate and sensitive to others' feelings and perspectives than was the case when I was young. When I was their age, the N word and its equivalents for disabled/homosexual/other were common currency.

As for the OP, I fear there's little you can do beyond what you have been doing, other than perhaps one message to drum home at every opportunity (Keep It Simple) - "Call me." Whatever the situation, if you're in any doubt, if someone's pressuring you, just put the phone down and call me.

 

[Globalti]

Is this a quantifiable, medical thing? I'd never heard of this before.

Apparently as you age your ventromedial prefrontal cortex deteriorates. According to Wiki: "Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (especially in the right hemisphere) has been connected with deficits in detecting irony, sarcasm, and deception. Subjects with damage in this area have been found to be more easily influenced by misleading advertising. This has been attributed to a disruption of a "false tagging mechanism" which provides doubt and skepticism of new beliefs."

Presumably if that part of the brain deteriorates with age, you suffer the same deterioration as if there was traumatic damage.

Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventromedial_prefrontal_cortex