Preventing elderly abuse takes on a new urgency

WASHINGTON -- When Susanne Conley-Higgins heard her mother say, "I'm going to win the Canadian lottery," it was one of her first indications that the 86-year-old Maine woman was being scammed.

Conley-Higgins, a postal clerk in Portland, soon found out that her mother received as many as eight to 10 letters seeking money each day and had accumulated $14,000 in credit card debt -- due, in part, to demands for as little as $11 at a time from fraudulent sweepstakes appeals.

Stacks of letters in her mother's house had return addresses of Las Vegas; Kansas City, Mo.; Australia; and Canada. One rambling letter from a Swiss scammer asked for money and included the ominous line: "I still carry my 9mm automatic -- with silencer of course."

Conley-Higgins canceled her mother's credit card, and now keeps a much closer eye on her mother's mail.

She is also using her experience to help other senior citizens, attending a news conference held Monday by the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to highlight the dangers to senior citizens posed by fraudulent or deceptive mailings and telephone calls.

"Fraud may be the only crime in which the intended victim has a genuine opportunity to choose not to be a victim," Chief Postal Inspector Lee Heath said. "Awareness and education are keys to potential victims knowing how to say "no.' "

To raise awareness about the scammers, the postal service is sending about 3-million postcards to areas with a large percentage of older residents and placing more than 38,000 posters in post offices. About 300,000 "stamps by mail" orders, often used by senior citizens, will include educational materials, and half-page ads will be placed in newspapers across the country.

The postal service and the FTC also are releasing public service announcements featuring actor Betty White, as well as educational videos. Settlements won against scammers are funding the campaign.

"Fraud complaints are on the rise, and more and more people age 60 and over are becoming victims," Heath said. The Postal Inspection Service responded to 66,000 mail fraud complaints in 2001, he said, and is on track to respond to 83,000 this year -- a projected increase of 27 percent. The National Consumers League says that Americans are bilked of more than $40-billion annually by more than 14,000 illegal telemarketing operations.

The postal service has shut down 40 illegal telemarketing operations and 80 deceptive mailing operations this year -- about a 40 percent increase over last year. More than $1.2-billion was returned to victims.

Seniors face a dizzying array of potential phone and mail scams. Mail designed to look as if it came from government agencies, solicitations disguised as invoices, foreign lotteries, phony inheritance schemes, home repair and improvement fraud and investment fraud are only some of the scams the postal service has seen.

For Louis Johnson Jr. of Orange, N.J., the offer came from Canada, announcing that he had won one of four prizes. All he had to do, the announcement said, was send $199 for the cost of processing the winnings across the border.

When nothing arrived Johnson began calling the company in Toronto. "I got the run-around," he said: The person he needed to talk to always was busy or in meetings. He was put on hold for a half-hour or more.

Frustrated, he called the Better Business Bureau, which contacted postal inspectors. U.S. inspectors worked with Canadian postal officials, and Johnson got his money back.

Lots of people never see their money again, and often it's a lot more than $199.

"I was fortunate it was just that amount," Johnson said.

-- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Prevent fraud

U.S. Postal Inspection Service suggestions on mail fraud:

-- You should never have to pay to receive a prize or enter a contest. If so, it's illegal.

-- If you're told you're guaranteed to win a prize, or no risk is involved, be skeptical.

-- Any lottery that involves a foreign country and is conducted through the mail is illegal.

-- Legitimate charities don't ask for donations in conjunction with a contest. Many phony charities use names that sound or look like respected organizations.

-- Don't give Social Security or account numbers to callers you don't know. A reputable group won't request them.

-- Don't be pressured into making an immediate decision. Get all information in writing before agreeing to enter a contest, make a purchase or give a donation.

-- At the homes of the elderly, look for stacks of mail proclaiming the recipient to be "a guaranteed winner" or offering lottery tickets for sale.

-- Volunteer to help balance checkbooks of the elderly and ask about questionable checks or large withdrawals. Offer to go over credit card statements to look for unauthorized charges.

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