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In the News : SAIF
Publication: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
By: Gina Tenorio
Date: March 13, 2003
Seniors battle against fraud
The heartache is nearly uncomfortable and disconcerting.
A man in the public service video tells of a
life torn apart by investment fraud and of a retirement stolen.
He tells of pawning jewelry he had bought over the years for
his wife.
"It happens so many times," said Pat
Henny, director of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program,
or RSVP. "When people watch that video, you can see their
reaction. The man is telling his story and he's near tears."
The video is a creation of SAIF, Senior Against
Investment Fraud. The SAIF program is a state-wide outreach
campaign funded by the governor's Office of Criminal Justice
Planning. It's designed to take the lead in alerting and educating
those age 50 and over about investment and telemarketing fraud
crimes and how to avoid being victimized.
The California Department of Corporations, creators
of SAIF, approached the area RSVP program to ask about training
seniors to lecture on the subject. From there, the Claremont-based
RSVP program, which covers all of the Inland Valley, was been
selected to offer the program.
The Department of Corporations is also behind
the creation of the video, which includes the personal stories
of several seniors. A number of other materials are provided
by SAIF.
"Seniors are the most vulnerable,"
Henny said. "They are from a different generation and
are more trusting of people."
So when people approach them with deals that
sound like it's too good to be true, some of the seniors don't
always catch on that it is.
"Some of these people sound very nice and
trustworthy to the seniors," said Ed Peltz, chair of
the local SAIF program.
According to a study done by the department,
Californians age 50 and over alone have lost $3.8 billion.
"About 40 percent of all the investment
fraud occurs in California," Peltz said.
California is fertile ground, the two said.
And seniors are especially vulnerable because often they are
alone, sometimes homebound. They are also commonly home when
these people call.
"The seniors are glad to talk to someone,"
Henny said.
"And these people can become anything you
want them to be," Peltz added.
The video featured a shadowed figure of a man,
a former con man, who admitted telling elderly people what
they wanted to hear so they would trust him.
"If they were Republican, I was Republican,"
the anonymous man said.
A group of trained RSVP presenters has already
started making presentations to get the word out as quickly
as possible.
"We want some of these seniors to know
that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,"
Henny said.
It's not always possible to get to everyone
and sometimes these guys are too sharp to avoid. In those
cases, it has become essential to lift the stigma of the victimization.
"The amount of money that is actually lost
may be higher because some seniors may feel too embarrassed
to call and report they've been victims," Henny said.
No one wants to be seen as feeble or an easy
target. But it does happen a lot and it's not always the elderly,
though they are more often the targets for so many reasons,
she said.
"All we're trying to do is get them to
slow down and get them to think," Henny said.
Several presentations are being made throughout
the area. For information on Seniors Against Investment Fraud
or RSVP, call Henny or Peltz at (909) 482-0355.
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