Elder Law, Fraud, Telemarketers, and Theft

f/k/a yesterday (May 21st) has a post worth reading on elder law issues. Here’s an excerpt:

‘In yesterday’s New York Times article “Bilking the Elderly, With a Corporate Assist” (May 20, 2007), Charles Duhigg tells the shameful tale of how “Large companies are selling vast databases of personal information to thieves, despite evidence their services are used for fraud.” More often than not, the fraud is aimed at the elderly, who tend to be easy to find (at home), too-trusting, lonely enough to actuall enjoy chatting with telemarketers, and a little bit too desirous of striking it rich. The NYT article deserves a full perusal. You’ll learn how information brokers like infoUSA make millions of dollars selling information about people like you and me to shady characters seeking lists of victims. Indeed:

“Telemarketing fraud, once limited to small-time thieves, has become a global criminal enterprise preying upon millions of elderly and other Americans every year, authorities say. Vast databases of names and personal information, sold to thieves by large publicly traded companies, have put almost anyone within reach of fraudulent telemarketers. And major banks have made it possible for criminals to dip into victims’ accounts without their authorization, according to court records.”

In case you think the information-sellers don’t know how the information is being used, consider this paragraph from the article: …’ posted from: f/k/a