Elderly abuse in the form of fake love scams is targeting senior citizens. States are getting worried as the number of these incidents are rapidly increasing!
In a recent report by CBS Chicago, a senior man who has dementia has been a victim of a fake love scam. Aloysius Mack, 92-years old, was approached by a woman in his neighborhood McDonald's. Their meeting eventually ended with Mack getting tricked into marrying the woman, Sophie Miller.
Besides deceiving Mack into marrying her, Sophie Miller asked Mack to buy her a van and laundromat all worth around 120,000 dollars. Worst yet, the woman convinced Mack to change his will so the Miller can inherit his $260,000 home.
Aloysius Mack blames himself for being a sitting duck to Sophie Miller's fake love scam. Mack laments, "And the worst thing of all, she stole my hard-earned life savings." Aloysius Mack is currently under the guardianship of his grand-niece. His attorneys are working hard to annul the marriage to Sophie Miler and to undo all the legal and financial ties Mack was forced to hand over to Miller.
In another part of the country, a similar case to Aloysius Mack was also reported. A 79-year old woman with severe dementia married her caretaker. The caretaker, Phil Cantillas, was charged by the Cook's County Public Guardian for funneling around 65,000 dollars from the old woman.
Single senior women are also targeted with fake love scams on online dating sites. The fake love scam on online dating sites goes like this. The scammer contacts a single senior woman on a dating site and forms a bond with her. They continue their relationship either through phone or email. The scammer would tell the senior woman about a problem with work or unpaid wages then urgently asks the senior woman for money. Another scenario involves the scammer asking for money as proof of the senior woman's love.
This kind of fake love scam on online dating sites has cost a Georgia woman her savings of around 300,000 dollars. The AARP has urged dating sites to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent such incidents from occurring.
Barron's Asia is calling this rapidly increasing number of cases regarding elderly abuse as a silent epidemic. The numbers would increase and get worst as baby boomers get older. Report any incident of elder abuse to the state's elder abuse hotline.
