John J. Choi
Ramsey County Attorney
Consortium of Lake Area Senior Services
Physical abuse. Use of physical force that may result
in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment.
 Sexual Abuse. Non-consensual sexual contact of any
kind with an elderly person.
 Emotional abuse. Infliction of anguish, pain, or
distress through verbal or non-verbal acts.
 Neglect. Refusal, or failure, to fulfill any part of a
person’s obligations or duties to an elderly person.
 Financial/Material Exploitation. Illegal or improper
use of an elder's identity, funds, property, or assets.
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Ingredients Needed by Criminals
What You Need to Protect . . .
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Financial Fraud is a growing criminal enterprise
The new medium and domain is your trash, mailbox,
telephone, internet, and email.
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Criminals are looking to prey on vulnerable targets,
which includes elderly populations.
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Inherent limitations because of Jurisdictional and
International borders
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Less likelihood of detection and imposition of penalties,
safer criminal activity
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Occurs when someone gains access to a person’s
basic information:
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Name
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Address
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Credit card
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Social Security numbers
They then open a new charge or bank account,
order merchandise or borrow money, fraudulently
use telephone calling cards, claim tax refunds, etc.
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The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office has
prosecuted numerous cases involving ID theft.
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 Steal your wallets or purses.
 Steal
your mail - including bank and
credit card statements, pre-approved
credit offers, telephone calling cards, etc.
 Trick you to give them your personal
information.
 …Or dumpster dive to find your
discarded mail and information.
Marketplace for Your Identity
State v. Roxanne Deflorin
_______________________________________________________________________________
Small Crimes Become Big Problems
State v. Jerry Thao
St. Paul Police arrest Thao and found the following items in his backpack:
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A Minnesota driver’s license
A newly issued Discover credit card
A newly issued Wells Fargo Visa Platinum credit card
A $560 check drawn on the account of a victim
4 books of TCF checks in a victim’s name
A United States Treasury check in the amount of $644
The Minnesota Certificate of Title for a Motor Vehicle belonging to a victim
The defendant was charged with stealing the financial information of nearly 200 people.
He was sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison and ordered to pay $27,000 in restitution.
Roseville Mail Thefts
Prosecutors say residents' identities stolen with mail
By: Mara Gottfried -- Pioneer Press -- February 10, 2014
Police received several complaints from residents in January about stolen mail
or mailboxes found open.
A resident captured a red Toyota RAV4 on surveillance video stopping at
mailboxes at 3 a.m. January 22.
• Do not have any of the following pre-printed on
your checks:
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Social Security number
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Driver’s License number
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Date of Birth
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Phone number
This will make merchants ask you for more ID to
verify the name on the check.
• Important: Know when you reorder checks.
Make sure you get them or have them sent to
your bank to be picked up!
Shred all paperwork- this includes junk mail like
credit card solicitations.
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Use a cross shredder if you have one.
Eliminate junk mail by completing an opt-out form
and sending it to the Direct Mail Marketing
Association.
 Do not send any mail by putting it in your mailbox
at the end of your driveway and
raising the red flag.
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Get your mail as soon as it arrives.
Eliminating Junk Mail
Contact the Direct Marketing Association P. O. Box 643
Carmel, NY. 10512 www.dmachoice.org to stop most
junk mail and unsolicited offers.
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Don’t ever carry them with you.
Only give the number to your employer or the Social
Security Administration - no one else needs it!
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Immediately contact the Social Security
Administration if you believe your number has been
compromised and used to obtain goods, services, etc.
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Do not have your SSN printed on your checks!
If your bank statements don’t come on time- call
and inquire why.
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Limit the number of credit cards you carry.
Understand debit cards and consider a cash card
instead.
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Do not pick easy passwords/PIN numbers.
Print “check ID” in the signature box with a
permanent marker.
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Look out for card service scams
http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Brochures/pubCardServicesScams.pdf
What seems too good to be true usually is: Ask to receive
the “unbelievable deal” or the “amazing prize offer” in writing
so you can read it carefully before making a commitment.
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Never give out your personal information: Whether over the
phone or Internet, unless you have initiated the contact.
Legitimate business callers will never ask you for this
information over the phone.
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Don’t give out personal information over the telephone:
If a caller asks you to pay for an offer in advance or asks for
your credit card number or worse yet your Social Security
number, tell the person no.
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Callers often pressure you into taking quick action on
a “great deal” or to avoid an imminent consequence.
Common tactics include:
 You must act now or the offer will expire.
You must act now or you will be arrested and or
prosecuted (IRS Scam)
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You must send in money or have a check picked up
by a courier.
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You can’t afford to miss this one-time offer.
You don’t need to check out this company,
we’re famous.
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This scam always entails a call or an email from either a
crook posing as your grandchild or someone claiming to
be helping your grandchild. It goes like this.
Criminal: “Grandma, do you know who this is?
Senior: “Joey?” “Susie?”
Criminal: “Yes, Grandma, it’s me. I’m in a jam in (Canada,
Mexico or Europe) and I need you to send me money
ASAP! Also, please don’t tell Mom or Dad as I’m too
embarrassed. You’re the only one I can trust”.
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This is terrifying to hear, but don’t fall for it!
Ask for a return phone number and other identifying
information from the caller.
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Never give out a bank or credit card number!
Verify that it is your grandchild by calling the parents
or asking the “grandchild” questions about the family
that only the real person would know.
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Refuse to send money through wire or overnight
delivery.
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Call the police when you suspect this is a scam.
Who called who? Be suspicious and on alert if they
called or contacted you.
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Always ask for written materials about any offer or
charity.
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Verify if you get offers for investments, check out the
offer with a reputable financial advisor.
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Before giving to a charity, ask what percentage of your
donation goes to “overhead”. Never give out bank
account numbers or social security numbers.
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Never pay for a “free prize” despite warnings that a
deposit or fee is necessary to win.
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Scammers sometimes call claiming to represent the National
Do Not Call Registry. The caller will offer to sign you up for the
Registry. These calls are not coming from the Registry or the
Federal Trade Commission, thus you should not respond to
these calls.
 Steps you can take to protect yourself:
• To add your number to the Do Not Call Registry, call 888-382-1222 from
the phone you wish to register.
• If you wish to register your phone number via the internet, go to
www.donotcall.gov/.
• Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the
National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the
Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007.
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Some calls are still permitted:
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Political organizations
Charities
Telephone surveyors
Companies with which you have an existing business relationship.
• You get an email from what appears to be a
company with whom you regularly do business
(Wells Fargo, Ebay, Amazon, etc.).
• You are asked to update your membership
information or your account will be closed.
• Or , you are advised that your account has
been compromised and you need to verify your
account number and password.
You get a frantic email from a trusted friend telling
you they are in dire need of funds as they are in a
hospital/jail/custody in another country.
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Look for a friend’s name and an urgent request to
wire transfer money to him or her.
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Very likely your friend’s email was compromised by
crooks.
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Sorry, you did not win a sweepstakes prize because you
cannot win a contest you did not enter. These are always
bogus!
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Foreign lotteries are illegal. You will be told you won but
need to pay the tax on the prize, etc. Remember, You can’t win
a prize if you did not enter.
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Bogus charities. Be wary of the emotional appeal for a
worthy sounding charity. Tell them to send you something in
the mail and then call the Minnesota Attorney General’s Charity
watchdog group at 651-296-3353 or go online at:
www.ag.state.mn.us/Charities/CharitySearch.asp
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You are asked to pay money in anticipation of
receiving something of greater value—such as a loan,
contract, investment, or gift.
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You will receive little or nothing in return.
The variety of advance fee schemes is limited only
by the imagination of the con artists who offer them.
They may involve the sale of products or services, the
offering of investments, lottery winnings, “found
money,” or many other “opportunities”.
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If you receive a letter from Nigeria (or some other
country such as Bulgaria or Albania) asking you to
send personal or banking information, do not reply in
any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service,
your local FBI office, or the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service.
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Do not believe the promise of large sums of money
for your cooperation.
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Guard your account information carefully.
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Never sign a blank insurance claim form.
Never give blanket authorization to a medical
provider to bill for services rendered.
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Do not do business with door-to-door or phone
sales reps who tell you that services or equipment are
free.
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Give your Medicare number or insurance
information only to those who have provided you
with medical services.
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“Free” equipment offers. Your insurance company
will get billed for the product.
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Manufacturers offer “free” use of equipment in
exchange for your Medicare #. Fraudulent doctors
either approve the device or the MD’s signature is
forged sticking you with an unnecessary medical
device.
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“Rolling labs” are unnecessary and sometimes fake
“medical” tests are offered at retirement homes,
shopping malls, etc. and are billed to your insurance.
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You get a call from someone claiming to be from
Social Security Administration or Medicare.
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They advise that new benefit cards are being
distributed and your file must be updated to be
eligible for new or expanded benefits.
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Crook asks for your social security number to
“verify” your account or ask for personal banking
information, etc.
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Just say “No thank you.” and hang up.
Medicare and Social Security Administrations NEVER
call you to give you a new card or to ask for personal
information!
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Call the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
at 1-800-633-4227or Social Security Administration at
800-772-1213 or
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FBI at 763-569-8000
Be safe when ordering on-line. Secure pages
begin with “https” instead of “http”. A
picture of a lock in a locked position should
appear in your browser.
Legitimate reverse mortgages are insured by the
Federal Housing Authority.
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Don’t respond to unsolicited offers.
Be suspicious of anyone who tells you that you can
own a home with nothing down.
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Don’t ever sign anything you do not fully
understand.
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Seek out your own reverse mortgage counselor or
the Better Business Bureau or your family to discuss
the offer with them before signing anything.
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Living trusts organize your finances and living wills
(now called health care directives) declare your health
care wishes. Do not confuse the two!
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Be very careful when a salesperson asks for personal
financial information so that they can evaluate
whether a living trust is right for you.
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The sales pitch often claims to avoid probate costs
or inheritance taxes.
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Seek advice from a licensed attorney if you have an
interest in one, but be very wary of signing anythingespecially when you may pay thousands of dollars for
nothing more than legal forms.
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 Equifax 1-800-525-6285
www.equifax.com
 TransUnion 1-800-680-7289
www.transunion.com
 Your personal bank will conduct one
free credit report per year.
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Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov
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Social Security Administration www.ssa.gov
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Internet Fraud Complaint Center www.ic3.gov
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ID Theft Resource Center www.idtheftcenter.org
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Privacy Rights Clearinghouse www.privacyrights.org
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National White Collar Crime Center www.nw3c.org
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Ramsey County Sheriff/ local police 911
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Ramsey County Attorney’s Office 651-266-3222