Home Caregivers Oceanside Phone Funeral Fraud

Phone Fraud Warning: Home Caregivers in Oceanside

Home Caregivers in Oceanside: Be Alert for Funeral Phone Call Scam

One of the hardest parts of growing older is losing friends that you have known all your life. Funerals are never easy, and getting the news that an acquaintance has passed away is a moment that you will never forget. Home caregivers in Oceanside have become aware of a new phone scam that sadly takes advantage of this situation in order to steal information and money from its victims.

Counting on Curiosity

If your senior loved one has an email account, she may receive an email that looks like a funeral/memorial service announcement from a nursing home. If she opens the email, she will find a general expression of sympathy at losing a friend, along with some general information about the upcoming service. The main clue that the email is a hoax and not a legitimate announcement is the fact that the name of the supposedly deceased individual is never mentioned.

How Email Scams Like This Work

Email scams count on confusion and curiosity for success. You can protect yourself and your senior loved one from them by focusing on one critical point, however: Never click on a button or link in an email. An email from a legitimate company will always provide an alternative contact method, like a phone number or email address. A scam depends on the email recipient taking an action (clicking on something), which it can use as an invitation onto your computer’s hard drive. Once spyware and viruses are introduced, they are difficult to clean up and can expose your information to criminals.

Home Caregivers in San Diego County Help with Email

Email is a fantastic tool for seniors—they can receive photos of the grandchildren, communicate with friends across the country in real time, and enjoy daily updates of different kinds. But it is always helpful to have capable family members or home caregivers in San Diego County looking over a senior’s shoulder while they are online. Avoiding expensive and time-consuming trouble may be as simple as a caregiver gently deleting an email instead of clicking on a dangerous link.

Tim Colling
Tim Colling

Tim Colling is the founder and President of A Servant's Heart In-Home Care, which provided in-home caregiving services in San Diego County, and also of A Servant's Heart Geriatric Care Management, which provided
professional geriatric care management services and long term care placement services in San Diego County. Tim has more than 30 years of experience in management in a variety of industries. He held a Certified Care Manager credential from the National Academy of Certified Care Managers. Tim is also a Certified Public Accountant (retired), and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from California State University at San Diego. In addition to writing blog posts here for the Servant’s Heart blog, Tim also is a regular contributor to HealthLine.com and to FamilyAffaires.com as well as blogs of other eldercare services provider companies. Finally, Tim is also the president of A Servant's Heart Web Design and Marketing, which provides home care marketing as well as website design and online marketing for those who serve the elderly and their families.

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