(Click on the image for David Brancaccio's Marketplace.org video)
- Judy was coerced into buying $166,000 in gift cards and turned them over to a scammer.
- According to a 2016 study, people 50 and older hold 83% of the wealth in America; households headed by people in their 70s and 80s tend to have the highest median net worth. That makes them prime targets for financial scams and the effects can be devastating.
- With an aging population this is an elder justice issue, a personal finance issue and a public policy issue. It’s hard to pin down the numbers: A study out of New York state estimates as few as one in 44 cases are ever reported, and studies have calculated that older people lose anywhere from $2.9 billion to $36 billion each year from financial exploitation.