What happens when you find out that your lonely, long single parent suddenly has a new, (perhaps secret) love interest? Far too many times, questionable characters who don’t have the best intentions, steal the hearts, and destroy the lives of vulnerable seniors, in ways that can’t be repaired – financially, emotionally, and yes, even medically.
It’s so sad that we must be both vigilant and suspicious about who befriends our aging parents. As we age, we naturally become more trusting, and more dependent on those good people in the world who truly do want to help us. However, the creepy characters who purposely look to feed on our hearts and bank accounts make everyone else’s lives even more difficult.
In this episode, my good friend retired Sargent Michael R. Herst, and I dive into some of the cunning ways love scammers worm their ways into the lives of those we love. Michael’s own father-in-law almost fell prey to one of these crooks!
Here we discuss:
- How to detect when a secret “love interest” is creeping into your parent’s life
- How love scammers justify their actions
- Tricks they’ll use to pull on your heartstrings
- Identifying such people for who they really are
- Best ways to protect them personally, financially, and emotionally
- How to confront someone you suspect
- How to get support from the police and others
- And much more!
This is an important episode that everyone should listen to and learn from. The following links provide additional resources you can use, should you suspect one of these love scammers is focusing on your mom or dad.
An important side note: Romance scams were one of the top frauds that resulted in the greatest losses for seniors during these past two years, according to the National Consumer Law Center. These love interests are not always created in person either. Many happen online. Please keep vigilant.
Preliminary background and abuse reporting links:
Guest: Michael R. Hearst, a retired Police Sgt, Husband, Father, and former caregiver, and podcast host of “One More Thing Before You Go,.” Michael and his wife, Diane, also hos a podcast together which airs on Sunday mornings titled: Over The Tea Cup with Michael & Diane.
Host: Nancy May, Author How to Survive 911 Medical Emergencies, Step-by-Step Before, During, After! Expert in managing the path of step-by-step caring for an aging parent or family member, even from over 1200 miles away, or more. For a Free File-of-Life to www.howtosurvive911.com. Nancy is also the Co-Founder of CareManity LLC, and the private FaceBook group, Eldercare Success.
Disclaimer: The views, perspectives, and opinions expressed in this show are those of the show guests and not directly those of the companies they serve or that of the host or the producer CareManity, LLC. The information discussed should not be taken as medical, legal, or financial advice. Please seek the advice of your own personal medical, legal or financial advisors as each person’s situation is different. (c) Copyright 2022 CareManity, LLC all rights reserved. CareManity is a trademark of CareManity, LLC.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
