The growing problem of senior scams is putting many older adults in harm’s way. On Thursday, a former insurance agent was sentenced to life in prison for scamming his elderly clients. The Texas Department of Insurance says it appears most of Joseph Gaines’ victims are over the age of 65. 

“We’re finding that our seniors are trusting. They come from a generation where your handshake is your word,” said Tracy Baugh, with Home Instead Senior Care.

With that vulnerability comes a lot of problems, and one of the biggest issues is fraud.

“There’s a particular concern because it’s money that they’re counting on fro the rest of their lives,” said Ben Gonzalez, public information officer for the Texas Department of Insurance.

Most scams against the elderly happen from people they know. Joseph Gaines, who was arrested last year for scamming older adults, was a trusted financial adviser for decades.

“They want to trust their own family members, and a lot of those times, those family members then take advantage of that,” said Edwards.

“It should be someone that you contacted first. If somebody contacts you, they probably got your name from a mailing list. It doesn’t mean that they’re fraudulent, but it does raise a red flag,” said Gonzalez. 

Some other things to look out for are suspicious calls asking for credit card, banking and personal information. The best way to keep these scams from happening to a loved one is to help monitor their accounts.

“They need to check those people out. Ask for references. Go online and check those folks out,” said Baugh.

“Sometimes when you’re making these large-scale financial decisions that can affect the rest of their lives, it’s important to have more people involved. The more people that are with you and on your side, the less you are able to fall victim to a scam,” said Gonzalez.

Gaines was also ordered to pay $810,000 to his victims. To report a suspicious call, you can contact the Texas Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-888-341-6187.

 “It should be someone that you contacted first. If somebody contact
contacts you. They probably got your name from a mailing list. It doesn’t mean that they’re fraudulent. But it does raise a red flag,” said Gonzalez. 

Some other things to look out for are suspicious calls asking for credit card, banking, and personal information. The best way to keep these scams from happening to a loved one is to help monitor their monitor. 

“They need to check those people out. Ask for references. Go online. And check those folks out,” said Baugh.

“Sometimes when you’re making these large scale financial decisions that can affect the rest of their lives. It’s important to have more people involved. The more people that are with you and on your side, the less you are able to fall victims to a scam,” said Gonzalez. 

Joseph Gaines was also ordered to pay $810,000  to his victims. To report a suspicious call, you can contact the Texas Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-888-341-6187.