Two Elders Lose 40K in Internet Site





By Sarah Gravlee


January 18, 2012


BILLINGS - Local officials responded to 350 cases of elder abuse in 2011, most of them financial exploitation. If the first month of the new year is any indication, 2012 will be another tough year for seniors in the area.


In 2007 Rita Finch moved into her parents home to become their primary caretaker. Her mother is 84 and her father is 87.


"Daddy had nine stints in his heart. He has a triple bypass, two stints in his leg," Finch said.


Since the summer of 2011, he's been bombarded with letters and phone calls from people trying to turn his life's savings into a fortune. "Somebody offered to make him a million dollars in six months, and he fell for it," Finch said. She said the opposite has happened. "Their money is all gone."


Denise Armstrong with Big Sky Senior Services said it's the latest scam, and it's already affected at least two people in Billings. The alleged scam convinces seniors to start their own website where they can buy and sell merchandise.


"My father is old enough that he doesn't have a computer. He doesn't understand a computer. He doesn't know how to start a computer, but (they say), 'You don't need one. We'll do that for you,"' Finch said.


Holli Boysun with Adult Protective Services said it appears these companies know exactly who they're looking for. "My experience is all of the victims have been elder with early stages of dementia," she said.


A spokesman with one of the companies involved said the company has a 60-day money back guarantee and regularly pays customers a percentage of their profits, but Finch said her father, who signed a contract putting thousands down and agreeing to pay a monthly fee, has not seen a dime.


"He has a website, and he's $40,000 poorer," Finch said.


A clerk at a local credit union noticed Finch's father withdrawing lots of his money and notified Adult Protective Services. "When we get involved, the money's already gone and any hope for recovery is gone," Boysun said.


Armstrong said you could protect your loved ones by making sure they don't respond to junk mail or phone calls offering to make them a fortune. "The bottom line is: if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true," she said.


Experts said these types of scams could tear a family apart. Finch had to move out of her parents' house because they kept arguing about money. She said her brother now has power of attorney and is hoping to get some of her parents' money back.

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