ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
A Wells Fargo financial professional recently helped to save a client from losing money in a scam targeting senior citizens. The 78-year old client thought that he won an overseas lottery. Instead, he became a victim of financial elder abuse via a typical lottery scam. The Wells Fargo professional prevented money from being sent offshore, however money from another bank was sent out. San Francisco financial elder abuse attorneys warn senior citizens that lottery scams are abundant. California elder abuse attorneys warn the public not to fall for lottery scams.
In this case, the senior citizen victim was contacted by unknown individuals claiming to be from the Costa Rican lottery. They told the senior citizen that he had won the lottery and that he could collect a $5 million payout. Then they told the senior citizen victim that there were some formalities and that they would need some personal information to verify his identity. Additionally, they told him that he needed to send money to pay off various taxes and fees associated with the money he had won. The senior citizen victim then went to one of his banks and transferred $88,000 to an offshore account. California financial elder abuse attorneys warn seniors not to transfer money overseas. San Francisco financial elder abuse attorneys say that sending money to offshore accounts is a very risky proposition.
Next, the senior citizen victim went to his Wells Fargo Bank and attempted to set up another transfer of $50,000 to an offshore account. This time the senior citizen got lucky. The Wells Fargo financial professional knew immediately that something was wrong and refused to go forward with the transfer. Since the senior citizen client was convinced that he was one transfer away from getting $5 million, there was an unpleasant exchange between the financial professional and the senior citizen. At that point, the financial advisor contacted the family of the senior and they helped convince him that it was a scam. The financial advisor helped prevent further financial elder abuse by refusing to transfer the money. San Francisco financial elder abuse attorneys say that financial professionals can play a role in the battle against financial elder abuse.
Evans Law Firm, Inc. handles elder abuse, financial elder abuse, physical elder abuse, annuity fraud, consumer fraud class actions, insurance and banking fraud cases. If you think that you have witnessed or are the victim of elder abuse, or financial fraud then contact Evans Law Firm, Inc. at 415-441-8669 for a free and confidential consultation, or email us at info@evanslaw.com
