Financial Exploitation of Older Adults with Joyce Petrowski

24-01-2024 • 37 mins

Our golden generation, rich with wisdom and experience, unfortunately often finds itself in the crosshairs of deceitful schemes. In today’s episode, we shine a spotlight on the tactics employed by scammers, share real-life anecdotes, and provide practical advice to help safeguard our beloved seniors.

Today’s guest is Joyce Petrowski. Joyce started her professional career in the public accounting sector and is an accountant and tax preparer. As an avid volunteer and philanthropist, she shares her focus on the non-profit sector and co-founded a non-profit in 2014. Since leaving that non-profit in 2021, she saw a need to educate people, especially the older adult population about the financial scams and how to protect themselves and their hard earned assets. In August 2021, Joyce founded R.O.S.E. (Resources/Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly), with the mission to prevent financial exploitation and frauding older adults through advocacy and education.

Show Notes:

[1:16] - Joyce shares her background and the mission of her non-profit, R.O.S.E.
[3:42] - R.O.S.E. provides education and resources for older adults so they are aware of how these scams are happening.
[5:54] - When speaking and meeting with people, Joyce sees the hesitation in people coming forward with past experiences with scams.
[8:01] - It has been difficult for the general population, specifically the older generation, to keep up with the evolution of scams and red flags.
[9:38] - The first sign that should raise some suspicion is unexpected contact.
[12:07] - There is an option in your phone that can silence calls from unknown numbers so there is no accidentally answering scam calls.
[15:03] - If you’re not sure, talk to somebody else that you know and trust. Them asking questions might help you determine if it is a scam.
[18:51] - Many older adults feel uncomfortable sharing their experiences with their children to avoid losing their independence.
[21:18] - Scammers don’t discriminate. They don’t care about age, gender, or even how much money you have.
[23:34] - It can be very confusing and overwhelming when considering the ways to deal with this problem.
[26:00] - Joyce shares some of the things that scammers are looking for and why it can be easy for them to get a victim into an emotional state.
[29:44] - Scams are very sophisticated now compared to just ten years ago.
[31:45] - Everybody needs to be aware and have conversations about this with the older adults in their lives.
[33:17] - Joyce has recently started a podcast called Let’s Talk About Scams.