Timeshare Scams Target the Elderly

For too many elderly timeshare owners, their dream vacation getaways have turned into nightmares. As bad economic times force them to sell their timeshares, con-artists hawk promises to line up buyers when all they intend to do is take the owner's money – lots of it. Timeshare scammers also connive to trap the elderly in travel-prize schemes that turn into money holes.

Fortunately, the authorities are onto them. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced 191 law enforcement actions to crack down on timeshare-resale and travel-prize scams, including three FTC cases, 83 civil actions in 28 states, and 25 law enforcement actions in ten other countries. 
 
All told, these swindlers bilked their victims out of tens of millions of dollars and 184 people face criminal charges so far. The FTC's announcement comes less than a year after timeshare-resale and travel-prize scams made the Consumer Federation of America's top-ten list of consumer complaints.

"Con artists take advantage of timeshare owners who have been in tough financial straits and are desperate to sell their timeshares," according to the agency. "They persuade owners to pay fat up-front fees by saying they have someone ready to buy the property, but that’s a lie."

Even worse, after a resale scammer has disappeared with thousands of dollars with no buyer in sight, a second con artist calls claiming to represent a "resale recovery services" firm, according to Forbes. This individual makes a false promise to recover the funds lost from the first fraudulent transaction for another hefty fee. After paying the fee, the victim never hears from them again.

The pressure may be intense for a timeshare holder, who can be on the hook for on-going maintenance fees (sometimes thousands of dollars per year) when the management companies fail to honor their contracts.

Typical travel-prize scams lure victims to high-pressure sales presentations with promises of free or discounted travel. For example, Forbes reports that Festiva promised large-screen TVs or cruises to seniors who attended Festiva sales presentations.  The office of the Louisiana Attorney General, which handled scores of complaints against the company, reported that "Once there, [victims] were forced to listen to a six-hour sales pitch. Some never received their ‘prizes,’ others complained that the free cruises ended up costing hundreds of dollars in fees."

To avoid getting scammed:

• never pay for a promise and be suspicious of up-front fees (don't pay until your unit is sold, advises the FTC)
• always get everything in writing first
• have any documentation reviewed by a trusted financial advisor, realtor, or attorney before signing – if a sales rep pressures you to sign or pay something immediately, don't
• pay close attention to maintenance responsibility and rules for selling a unit
• before agreeing to anything, check for complaints against timeshare resellers by going online, or contacting the state Attorney General and local consumer protection agency

Google Invests $7 Mill to Stop Child Porn Access

Jacquelline Fuller, the director of Google Giving, recently announced that the company's investing $5 million to support efforts by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and international organizations to rid the web of child exploitation. Google's also ponying up $2 million to encourage more effective tool development to combat Internet child sexual abuse.

To underscore the urgency of its effort, Google reports that the NCMEC’s CyberTipline reviewed 17.3 million suspected child sexual abuse images in 2011 – quadruple the amount seen in 2007 by its Exploited Children's Division.

Fuller says the search engine has used hashing technology to tag offending child sexual images with unique computer-recognized ID's since 2008.  What's new, the announcement declared, is that Google's beginning to "incorporate encrypted 'fingerprints' of child sexual abuse images into a cross-industry database [that other tech] companies, law enforcement and charities [will share] to better collaborate on detecting and removing these images, and to take action against the criminals."
 
However, some critics say these measures do not go far enough, since they narrowly focus on the searchable web. It's said that this web-based focus may neglect the shadow Internet and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, which allow child predators to directly share pornographic images with one another without going through a central server or search engine. As an alternative, NetClean CEO Christian Berg claims to provide technology that can scan servers, laptops and desktops for known child abuse images, rather than URL-based tools that Google is using: "We’re not talking about URLs, but actual files, which means we can find things on USB sticks too," says Berg. He adds that the next step is "to do an investigation and notify the police."

Google's multi-million dollar cooperative investment, when added to existing and emerging technology, appears to be a strong step in the right direction to put criminal child sexual abuse images in the hands of law enforcement and out of the public domain. Philly.com says "Law enforcement agencies are already using PhotoDNA to track and identify offending images. ... It’s possible law enforcement agencies could now use both the 'fingerprints' and 'DNA' of images and videos as a means of tackling tens of millions of images."

What can you do? Start a conversation with your children (or keep one going) so they feel comfortable discussing online problems they encounter, and cyber risks, including:

• consequences of revealing personal information (name, age, address, telephone, pictures)
• "private chats" with a stranger
• meeting alone with anyone they met online 
• predators seeking child victims and lying about their age, sex, and identity
• responding to suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or harassing messages – instead, report these messages to CyberTipline or the police

Tweens and teens also need to know that sexting (sending a nude or semi-nude image in a text to someone) is a form of child pornography, even if the minor created the image. Besides ruining a child's reputation among their peers when these images are shared, they can end up in the hands of child predators or sextortionists.

If your teenager needs to talk to someone but may feel more comfortable talking to another teen, they can call Teen Line for confidential help and support at 800-852-8336 every evening 6 to 10 p.m. Or they can text "TEEN" to 839863.

Finding a Caring Caregiver

If an elderly loved one needs at-home care, how do you select a professional caregiver? With careful screening of the person or agency before making your choice.

Tragically, some caregivers physically or verbally abuse their patients — or simply neglect them. And financial exploitation, which leaves no visible marks, can be just as devastating.

Unfortunately, one does not need to look far for examples:

• A Georgia homecare nurse caught on an ATM camera using her elderly patient's debit card, was indicted on charges of elder abuse and financial transaction card fraud for swiping more than $7,500 from the 86-year-old victim, $2 to $300 at a time.
• In Illinois, a hospital nursing assistant befriended her 89-year-old dementia patient, and upon his discharge became his round-the-clock caregiver. Prosecutors say she obtained a power-of-attorney, allowing her to steal over $350,000 from his estate which she used to buy a new Mercedes, remodel her home, and enrich herself and her family. The caregiver was held on $350,000 bail and faces up to 15 years in prison on charges of felony financial exploitation of a senior.

Lack of caregiver screening, training, and experience accounts for many cases of elder abuse. As the Huffington Post reports, the Journal of American Geriatrics Society published a study finding that, nationwide, many caregivers are dangerously unqualified because agencies fail to conduct background checks, drug testing, or to require experience or training of new hires. Researchers conducting the study surveyed 180 agencies, but found that only 55 percent conducted federal background checks, and one-third administered drug tests.

The article includes these tips for choosing a caregiver:

• Use a checklist to review the candidate or agency (click here and here for checklists).
• Set clear expectations before interviewing candidates, and create a daily activity timeline.
• Involve the senior in the interview.
• Assess the caregiver's degree of specialty and training.
• Check references and conduct an independent background check.

Protect Our Kids Act of 2012

According to the polls, more Americans were outraged after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut (75%), than after the September 11th terrorist attacks (65%).   

The same week that he announced proposals to reduce gun violence in response to the Newtown tragedy, President Obama launched a less-publicized movement to protect children when he signed the Protect Our Kids Act of 2012 which authorizes a Commission to study deaths caused by child abuse and neglect.  "The key to child abuse prevention in general  ... is awareness and then it's education.  And, people need to be aware that this is a problem," says Christal Wilcox Frost of Traverse Bay Area Child Advocacy.  

Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2008 and 2009 found that eight children and teens (ages 0-19) die every day from gun injuries. 

Available statistics tell us that five children die from abuse or neglect every day in the US, the worst record of any industrialized nation.   However, Teri Covington, director of the National Center for Child Death Review says, “It’s been well-documented that those numbers are underreported, perhaps as high as 50 percent. Child abuse cases often don’t show up on death certificates because a lot show up as injuries or accidents.” 

The goal of the Protect Our Kids Act is to make more people aware that child abuse and neglect is a preventable and under-reported epidemic. Let's hope that the Commission's findings inspire the same outrage and call to action as the Newtown tragedy.