Stalking Predators who Prey on Seniors.

Feb 26, 2007 04:30 AM Nancy J. White Life Writer

The lowlifes who scam your grandma, or abuse your elderly neighbour's trust, aren't always strangers, authorities say

At a seminar on elder abuse and fraud last week....seniors at Scarborough Village Recreation Centre talked about the gamut of cons they've heard, from silver-tongued salesmen to phishing schemes (email attempts to get personal financial information) and ways to protect themselves. The raffle prize was, appropriately, a shredder.

"You just can't trust people," says one woman. "It's a shame, not like it used to be," adds her friend. Sadly, the financial abusers aren't always strangers.

"It's often someone known to the senior. It's broken trust," says Sharon Galway, owner of Home Instead Senior Care in North York, which provides non-medical home care.

And, as our population ages, elder abuse is expected to increase.

"An older adult can lose everything and become homeless," says Fleischmann. "When a stranger does it, the victim feels like a fool. But when it's someone close and personal, the feeling is horrid."