The tough economic times are making seniors more tempting targets for scam artists. The experts warn our kupuna are most vulnerable because they have been conditioned to be trusting.
They are out there - the con artists waiting to separate you from your money.
You don't want to help them do that.
It may be tempting when someone tells you you can double your money in no time.
"Part of it is because interest rates are so low and there's a lot of people used to living on their interest income but when rates are so low, they're honestly searching for other alternatives,” said CPB Trust Services Officer, Diane Chong.
If you are used to living on a fixed income and that income is decreased because of dropping interest rates, your first inclination is to do something about it.
"They really are preying on seniors, I don't want to say fear and greed, but that's what actually drives the market a lot so peoples' desperation sometimes to get good returns,” she said.
One of the more attractive scams - the one used by Bernie Madoff.
The con artist makes you feel like you're someone special.
"If you're in a certain group, you could be eligible to get into this and they're preying on a lot of people that want sort of an exclusive type of investment where, I'm not offering this to everybody but we selected you,” said Chong.
Whether it's because of their age or culture, seniors here can be especially vulnerable to scammers.
"Because people are very trusting in Hawaii and they don't like to talk about their money but really, that's the thing you should do. You should ask a trusted professional if this makes sense. You should ask your family members if something like this makes sense,” she said.
Chong's best advice to seniors - go slow. "Don't be rushed into investing because it's never such that you have to invest today or it will be gone tomorrow.”
