The Willow Glen Resident Local seniors bring in expert to help battle telemarketing fraud Bob Francis to speak about fighting scams aimed at seniors By Mary Spicuzza Two years ago, Bob Francis began receiving enticing telephone calls promising instant wealth from hot stock options in a new go-cart company. Fortunately, Francis quickly realized that the telemarketer's too-good-to-be true promises of instant cash were exactly that. The call was just another in a $40-billion-a-year scam industry that often targets senior citizens. Now Francis, a long-time member of the American Association of Retired Persons, is working with the group on a public campaign to fight telemarketing crimes against seniors. On Nov. 23, Francis will speak at the Willows Senior Center on Lincoln Avenue about his experience, and give tips for fighting phone fraud. The discussion, hosted by the Willow Glen chapter of the AARP, is free and open to the public. Francis, the AARP Associate State Coordinator for Community Operations, says he knew something was wrong when the callers, who claimed to work for a brokerage firm in New Orleans, repeatedly encouraged him to invest but refused to send information about the company. "They said, 'We can't send information until you're one of our customers, so you'll have to invest first,'" Francis remembers. "They kept asking for a credit card number, then bank account information, then my social security number. Then callers claimed I owed them money. This went on for months." When the company finally sent him information after six months of requests, it was a bundle of brochures about a new go-cart company. The calls continued until Francis insisted they never call again. Absurd as the go-cart callers' fraud tactics may sound, scammers like this work the telephone lines everyday. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that one out of six consumers is cheated by tele-frauds each year. And 80 percent of the phone calls ring out to senior citizens. "I think they prey on older people, hoping we have poor memories," Francis says. "Often their ploy is pretending you already committed to something and owe them money. It's like they assume all elderly can't remember what's going on." Criminals have found telemarketing fraud so lucrative that it's become a national epidemic. Last year, 14,000 frauds prowled the phone lines looking for victims. Of the $40 million lost to telemarketing scams, about 80 percent of the cash came from unsuspecting seniors. Francis, who has done extensive studies of telemarketing scams, will also draw on his experience in community affairs to help seniors protect themselves against crime. The retired San Jose businessman has a long history of fighting for seniors' rights. Francis chairs the Santa Clara County Housing and Community Development Commissions, is a member of the Advisory Council of the Santa Clara County Council on Aging and sits on the Campbell Civic Improvement Commission. He will also present an AARP video, which shows a reformed scam artist giving the inside story on fraud and taped conversations with telemarketing scammers. The Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Campaign is only one of AARP's many programs. The group is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization aimed at helping older Americans continue "lives of independence, dignity and purpose." Bob Francis will speak about telemarketing fraud at 1:30pm on Monday, Nov. 23 at the Willows Senior Center, 2175 Lincoln Ave. For more information on the local activities of the AARP contact 278-5399. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 18, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.