AARP Warns Seniors About Misleading Mail Scams

2/09/2009

posted by N. Sioris

Stumble It!

The latest scam alert from AARP was published in AARP Bulletin Today. AARP wants seniors to be aware of deceptive and misleading advertising mailers being sent to older homeowners. The unsolicited mailings are disguised to look like they are government sponsored or from a government agency.

The article goes on to give an example of a Reverse Mortgage mailer that masqueraded as an official government offering. The post card was sent from "National Data Research." (sounds pretty official doesn't it?) The headline read: "New Government Program for Seniors Over 62." It then goes on to say: "It is your Legal Right as a United States Taxpayer to receive all the information available to you."

According to AARP, what was not disclosed in the mailer is that it's real purpose is to collect senior's contact information so it can be sold to reverse mortgage vendors, which often times leads to more unwanted mail and telephone solicitations.

Although the current tough economic times make everyone feel a bit less secure than usual, try not to fall victim to over hyped, pie in the sky offers that after first blush are not at all what they seem to be. If you suspect an offering to be other than what it appears to be, you can always check out a bonafide government entity online.

You can also check The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse website. It offers tips on how to remove yourself from mailing lists. The Federal Trade Commission offers advice on how to recognize phone scams.


Read the complete AARP Scam Alert Article Here.