Who do I go to when I find out that my elderly Mom was swindled by organized scammers?

Oh My God....theyve wiped my mom's checking account...these dark organized scammers....they made her write a check for $2000 last month...when she didn't even have that to spend on herself....she gave it to them...the cash..after writing a check to herself.....she doesn't tell me a damm thing ...nothing.....since the account also has my name on it,I was able to access her account..after her neighbors told me that she came to them wanting to borrow money like $1000..and used an excuse that it was for a woman who lent her a thousand dollars for years ago and she needs it now...its a lie....now she has nothing...but maybe $100.....all she worked for....gone.Im so overwhelmed,ill tell you where it is...its in the state of Texas...Im far from her...working somewhere else.Ive already had an attorney change the deeds to one property she has to my name ...my mom already signed that document and there attorney has recorded it with the state of Texas......but the other property is in danger....maybe those organized scammers will force her to sell those properties and then demand the cash from that sale to them.I can again freeze her count...but there nothing else in there...please....please see what else I can do....Im contacting a news channel station there..to see if they can help me.Like you said,maybe I should and I will contact the US district attorney about this and not the local DA...these are big people organized scammers..I will greatly appreciate it...sorry for the long statement...Im her only son......

If you re-read this thread, most of the advice addresses getting control of your mom's assets, checkbook,etc., so that she would not be able to give anyone more money. Do that now.

Have the neighbor who took her to the ER call the police to come out to the house to talk to mom. The money is gone. You can only keep them from getting more

Ive been told by an attorney...that since my mom won't tell me who has forced her to take the little cash she had in the bank,to cut off the financial help I give her every month.Ive given her several thousand dollars for her to have and take care of her expenses,and she took $2000 from her already low checking acct. balance and gave it to I believe those organized scammers.She won't tell me why she took that out in cash,but since the account also has my name,I have every right to demand to know where did my money go,and if not,Im cutting all financial help to her.Im just fearing that,since her other properties are not in my name yet,after cutting her off financially,the scammers might force her to sign over her remaining condo she still owns,to them.Any suggestions on this??

One person here checkbooks. I would like to expound on an idea to make banking just a little bit easier, because if you happen to be caring for someone else you can actually eliminate any extras. What I did for myself was switch completely over to only using my ATM card as a form of payment. Around here, many places no longer accept checks as I've been noticing. In fact, for the most part I haven't used very many checks in several years, which has actually made my banking so much easier. You can do the same thing in your own situation, because most bank accounts now come with a little ATM card. You can use that card as a form of payment as long as the money is in your checking account. You can also do this for your mom as well. If you don't have any checkbooks to worry about losing, and the little ATM card can stay in your wallet. Your ATM card actually replaces checks because you can also use them at the checkout for either debit or credit. The most secure a form of payment off of your debit card is to run it as credit. Debit cards are prepaid because it's directly attached to your checking account. If you can eliminate the use of checks when you take over your mom's account, you will find how much easier it is, and you can actually use the checks only for emergencies. Therefore, you can still keep them handy just in case you ever run into a situation where a check is absolutely necessary. Other than that, you can consider switching to a debit card as your only form of payment. What makes it so advantageous is that there's no cash on hand to worry about losing. Ever since I made the switch I never looked back. After seeing how much easier things really are encourages me to share that with others as a safer and more secure way of bank and I'm making transactions. Another thing to consider is that there are no checkbook registries to worry about trying to balance. What you can do when helping your mom or anyone else is to just save all receipts and keep your own record of where all the money went. This can be done using just a simple school note pad. You can also observe your bank statements and even go paperless so there are no bank statements to get lost. These are some suggestions that I'm sharing to help you along to hopefully make life easier for you and your mom. I may not be able to fix your situation, but I can sure offer some really good tips to help guide you because you're going through this hard and trying time. I really do wish you the best, and I do go hope that you find these tips helpful, because where banking is involved, this is the absolute best that I have to help you in your day to day transactions, especially where eldercare is involved. What makes this is because there's again, no checkbooks to lose, no checks to write, and no cash to lose because it's all kept in the bank.

One final tab that I can offer is to try not to borrow from these payday loan places because they will rob you blind. What I mean by that is they will charge you unfair fees. Around here they are well-known for taking advantage of people who really can't afford it and if you were your mom ever start borrowing from these places, it's very hard and sometimes near impossible to get away from them from what I noticed. When you get your mom's banking situation straightened out, you're definitely going to want to take every possible precaution necessary to prevent what happened before from ever happening again. You definitely don't want anyone taking advantage of your mom ever again, so definitely take steps to protect her when you decide to take on the task should you come to that decision of being a full-time caregiver. If you find either a full-time caregiver is not for you, you may at very least want to become her financial POA. Whatever position you choose, make sure it's durable. What I would do is to talk to your mom about using a trust and see if she feels comfortable with it. It's at least worth the discussion, but remember there are risks involved. That's because it's up to the trustee to make the right decisions and do the right thing. There's actually no guarantee that the trustee can actually be trusted when tempted with money. Another thing you can do is to set up a special account that's safe and secure, you must start a CD or annuity for your mom. Now is the time to discuss options with your mom to see what she feels comfortable doing. When you see what she wants to do, you can go from there and make appropriate decisions on her behalf. You really want to do what's best for her, especially if she happens to not be competent enough to handle her own affairs anymore. If she happens to be declared incompetent, it's very important to make good and sure that whoever is to take over all of her affairs including financial is very trustworthy and won't take advantage of her.

OK, what you can do now about the remaining assets is to see about switching them into your name but with the understanding and a written agreement that they still belong to her.

As for cutting off financial help, it sounds like another smart move along with freezing her bank accounts if the bank will allow it. If not, here's what else you can do if you happen to have an ATM card. What you can do is to go to the ATM and withdraw the money and move it to a separate account that she doesn't know about. You can actually move the money to a new account at a new bank. Yes, switch banks if needed. If your mom happens to get federal benefits, what you can do is to call the Social Security office and have her check direct deposited into the new account (that she doesn't know about). That way, she can't be scammed out of any more money, because as it's becoming more and more known, scammers target the elderly. One thing that you can do is to see just how long you can get away with hanging around your mom's house to see what really goes on. If she happens to have a landline, if she happens to get a call and she has a second handset in another room, you can secretly sneak into the other room and pick up that handset to see who's calling. All you have to do is silently pick up that phone and just listen in if you feel there's a need to do so. Another thing you can do is to see if the cops will put a bug on her line and record all of the calls as well as try and track them. If the cops can make a bust, you have a better chance of getting all that money back from the scammers.

I agree with the attorney. Stop giving her money.

AND OK IM CUTTING HER OFF FINANCIALLY,BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PROPERTY SHE STILL OWNS...THE SCAMMERS MIGHT FORCE HER TO GIVE THE DEED TO THEM.....IM GONNA TRY TO SEE IF THE ATTORNEY WILL CONVINCE MY MOM TO SIGN ANOTHER DEED TRANSFER AGAIN...COVERING THAT PROPERTY...wow...this is getting ....really bad....any suggestions???

Set the scammers up. Put a recorder on your Mom's phone and cameras in her home. Let the cops and DA know you are doing this, make sure your plan is legal. I am sure they can give you suggestions.

If you cannot get her to sign a deed transfer, see if you can actually find the deeds yourself. If you find them, secretly slip themout of the house wherever she kept them. You could then hold onto those deeds and put them into a bank safety deposit box. See if you can get other copies of the deeds from the lawyer so that you can leave a copy with the lawyer and even yourself as well as in the safety deposit box. If you keep a copy at home, I'll definitely go for a fireproof safe. This is about the only way I can think of that will stop the scammers from getting their hands on the deeds. Again, all you're doing is holding onto them for her if you cannot get her to sign anything. Sometimes our elders just won't comply as a way of trying to protect themselves against whatever or whoever it is they're protecting themselves from. I know that when I was trying to get my foster dad some help on more than one occasion, I just couldn't get him to sign anything whatsoever. Because of that my hands were tied because it limited my ability to help him more effectively. Sometimes we just don't know what's going on in our loved ones heads, but it can sure be aggravating.

Another thing I was thinking is that if you do decide to help your mom down the road, just don't give her any money. If you do decide on any charitable giving to her, I strongly advise just using the money you would've given her on something she needs. If you actually spend the money on something she needs then you know your money is going where it should go because you're spending the money on her and her needs. Don't give up on her but just redirect the finances and how they are managed. You can still help her without giving her any money as long as you yourself actually use that money and go buy her what she needs. That way, you know for a fact but not a dime is going to the scammers or anywhere else it should not go.

Your situation just raise a question:

Are you sure that whoever she's dealing with is not someone that you all know and she may actually be trying to save your feelings by protecting them? Sometimes when you know someone who turns out to be crooked despite having earned your respect, it can be hard when you or someone close to you has been victimized by someone you know and trust. This is just a thought because just from what you described makes me wonder if the scammers may actually be someone you/she knows or she wouldn't be trying so hard to protect them. Apparently she must know them pretty well and she may actually be scared or embarrassed to admit that they victimized her. Perhaps she may have actually told you about them and has become too scared to admit that the very people she knew and trusted victimized her. Perhaps she knows she's been victimized but is just too scared or embarrassed to admit it. Try to handle this situation in a kind and gentle manner and try not to judge her. Use this information to try and get her to speak up. Try to use some very leading questions or just talk generally by using some very leading comments in a very nonjudgmental manner. While you're at it, see if you can snoop around and find out what's in her cell phone or address book as well as her computer. Surely she must have one of those items in order to be able to contact these people. Try to check her mail and see if you can get any clues that way.

thank you very much for your suggestions.Im my mom's dpoa so I will contact her cellphone company.email them my dpoa statement to them so they'll know its legit,and request that i have records of the incoming and outgoing calls she received .tahts where the secret lies...in those cellphone calls.Can anyone suggest anything else??Will the cellphone company let me have access since Im my moms dpoa.A nd being her dpoa,can I request videos of when she was at the bank making those cash withdrawls...to see who she was with and maybe get a license plate of the vehicle she was in?Any suggestions?

Another thing I think would be a good idea is to go to your local APS for starters. When you find out exactly where in Texas the scammers are, it would be a good idea to also contact the APS in that specific area and give them all of the information you possibly can. Another wise move is to get an eldercare lawyer involved in this same project of getting your mom's money back. As Medicaid was mentioned here, you may want to consider Medicaid and any lower back they perform, because as you know, she may need Medicaid. You will definitely need to do all you can to cough up all of those records of where all of her money went. Getting Medicaid may or may not be easy for some people, which is where an eldercare lawyer would definitely be handy. If you can get one who does not require any upfront money, that would definitely be the way to go. You can also contact your local state bar association for help

One thing I'm really wondering is how all these scammers got your mom's banking information unless she gave it to them. This is why it would be a very good idea to move her money to a new account and close the current one. If you can't get her to sign anything, another thing you can do just told her money to a new account and just let this particular one sit empty and inactive until it closes. If she gets direct deposit, definitely move that direct deposit as long as you know where her money is coming from such as Social Security. Definitely call the Social Security office in that case and tell them what happened. Request that her money be moved to the new account after you've opened it. You will definitely need to give them the account and routing numbers as well as the bank name and any other information about that bank. Another thing you can consider is to see if Social Security has a special prepaid card to load your mom's check on each month. I almost considered one when I heard about a friend who had one. It's not near as convenient for bill pay though, but it's definitely secure. You use it like you would any other card, but the only difference is that you have to call around and pay bills off of that card unless you go to the ATM and get money off of it. I'm not sure whether or not Social Security still has those cards, but they did in my state. Automatic online bill pay is definitely the way to go because it's far more convenient as well as free of charge. If you want to set up a new account for your mom, definitely have the management or headquarters set it up in such a way that it cannot be overdrawn. That way, it will save on unnecessary fees later.

Cell phone company:

I'm not sure how compliant the cell phone company will be, but be prepared for the possibility that they may very well want to speak to her personally. Most places are supposed to protect each and every one of their customers, so don't be surprised if you must face security policies. If you run into any trouble, this is where an eldercare lawyer would definitely be handy, because the lawyer can get things done that you may not be able to.

Bank video:

What you can do is go to that bank and ask them how far back the video surveillance goes, and explain why. See if you can get a copy of that video, but I'm not sure that they will release it to you. If you mention any lawyer is now involved, they'll be more likely to cooperate and help you. The first step toward ending the war on your mom's money by the scammers is to alert eldercare lawyer and tell them where the bank is. The lawyer they have to use the court system and subpoena video records. I think you really should get a lawyer because the lawyer again will be able to do things that you simply can't. If the bank won't turn over a copy of the video to you, they all have to turn it over to a lawyer even if by court order. I think in this situation you should move very fast because you don't know how long the scammers will even sit still.

And thank you very much with your awesome suggestions.My mom sent me a voicemail to my phone last nite saying "thank you and I will never bother you again"...like she was saying goodbye.That prompted me to call the police and have them see if she's inside her house.My boss understood when I explained him that I needed to fly to Texas immediately.So Im here,and will follow your suggestions,unless there are anymore.

Now you're in Texas, have you ever thought of getting a Texas lawyer? You'll probably want someone who doesn't require any money upfront if you happen to be strapped financially. It would be a very good idea to have a lawyer down there working alongside you, don't go it alone. It would also be a very good idea to alert the Texas law-enforcement once you locate the scammers. Again, please don't go it alone if you expect victory. If you can find any of the receipts to wear your mom's money went, definitely get a hold of those receipts, along with any other receipts you can find. This also includes bank statements as long as you happen to be on the account. The further back you can go the better.

One thing you want to find out is when did the problems start, and when did you discover the account was empty?

One thing you may want to share is whether or not your mom actually lives in the area here visiting now. If so, you want to take a gentle approach when approaching her and definitely take back up. You should definitely involve thecops and APS and that particular area and see if that area Council on aging or other agent agency can step into at least guide you.

Definitely alert the Social Security office for that state if your mom is living there.

If this is where the scammers are, find out what city including the ZIP Code for that city the scammers are in. Some big cities in Texas such as Houston have multiple ZIP Codes, so be aware of that.

Definitely take someone with you since you may not know the area if it's unfamiliar to you. Take someone with you who knows the area so that you can avoid bad neighborhoods as much as possible. In case you don't know, bad neighborhoods can be identified as ghettos, and they are well known for very dangerous crime throughout those specific areas. When you go anywhere, try to go by car and keep your Windows up and your doors locked just in case. When you come to a stop light in an unfamiliar area, leave enough space between you and the car in front of you in case your car jacked.

Do not surrender your car, but use that space to pull away from the carjacker while at the same time keeping your cell phone handy to dial 911. These are just some ways to protect yourself in an unfamiliar area just in case your new down there.

Lastly, when it's time to confront the scammers, see if you can elect unmarked cars and plainclothes officers to do that part of the work for you. Again, you could very well be stepping into danger, so definitely don't go it alone as a very firm but gentle warning. I think I've given just about all of the tips that I possibly can for this one, so please take all of these tips back everyone has given you, and go do what you need to do now because it's now up to you.

I was thinking that in case I didn't mention this, you may want to freeze that bank account where the money came out after removing what little money is left into a new account. Don't let your mom know about this new account or where it is. Get the statement strictly in your name alone and have them come to your house, And kindly explain to your bank or what has happened and why you need to take protective action to protect your mom. They will understand especially if you mentioned that she may actually be in physical danger and that she may have been physically harmed. They will understand, trust me on this, because they'll actually go out of their way to help you in this case as long as you completely explain everything that's been going on.

If you can go paperless on your bank statements by first signing up for online banking, do so. You can then speak to a banker and request to go paperless. I've gone paperless and I get my statements online and an alert sent to my email.

Bear in mind too that as you invesitgate in person, you could find out that your mom is imagining the threats and the people may be taking advantage of her but what she is really hiding is the fact that she sort of knows she is not supposed to be giving away money. I know you indicated she is working at a beauty salon and seems OK mentally, but bear in mind it is possible this not the case. I don't think many of us on here realized you had not been bserving directly and in person...
It may be a hard road ahead either way, but you have our prayers and well-wishes whatever you find out.

I'm running out of resources for handling my elderly mom's problems concerning her being scammed severely by these syndicated scammers. As I am also my mom's dpoa,I froze her bank account(my name is on it too),I'm changing the little property she has to my name,got her cell phone to see what numbers are on it,the DA won't help because they say they need real evidence,have her neighbors asking her also as to where all this money (she wrote checks to herself in huge amounts now she has nothing in it) went...no no avail..she will not tell me anything....and not to her neighbors either.I contacted the senior association and explained to them what happened and what I can do. I have no cooperation from my mom as to who is scamming her.I've even emailed the US Dept Of Justice concerning this.I'm told that the agency DADS can make her get an evaluation by a doctor(she won't go to a doctor with me).Ive taken just about all of your suggestions......what else can i do??I've taken time off from work just to be there for her when she sent me a voicemail which sounded like she was saying goodbye,and flew there that same nite.I need your suggestion...please.....

What all have you found being there in person? Any chance there are wads of cash in the sock drawer? Can you stay long enough and lay low enough until it happens again while you are there?

What percentage of her money would you estimate is gone? 50%? 90% All of it? Forget about the money. You cannot get her money back. You are there now with your mom. Enjoy the time.

What I'm thinking is that maybe you can take any and all bank records and any other evidence with you and speak to the APS, known as the adult protective services. It also sounds like you're definitely going to need an eldercare lawyer. If I were in your situation, I would definitely go for straight out guardianship if I were you. You would have far more authority than you do now because you could take over all of your mom's affairs, including financial. You would even be able to use that guardianship to move her from her location to a new place. If I were you, I would also get her a new cell phone and only put certain contact numbers from trusted parties into that new phone. If possible, try to get an identical phone to her current one. It would basically be the same phone or very close to it, except it would just have a different number. You can also get her a TracFone and just add those air time cards as needed. Track phones are usually pretty cheap and reasonable. What you can do is get a couple of them that are identical. Randomly swap out her phone for the other identical one. That way, if your mom happens to give her number to someone, you'll know because perhaps one day you'll get the call and actually answer that phone. What I would do is somehow get a hold of her phone that she currently has all these numbers and I just swap it out for an identical one. If she has any questions, just tell her you don't know what became of all of the phone numbers. She just doesn't need to know that because you would have her current phone after secretly swapping her a new one just like her current one. I think you'll know what to do if you get one of those calls.

One final thought I was thinking is that maybe if you get guardianship, you really should relocate your mom. Perhaps you can either take her in with you or put her into a home and turn her check over to the nursing home. If you take this route, definitely tell the nursing home what happened

"Enjoy the time with her"......how can you say this ....how can you...when there's something real dangerous going on here....her account was severely severed...she will not cooperate with me.......I even told her that "why are you giving(wrote a check to herself and cleaned her account) this money to these organized scammers'..and all she says is that :she doesn't want to talk about it"..and "its her money"......when Im the one who gave her that extra amount she had which was cashed away.I'm deal;ing with a very dangerous situation and it concerns my elderly mom.You people have heard of cases like these,can you please give me suggestions as to how I can approach this..since my mom will not say anything to me..because of danger.....thank you.

You must step in, as others have repeatedly suggested, and completely TAKE OVER, and if that means a petition for Guardianship, then Do It! I do realize that you have a job, and a life elsewhere, but if you are ever going to get to the bottom of this, then an extended leave of absence from your job, is the answer! A month, maybe two, and somewhere along the line, you will intercept, a call, or meeti g, where she is being contacted by these people, as it sounds as if it is occurring quite regularly! Do it now, and figure it out, or else you are going to drive yourself crazy, only being there intermittently, as clearly they have figured that out! Don't leave her alone to be at risk of destitution, or personal injury! It certainly sounds as if you do really care, so now step in and take over, for her own good! That is what I would do!

Again, go for guardianship. That will give you power over all of her affairs, including financial.

If you can get POA, freeze her bank account.

If you can get a hold of her checkbooks, take them into your care and go tell the bank what's going on so that they can freeze her account or even open up a new one on her behalf. Do not let her have any more checks. The better option would be to have only a prepaid debit card that's attached to each new bank account. That card can also be used to pay for transactions at the checkout. Do not let her have that card!

Relocate your mom for her own safety. This will stop whatever dangerous activity is going on

I reread this entire thread. Sorry to be so blunt, veryconcerned, but you've been getting good answers and suggestions since October. If you cannot demonstrate to the authorities that your mother is being scammed then there's nothing more you can do. I think the suggestion to physically move your mother away from these scammers who seem to still have access to her is the best one. And moving her would require taking a leave of absence from your job. I would not suggest taking a leave to play detective.

NY DIL, thanks for writing what I also thought. People have responded over and over and over with suggestions; OP keeps posting the same request for suggestions. Many issues have been addressed and suggestions made; I recall some that weren't addressed in the repeated pleas, occurring periodically, to indicate what avenues VC has specifically pursued and what the results were.

There are still unanswered questions, innuendoes, and some time ago I began to wonder about the veracity of the allegations being made. If I recall this is also the poster who claims that one of the perpetrators is a paralegal, knows the law and how to skirt around it, which I found objectionable and not an excuse or explanation at all.

For someone without answers or paths to follow, she seems to have interesting information on the alleged perpetrator.

And, putting the whole situation in perspective, what I see has been done so far is to take over some of her mother's assets. I'll leave it to speculation as to what else might be at play in this situation, but I agree that someone who's been asking the same questions and expressing the same frustration needs to take a second look at (a) the way she's approaching the situation, and (b) whether or not she's making any progress at all and needs to seek professional (legal) assistance.

There are also still some issues raised by previous posters which haven't been addressed.

NyD, and GA, I totally agree!

I think this is a troll.

There are many inconsistences, failure to act, failure to research, repetitious pleas, and other clues to suggest that this hasn't actually happened.

One of the things I found most notable was that there are "dead end responses" for things we suggest, putting an end to those possibilities.

Onward and forward to other posts.