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My mother has Alzheimer's and lives at home on her own. I'm with her during the day, but leave at night.
She has been receiving recorded calls telling her that a medical alert system has already been paid for and they just need information from her to make the delivery.
I've been there a couple of times when she's received the calls and hung the phone up before anything happened. We've talked about never giving information over the phone, but I'm afraid she won't remember.
Is there anything I can do to protect her? Is there some way to block these calls?

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the do not call list does not work at all........................ tried it over and over again. still get calls
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1. Make sure your mom has no access to credit cards or bank account #'s

Then let them send what ever they want to , you didn't order it and you don't have to pay. My guess is they will not send it without a bank or credit card # :-)
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I have this same exact call coming into my home, it is a live caller not a recording. I got the call and told him quite bluntly that he was full of____, and hung up. Now I wish I had found out the name of his company and asked for their phone number to at least be able to alert the police, national do not call registry and news media. Elderly people and their care givers need to be alerted to this scam. I have also had people calling from India stating they are calling from Medicare, wanting us to purchase supplies for diabetes, even though I have told them repeatedly, no one is diabetic, and screamed at them that I knew they were NOT CALLING FROM MEDICARE!!!!!!

This is what was happening when I stepped in and took over as POA for Mom. I lived with her and she got solicitor calls all day long every single day. I began answering the phone and telling people she no longer accepted any phone calls and told them to immediately remover her from their list. I put her on the National Do Not Call Registry numerous times to no avail, most calls now come from outside the US so they cannot be stopped or if you spent time talking to them or asked for info from anyone they can continue to contact you no matter what.

When I have to leave the house and no one else is home except Mom I use call forwarding and have the calls sent to my phone, so Mom can make outgoing phone calls but does not receive incoming calls. I do not like this situation either as I want the ability to be able to speak to her/call her if I need to tell her I am going to be gone a bit longer. I do not think my Mom would be able to use a cell phone even a Jitterbug as her memory is only about 15 minutes long. Since I have cable I can only block a small number of phone numbers and you have to know their number to block it which is not always possible. I use to have a device that you plugged your phone into and solicitors calls would be blocked but it quit working and I do not think they are even made any longer.

I took away the checkbook etc to stop the bleed of money as well as taking any credit cards etc. Honestly, if your Mom is this bad though I think you need to consider moving her home with you or providing a night time care giver. This is why I live with my Mom, however I am no longer married, which may not be your case.
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If phone has voicemail function:
- Set to minimal number of rings (usually 2) before voicemail activates
- Only answer when caller is family/friends as they identify themselves
- Inform friends and family of this and for them to identify themselves as will answer if you are home
- Coach your mom NOT to answer unless they hear that it is family or friends
- If your mom is not really able to discern this then try coaching her NOT to answer period (you can return legitimate calls later if you are not there)
- Telemarketers usually hang up when they hear voicemail
- Even when telemarketers/scammers leave message, they do not access your mom directly and you have record to report to police if needed

Hope this helps.

Best Wishes,
BeWell
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Add her phone number to the DO NOT CALL LIST. https://www.donotcall.gov/
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I have so many numbers blocked on call blocking for a number of solicitors that call here. However, you cannot block toll free numbers, 800, 888, 866, etc. Will anybody be calling her at night that she really needs to talk to? Does she really need to answer the phone at night? You could turn the bell off. I have restricted calls at night from family, because these calls tend to get my mom in a worrying mindset. She doesn't think that she has heard from siblings for a very long time, or that they are missing, or any number of other things. Since I asked family members to call before 5:30 occasions of unfounded distress have decreased significantly. I have even taken some pictures out because my mom's triggers all seem to be visual.
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Turn off the ringer, get caller ID and only return the calls of those you wish to talk to. Many people do this anyway with the cell phones. I do this but I do check my missed calls often.

Also an unlisted number is a good way to help block with solicitors.
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Better yet, just disconnect her landline and give her the Jitterbug Touch phone.
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I don't know. But, I have similar problems with magazine subscriptions being sent with a past due notice and they seem impossible to cancel! I have no way of knowing if they called and she agreed to it
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The FDIC has a Money Smart for Older Adults program which may provide some helpful advice. It has a section on telephone scams and identity theft. It's available as a downloadable PDF. You might also consider place a list of phone numbers for family, friends, or any support people by the caller ID so she can compare incoming numbers.
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