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There’s a lot of money to be taken from old people. Scammers know this. The figures were already dramatic five years ago: The estimated amount of damage caused by financial exploitation of people over 55 at the time was 400 million francs. Based on a representative survey, Pro Senectute estimates that fraudsters steal approximately 675 million francs from senior citizens every year.
The Organization of the Age speaks of a “worrying trend.” The number of victims decreased compared to the 2018 survey. But at the same time, senior citizens are becoming the focus of criminals more often than in the previous period. In the last five years, almost four out of every five people over the age of 55 have been subjected to fraud attempts (78 percent).
Taser calls rank only 21st in total crime
Pro Senectute suspects that the pandemic may be the cause of the much higher amount of damage: “It has spurred digitalisation, which has created new opportunities for criminal activities.” According to Pro Senectute, according to the survey, there is a discrepancy between public perception and actual crimes committed.
Everyone is talking about grandchild scams, shock calls, fake cops. But in terms of the amount of harm, the focus is on completely different crimes: When people take advantage of an addiction, the elderly are primarily harmed financially. In other words, professionals who abuse their trust relationship and position with the victim, or relatives and close people who gain access to the victim’s account thanks to a power of attorney.
According to the Pro-Senectute survey, the annual damage caused by professionals who abuse their trust amounts to 255 million francs. Thanks to the power of attorney, close people transfer 216 million francs from the bank accounts of senior citizens.
For comparison: According to Swiss Crime Prevention (SKP), fraudsters stole approximately 8 million francs using shock calls in 2023 alone. In this scam, unidentified persons claim that the person urgently called must pay a certain amount due to an emergency situation involving their relatives, for example, for an emergency operation.
In a survey by Pro Senectute, shock calls rank only 21st among the biggest financial losses from fraud. However, Pro Senectute points out that the survey was conducted in the last five years. Shock calls are a new phenomenon.
Fraud from close circle needs to be prevented
The organization highlights the high level of damage caused by breaches of trust, especially by professionals or people close to the elderly: “Current figures on financial abuse show an alarming increase in the estimated amount of damage,” says pro-Senectute director Alain Huber. It therefore demands that prevention must be adapted to real conditions.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
