ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Banks Aid in Fraud Against Older Consumers
Anyone can be targeted by unscrupulous marketers. However, for a variety of reasons, older people are particularly vulnerable to deceptive pitches that arrive by telephone, mail, and the Internet. Mass market fraud operations are commonplace in this country.
A recent scam operation began with a call from a telemarketer asking a senior citizen if he would like to update his health insurance card. The senior, wanting to update his insurance card, slipped up by divulging his bank account information. Next, money was withdrawn from his bank account for something he says he never authorized. The new health insurance card never arrived. This is an example of a typical mass market scam that targets seniors.
Banks across the country help to facilitate this fraud by failing to safeguard against suspicious merchants, and for originating transactions on behalf of businesses they know make unauthorized withdrawal from customer accounts. The more questionable the merchant, the more fees a bank stands to collect, prosecutors say. Every time victims flag an unauthorized charge and demand money back, banks collect fees to process the return. Banks collect millions of dollars every year from these fees.
The United States attorney in Philadelphia sued the First Bank of Delaware in November, claiming the bank stayed willfully blind to the fact that the merchants were illegally taking money from customers, including a disproportionate number of seniors through fraud, trickery and deceit.
Evans Law Firm, Inc. focuses on financial fraud litigation in California. If you think that you have witnessed or are the victim of financial fraud by an insurance company, bank or individual then, contact Evans Law Firm, Inc. at 415-441-8669 for a free and confidential consultation, /, or email info@evanslaw.com
