Avoiding Scams
Scams can come from a variety of places. Whether you are approached via phone, email, in person, regular mail, Internet or some other method it is important to check out an individual or an offer before providing any of your personal information.
Con artists often target older people. Be wary, particularly when someone approaches you, suggesting, for example, that your home needs repairs or that you have won a contest that you don’t remember entering. Don’t be taken in by telemarketers. Be suspicious when you are told that your Medicare “needs to be fixed.” NEVER give your bank account, credit card, Medicare, or Social Security numbers to a person you don’t know. Never pay any amount of money for a “prize” that you have supposedly won without checking out the organization that it’s from. Be especially suspicious of offers to help you—for a fee—recover money lost to other telemarketers; it’s an especially cruel hoax. Remember: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is! Call Legal Aid of East Tennessee for help in checking out a telemarketer proposal.
If you have been approached and asked for any money or personal information (Medicare information, banking account information, Social Security number, etc.) tell the person who asked that you must make a call before providing that information. Call the Senior Citizens Information & Referral Service (SCIRS) at 546-6262. SCIRS works in conjunction with Knox County ElderWatch, and will investigate the offer and help you determine if it is legitimate or a scam. If you are speaking to someone and they tell you, “you must act now,” and they cannot wait for you to call them back, it is most likely a scam.
The Knoxville and Knox County Business Tax offices can tell consumers whether a business is licensed in the city or the county. The business tax offices do not license nonprofit agencies or professionals who are licensed by the state (doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, etc.). But all businesses that are not state licensed, that have a physical location in Knoxville or Knox County, and that do more than $3,000 business annually must be licensed here. If a company is not licensed, be careful about doing business with them and follow the steps in the paragraph above. These offices do not enforce codes, register complaints, or revoke licenses, but they can tell you if a business is licensed locally.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) can tell you if any complaints have been registered against a business and whether the complaints have been resolved. BBB has a 24-hour automated telephone line that allows callers to check on businesses outside of regular business hours. The Better Business Bureau also provides information about charitable organizations. Charities are required to register yearly and submit a financial report.
You can also contact the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs for assistance.
The One Call Club for Seniors is an Office on Aging program that checks out service providers to be sure that they will provide high-quality service to club members at a reasonable price.
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