Many fraudulent financial schemes, such as those using telemarketing, the internet, and investment seminars, specifically target older citizens because (a) they often have financial resources, and (b) they often respond in a friendly, polite manner. Not all older victims are isolated or lonely; many are active people who can be lured by great-sounding deals.
The Telemarketing Victim Call Center (TVCC) is an innovative program that represents a partnership with senior RSVP volunteers, law enforcement, AARP, and WISE Senior Services. Each week, volunteers gather to contact known victims of telemarketing fraud to present a message about prevention, to educate victims about the signs of illegal telemarketing fraud, and to gather information for law enforcement.
Modeled on a "boiler room" where criminals gather to prey on their victims through telephone solicitations, the TVCC reverses the criminal process with the following practices.
Using lists of victims' names that have been found in telemarketing fraud investigations, the RSVP volunteers:
- Call potential victims who have been identified as targets of boiler room operations, following a one-page script that is designed to engage and educate victims. See examples of scripts in Off the Hook (Appendix B-1 to B-6).
- Warn potential victims regarding the risks associated with sending money or giving personal or financial information to anyone they do not know personally.
- Advise potential victims about warning signs of fraud, such as being pressured to wire money, or of offers to have a courier pick up a check or money order.
- Offer a fraud prevention kit.
- Provide fraud prevention resources, including the telephone numbers of the National Fraud Information Center and the local telephone number of the nearest FBI office.