That Target Older Adults Older adults are often prime targets for many dishonest firms which deliberately prey on the goodness, loneliness, greed, or gullibility of people who have reached their golden years. Many of these scams are played out over the telephone, door to door or through various advertisements. Many ethical businesses use telemarketing to reach their customers. Unfortunately, the dishonest firms also use the telephone as the vehicle to intentionally commit fraud. If you're told the deal won't exist tomorrow, beware.
Legitimate businesses give people time to make up their minds.
A red flag should go up if the caller refuses to mail you information. Many telephone fraud firms will offer to send a courier to pick up your payment so you don't have time to change your mind. Never give out your credit card number, unless you made the call or have done business with the firm before. If you have to pay anything, or provide your credit card number in order to get a prize or gift, it isn't free. Credit Card Schemes These are schemes that are designed specifically to obtain your Visa or Mastercard number.