Every year many thousands of seniors fall victim to fraud. According to the FBI, in 2020 approximately 105,000 seniors were preyed upon by criminals resulting in almost $1 billion in losses. The average dollar loss per victim was an incredible $9,175. This sad state-of-affairs is getting worse with time. In 2019 there were fewer than 70,000 seniors who were victims, and in 2017 there were approximately 60,000.
In addition to falling for fraudulent schemes, seniors with dementia may purchase real products or services from otherwise legitimate telemarketers. People suffering from cognitive decline seem to have a difficult time saying no to salespeople.
The RAZ Memory Cell Phone solves these problems. There is a feature in the app and caregiver portal called “Limit incoming calls.” When this feature is turned on, only contacts can reach the senior, preventing crooks and telemarketers from reaching the senior, potentially saving thousands of dollars. RAZ Mobility highly recommends use of this capability.
Of course, the downside of activating this feature is that certain important non-contacts will not be able to reach the senior. To address this challenge, the app and caregiver portal offer the ability to add phone numbers to an Allow list. These are people who the senior cannot call (i.e., they are not contacts), but who can call the senior. To add a number to the Allow list in the app, go to “Contacts”, tap on “Allow list” at the top of the screen, and tap the add contact symbol. Enter the name and number of the person you wish to add to the “Allow list”, then press “Save”.
Use these capabilities to protect your senior from financial losses. Please call customer support at 1-800-729-0083 with any questions.