Medic Alert scam hitting seniors
Tuesday, July 16, 2013 10:57 am Senior Citizens in the Middle Tennessee Area keep getting those annoying “robocalls” that they just know has to be a scam. The voice implies that somebody, a doctor or maybe their children, signed them up for a medical alert system. It’s all free, the recording implies, “And everything is ready to be sent to your home.” Consumers report if you call the number back, it says the number is not in service. The Medical Alert System scam is in full swing in Middle Tennessee, as well as other states including New York, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin and Kentucky. BBB has received numerous complaints and inquiries concerning the calls in the past several weeks. The “scams against seniors” has reached a super-low point with this con job. Who doesn’t know a senior who fears a break-in? Or a widow who wonders what would happen in a medical emergency? Why not tug at the heartstrings a little more and claim that someone cares so much about them that a loved one or medical professional even signed them up for this “free service”? Then, of course, stick someone on a fixed income with a big bill, if they fall for the phony pitch. Recently, the Medical Alarm Monitoring Association (MAMA) issued a consumer alert stating: MAMA is the only professional trade association representing the medical alert monitoring and personal emergency response services industry. The association has a long standing record of working against deceptive business practices such as these in our industry. MAMA and its members are currently actively investigating this issue, and will contact consumer protection organizations to report all deceptive activity.
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