Financial Care Services Newsletter

by Christine Hopper
Volume 12 Edition 4 – 30 April 2022

Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles

Protecting your family and yourself, from people of evil intent.

Thieves are no longer just steal physical objects.
Yes, they still steal cars, jewellery and cash.
But modern thieves try to persuade you to voluntarily hand over your financial assets.
Today’s thieves also rob you by stealing your ‘identity’ and then incurring debts in your name.

Protect yourself and your family elders from scammers

Scam telephone calls

Scammers call landlines and mobile numbers.
When you hear muffled voices of a call centre, hang up fast.
When there is a long silence followed by clicking before the call is cut-off, then you know that the scammers are active.
That scammer might call a few times within an hour before trying another potential victim.

The scammers might try to tell you that there is something wrong with your computer.
If you would like to have your computer ‘fixed’ then you just need to read out your credit card numbers.

Protect your elders and even your frail spouse, by storing the credit cards securely.
Question, do your elders still need a credit card?

Beware of fake emails from scammers.

New styles of fake emails have landed in my Inbox this month.

“Admin Helpdesk” says
“Dear User:
You have (2) pending sent messages that couldn’t be delivered
Action Required.
How to Fix It. Click here to view undelivered sent email.”

These messages might look fine.
But the info@ account is not used for sending emails from Christine at Financial Care Services

“LinkedIn” says
“You appeared in 17 searches this week
You were found by people from these companies
See all searches”

These messages might look fine, also.
But the info@ account is not listed on LinkedIn for Christine Hopper or Financial Care Services
A closer look at the email sender reveals a spammer from the registry of a strange country.

Beware, next month, the determined spammers might have another approach.

Please look carefully at every email.
Do not click on any link until you are sure that you know where you are going.

Remember real banks and government entities never use email to ask for your personal data.

Centrelink and the ATO do not ask for your information via email.

If a Commonwealth government entity wants your attention then
you might receive an email notification

“You have a new message in your myGov inbox.
Regards, myGov team”

Genuine banks do not provide login links in emails.
Do not click on links provided in an email from ‘your bank’.
If you need to contact your bank then go to the bank’s website and login.

An obvious scam is the email from another bank that you do not use.

“Your account with BIG4 bank needs your attention now.”

These scam emails appear for accounts with all of the big four banks.
Obviously a scam, for the three BIG4 banks that do not have my business.

Criminal activity via the internet is Cybercrime

The government definition states

Cybercrime is the use of a computer or online network to commit crimes such as fraud, online image abuse, shopping and investment scams, ransomware or malware attacks, identity theft or threats and intimidation.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) leads the Australian Government’s efforts to improve cyber security. Our role is to help make Australia the most secure place to connect online.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) website has tips for protecting yourself against cybercrime.

You could help your elders by ensuring that their phones, tablets and computers are updated regularly.

Also help your elders by discussing the potential for scammers to ensnare them.
If anyone in the family has been caught by scammers you can report cybercrime at Scamwatch

Alas you are unlikely to be able to retrieve any money that has gone to scammers.
But you could prevent any further debits to bank accounts or ‘voluntary transfers’ to scammers.

Identity fraud could give you huge debts

Is that aged care resident’s Driver Licence number still actively being used to establish credit accounts with mobile phone companies?
Really dishonest people use the name and Driver Licence number of someone else to establish credit accounts.

When the true owner of that Driver Licence number wants to use it for a proper purpose they could find their credit status severely impaired.
The unidentified fraudulent user of their Driver Licence number might have incurred substantial debts.

Help is available for victims of identity fraud.

Call IDCare on 1800 595 160 or get started at
IDCARE Australia & New Zealand’s National Identity & Cyber Support Service

Is that aged care resident’s Driver Licence still active and collecting demerit points?

Not everyone who interacts with the wider family of an elder or aged care resident would have pure motives.
Thus for some lead footed drivers access to an alternative Driver Licence number could allow them to transfer the demerit points and keep driving fast.

Please store your elders’ Driver Licence securely.

Once their driving days are over and they no longer need photo ID, the Driver Licence could be surrendered, that is, cancelled.

When to surrender the Driver Licence

If granny can no longer drive then you could surrender her Driver Licence.
But make sure that you have visited Centrelink and ‘confirmed the identity’ of the Driver Licence holder before you surrender this valuable ‘identity document’.

If a family member has physical or mental impairments such that driving safely is beyond their current skills then you might need to prevent access to the driver’s seat.
The gracious approach is a discussion and an offer of transport whenever needed.

If your family member does not respond well to reason then an external directive may be required.
A local doctor could inform Vic Roads that his patient is no longer competent to drive.
Vic Roads could then demand that the Driver Licence be surrendered.

The other more brutal approach, is to ask your friendly local Police team to happen to meet the senior whilst driving near home.
The Police officers can then have a chat about the desirability of stopping driving before a catastrophe occurs.

How to surrender the Driver Licence

The form for surrendering a Victorian Driver Licence is at Vic Roads.

The Power of Attorney can sign the form to surrender a Driver Licence.
The Driver Licence of a deceased driver can be surrendered similarly.

You could attend a Vic Roads office to hand in the Driver Licence plastic card together with the signed form and show your Power of Attorney.
Alternatively, you could mail them to Vic Roads together with a certified copy of your Power of Attorney or grant of Probate for a deceased driver.

Christine at Financial Care Services your independent adviser

Financial Care Services is an independent advisory service specialising in retirees of modest means and aged care entrants.
Our core values include working with clients in claiming DVA and Centrelink entitlements.

The team at Financial Care Services are here to answer your Age Pension questions and guide your understanding of aged care costs.

Help with Centrelink challenges is available from Christine Hopper at Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles.

Christine has neat handwriting just right for inserting your data into small printed spaces.
She helps clients complete Centrelink forms.
Christine could help you with collating your supporting documents and then mailing your form to Centrelink.

Assistance with completing Age Pension Claims and the Commonwealth aged care means testing forms is available to clients of Financial Care Services.

Christine charges fees based on the work involved in advising you about pensions and aged care fee solutions.

To make an appointment for confidential, independent and professional advice about aged care, retirement lifestyle costs, granny flat or Age Pension issues please contact Christine Hopper or call +61 3 9808 0338.
______________________________

Christine Hopper
Financial Care Services Pty Ltd
Independent aged care, strategic lifestyle and Social Security advice for seniors in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Telephone – call +61 3 9808 0338
Email – contact info@financialcareservices.com.au
Address – mail to 172 Warrigal Road, Camberwell Victoria 3124
Website – visit financialcareservices.com.au
LinkedIn – connect https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinehopper1
LinkedIn Company – follow https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-care-services/
Past newsletters – see http://financialcareservices.com.au/newsletters/
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Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature only and does not constitute “financial advice”.
All eligibility for Commonwealth benefits will be determined by Centrelink or DVA, based on your personal position as documented and the legislation and Regulations in force at that time.