andaThis installment of The Voice was written by Special Needs Alliance member Elizabeth L. Gray, Esq., a principal with the firm of McCandlish Lillard, with offices in Fairfax and Leesburg, Virginia. She has practiced special needs and elder law for over 20 years and has been listed in Best Lawyers of America annually since 2012. She also sits on the board of directors of Brain Injury Services.
April 2019 - Vol. 13, Issue 3
Financial fraud is among the fastest growing types of abuse, and individuals with disabilities are particularly vulnerable. In most cases, it involves exploitation by someone known to the victim, but in plenty of scams strangers target individuals with disabilities and the elderly online, by phone and through other means.
In the first instance, a family member, caregiver or other close associate takes advantage of the victim's trust in order to raid their finances. This can take many forms, from convincing them to extract cash from an ATM, to manipulating them to grant them financial power of attorney, to outright theft of valuables and other assets. They may accomplish this through deception or threats.
Schemes from unethical outsiders are also notorious. Lonely individuals may fall prey to online romantic interests who are suddenly in need of financial assistance. Phone callers may claim to represent a government agency, demanding credit card information. Phishing schemes may send e-mails that appear to be from a bank in order to acquire account passwords.This installment of The Voice was written by Special Needs Alliance member Elizabeth L. Gray, Esq., a principal with the firm of McCandlish Lillard, with offices in Fairfax and Leesburg, Virginia. She has practiced special needs and elder law for over 20 years and has been listed in Best Lawyers of America annually since 2012. She also sits on the board of directors of Brain Injury Services.
April 2019 - Vol. 13, Issue 3
Financial fraud is among the fastest growing types of abuse, and individuals with disabilities are particularly vulnerable. In most cases, it involves exploitation by someone known to the victim, but in plenty of scams strangers target individuals with disabilities and the elderly online, by phone and through other means.
In the first instance, a family member, caregiver or other close associate takes advantage of the victim's trust in order to raid their finances. This can take many forms, from convincing them to extract cash from an ATM, to manipulating them to grant them financial power of attorney, to outright theft of valuables and other assets. They may accomplish this through deception or threats.
Schemes from unethical outsiders are also notorious. Lonely individuals may fall prey to online romantic interests who are suddenly in need of financial assistance. Phone callers may claim to represent a government agency, demanding credit card information. Phishing schemes may send e-mails that appear to be from a bank in order to acquire account passwords Michelle Todd (November 27, 1996 - October 10, 2012)[8][9] was a 15-year-old Canadian student and victim of cyberbullying who hanged herself at her home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. A month before her death, Todd posted a video on YouTube in which she used a series of flashcards to tell her experience of being blackmailed into exposing her breasts via webcam on the livestreaming and online chat service Blogger,[5] and of being bullied and physically assaulted. The video went viral after her death,[10] resulting in internation read more
