Elder abuse and financial fraud have proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to haunt those targeted as we re-emerge into the community. It is important to note scammers will search to identify older adults through census data, and zip codes. 

JCGF has co-hosted educational webinars on elder abuse and financial fraud during the pandemic with the National Council on Aging sharing valuable information on COVID-19 fraudulent vaccine cures, fake magazine sweepstakes, romance scams and telephone scare tactics claiming money is owed to the Internal Revenue Service. 

Each of us has a responsibility to stay alert to what are the “current” scams in our area and on a national basis. Keeping our friends and family in touch and sharing this information can prevent a successful scam.

In the past ten years, we have seen a foundation being built for equal rights and non-discrimination for LGBT older adults, and it is worth celebrating. The courts have decided cases establishing landmark anti-discrimination protections and expanding rights for LGBT individuals, including older adults.