RIP-OFF ALERT: Clark recently read an article in The Los Angeles Times about a woman arrested for running a Ponzi scheme in California, Nevada and Georgia. Jeanetta M. Standefor is the woman behind Accelerated Funding Group, an alleged investment group that operated under the guise of a mortgage rescue operation.

About a year ago, Clark distinctly remembers getting a call from a listener who was gung-ho about the "virtually risk-free" investment option being offered by Accelerated. Here's how things went down: You put money with the group and you were supposed to get a 50% return in 6 weeks. So people rushed to put in about $18 million. They were told their money would be helping people avoid foreclosure.

But this was just a classic Ponzi scheme. Early investors were simply paid with money from those who came in later. There was no investment activity going on at all.

Today's low interest rates on savings mean that we're overly susceptible to scams like this. But there are other sneaky things going that aren't illegal, but could easily prove to be a major pitfall. Seniors should be particularly wary of newspaper ads promising really good CD rates. When they call up for further info, they get pitched on variable annuities by insurance salespeople.

The reality is that the bum interest rates are here for the time being. But it won't be this way forever. So don't do anything outlandish or you may be separated from your money.

RIP-OFF ALERT: There's a new breed of scam popping up all over the country that's targeting our elders. It's called equity stripping or foreclosure rescue, and what it boils down to is people trying to steal your home without a gun. It all starts when you get a flyer or a visitor at your door talking about how they can help you stay in your home and give you money. People desperately want to believe these kinds of lines. They're asked to sign a contract and in doing so sign over ownership of the house.

One criminal ring was recently indicted for stealing over 100 houses in this way. Meanwhile, the FBI has received 60K complaints about equity stripping scams. If you have aging parents, Clark wants you to be nosy and make sure they're not falling for this ploy. You don't want to get a phone call one day and learn your folks are renting or staying with a friend because they lost their home.

RIP-OFF ALERT: Whenever Clark delivers a speech to seniors, he's always approached by those interested in doing reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages offer a way for retired folks who are running out of cash to be able to remain in their home and get a check each month by borrowing against the value of the property. This can be a good option if you don't want a family member to inherit the house. Historically, however, the fees on reverse mortgages have been about 300%-500% higher than those associated with a regular mortgage.

Clark knows that most insurance salespeople are decent. But then there are those awful ones looking to perpetrate an equity stripping scam. They gain the confidence of an elder; strip the equity out of their home as a lump sum (instead of a monthly payout); and put it into piece-of-trash annuities, which net massive commissions for the salesperson.

If you have aging parents or other elderly loved ones, Clark wants you to put the warning out for them. Only a small sliver of insurance agents are this sleazy. But the sad thing is that if they're caught, they may only have to give the money back. How is that supposed to discourage them from doing it again? States need to pass criminal sanctions that will allow for hard time for equity strippers.

One final note: There's only one type of annuity that's absolutely fine for seniors -- immediate payout annuities, also called life annuities. The irony is that you won't hear about these from most insurance salespeople because they have tiny commissions.

RIP-OFF ALERT: Clark gets very steamed whenever he hears about children or seniors getting ripped off. Here's a scenario that affects the latter group: Clark has been getting a lot of reverse mortgage questions. Reverse mortgages offer a way for retired folks who are running out of cash to be able to remain in their home and get a check each month by borrowing against the value of the property. This can be a good option if you don't want a family member to inherit the house, but historically the fees on reverse mortgages have been too high. Now Kiplinger's reports that insurance salesmen and women are convincing seniors to do reverse mortgages, cash out the value of their homes and…you guessed it…buy variable annuities. AARP finds that 1 in 10 people doing reverse mortgages were conned into doing so with the promise of such pseudo-investments.

This is unconscionable. Clark doesn't know what goes on in the minds of the banks, brokerage houses and insurance companies who push these modified reverse mortgages. The variable annuity shtick is bad enough, but it's really infuriating that they're pouring salt into a wound by stripping the equity from a home. Clark believes it's not enough to fine people who push this stuff; the only way to stop this is to send them to prison. The fines that can be levied are never enough and just reinforce the idea that crime pays. So you must be the cop on the beat for your elderly relatives. Be nosy and find out what's going in their lives. Hopefully they were there for you as a young person, so try returning the favor by being there for them in a time of need.

There are a lot of pseudo health insurance companies out there selling fake plans to employers and individuals. The Wall Street Journal reports that some 200,000 businesses have been taken in these kinds of rip-offs. Small businesses crushed by high premiums are very susceptible to the lure of cheaper health care. But when somebody gets sick, the insurance card comes back as a fake and all the bills go unpaid. This has been happening in state after state. Insurance is regulated by the states, not the feds, so the rip-off artists can just bounce around from state to state pulling their scams. What do you need to know to stay safe? First off, be wary if you get a pitch for a great deal with drastically lower premiums. But don't let your skepticism stop there. Contact your state insurance department and ask if a prospective company is licensed to do business in your state. Make sure the name matches exactly because sometimes the rip-off artists will use a name that's very similar to that of a legitimate business. Seniors also have to be especially careful of fake prescription plans. Once again, call your state insurance department to verify if a health insurance salesperson represents a legitimately licensed company. Preventative steps are the best medicine for your wallet.

There are around 150 million Americans on the Do Not Call list. That has really frustrated insurance salespeople who would like to rip off a lot of old folks they're now forbidden to contact. So some marketing companies have come up with lead-generating programs to break the Do Not Call barrier. Here's how it works: The marketing company mails a postcard to a senior telling him or her that there's a problem with their Medicare or Social Security benefits. Some postcards even had the AARP logo or official government addresses on them to suggest credibility. When someone responds to the postcard, they're exempting themselves from the Do Not Call list. Insurance companies then pay big money to the marketing companies for the rights to get those numbers and set up appointments to pitch elders on bad investments.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in one instance, an 83-year-old man fell for this rip-off tactic and was sold nearly $180,000 in annuities that wouldn't mature until he was 90. The salesperson made a commission of around $20,000. Some of the companies that have been involved in these postcard scams include ChoicePoint, American Family Prepaid Legal Corporation, Aviva PLC and many others. In fact, AARP won an injunction against ChoicePoint for using their logo. So if you are a senior or if you have elderly parents, know that these phony postcards are being used to con elders out of their hard-earned money. Clark thinks the real solution here would be to criminalize the sale of variable annuities to people over a certain age.

The elderly are collectively sitting on $14 trillion dollars in savings. That means they have a big, fat bull's eye on them for con artists to hit. Christopher Cox, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is a libertarian who wants the government to stay out of people's lives and is generally skeptical of interference. But he's do disturbed by the con artists ripping off old people that he's convened a conference of the feds and the state regulators to fight back. Did you know that sales people are actually going to presentations to learn how to rip off the elderly with outright fraud and bad investments? "Every rock that we turn over seems to have a bug or a worm crawling out underneath," Cox recently told The Washington Post. "In each of the sweeps we conducted, we found significant fraud."

Clark is very upset about all the newspaper ads he sees for notes that promise to pay up to 14 percent interest. Seniors who fall for these notes probably won't see one single penny. Then there's the free meal seminar tactic and phony credentials that Clark has talked about so often. The latest twist now involves marketing organizations that print up investing guide books. These books feature an author's name and a picture of whatever financial guy pays them to have his headshot on the jacket. So the end result is that the elderly are being pitched by people who look like they're respected advisors and published authors on the topic of investing. The phony tactic literally makes it seem like someone "wrote the book" on investing! On a related note, what do you think is the most common area where seniors get ripped off because they follow bad financial advice? Annuities. No surprise there if you're a longtime listener of the show. Clark now calls annuities "the four letter word of investing."

Clark has often talked about how free meal seminars offered by annuity salespeople are to be avoided at all costs -- unless you want to get indigestion in your wallet for the rest of your life. An annuity is basically an insurance contract. The money you put in is not taxed until you spend it. Salespeople love to sell them because they get giant commissions. In fact, the commission is so large that it's hard for even a decent person to avoid the temptation of selling this garbage. Now The Wall Street Journal reports that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Allianz. This German-based company has been selling equity index annuities to older people via seminars, infomercials and free-dinner events.

Equity index annuities promise a portion of the gain of the stock market, while assuring holders against losses. They offer the allure of getting money without risk. But Clark thinks they're a piece of trash because all insurance companies cheat you on the gain -- only giving you a tiny portion of the actual gain in return for their guarantee of safety against market loss. Worse still, you usually have to stay in for 15 or more years to get the benefit. So salespeople target senior citizens, who may not live long enough to qualify for the guarantee. And if you are lucky enough to get wise to how bad equity index annuities can be, you may lose between 10 and 15 percent in penalty fees for surrender if you try to get out. Regulators across the country are calling this an instance of fraud. As Clark says, the "just say no" rule applies here to these free meal seminars.

A lot of people hope to save money through the years and live on what they've amassed during retirement. In fact, people 65 and older are sitting on $15 trillion in cumulative assets. Sadly, however, many folks fall victim to supposed financial experts who swipe it from them in the golden years. These "experts" get into the lives and wallets of retirees and run off with the money. If you have elderly parents or are facing retirement yourself, don't fall for any of the seminars that offer free lunch or dinner along with complimentary advice on retirement or investing. These seminars are typically hosted by people with alphabet soup titles by their names that sound impressive. The New York Times ran an article that included some of these titles, such as certified elder planning specialist, registered financial gerontologist, certified retirement financial advisor and certified senior advisor. These are bogus credentials that can be obtained when you have some dough to pay for them. But it's hard to tell between the fake certifications and the real ones.

So Clark advises people against buying any investments or insurance from someone receiving a commission to sell to you. He's not opposed to commissioned sales people in general, but they definitely raise a red flag in the investment world. You should instead hire someone to advise you on investments on a fee-only basis, much like you would hire an accountant or a doctor for their learned opinion. As Clark says, there is no free lunch in investing. When somebody says they're going to give you free advice, they're picking both your pockets. The annuities market, where sales are up 30 percent in the last six years, is an area that is central to rip-offs.

Senior citizens are getting taken in big numbers when they go to "free" seminar lunches or dinners. There's a federal-state joint investigation right now seeking to expose the practice of sales people trying to pitch seniors all kinds of investments, trusts and other products that our elders don't need. Of all the complaints filed with state securities regulators, Dow Jones reports that a third of them come from senior citizens. Meanwhile, roughly a third of all enforcement actions taken by the states are against con artists who have been ripping off seniors. A lot of older people have an old-fashioned sense of values, so if someone offers them a meal they feel obligated to that person or company. Cons know this and prey on the elderly. The problem is that you have no idea what kind of investment fraud you might be getting pulled into if you go to one of these "free" meals. Clark advises people to call their parents and grandparents and alert them to this problem. That "free" lunch your elderly parent may be considering would be better served by you. Go take your parents and grandparents out for a meal and you'll help protect their retirement savings and fulfill their need for companionship at the same time!

Helpingpatients.org is a website that helps consumers see what assistance might be available for them when purchasing prescription drugs. If you really want to save money though, buy generic because they are usually dirt cheap. This website gives you access to over 475 public and private assistance programs that, if you qualify, can help to make your prescription drugs free or nearly free. Check it out!

A new senior scam is percolating all over the country. Con artists are calling senior citizens and telling them that their medical benefits are ending. Somehow the scam artists have gotten information about folks who are on Social Security/Medicare and they know the person’s social security number when they call. They tell the seniors that they have a certain amount of time to get a new card because their current card is dead. Otherwise, they won’t receive their social security check in the mail. These crooks are then able to get a checking account number and they empty the account. So far, $389 has been stolen. The Social Security administration has put out a notice, saying its representatives never call or e-mail to ask for or give information. But make sure you alert your parents and other seniors about the scam.

Scam artists are calling elderly women, posing as protective bank employees who want to help them. Find out what they're really doing. Just remember to turn off your pop-up blocker if you have one.

Clark has gotten a steady increase in calls from people who think they’ve won the lottery. This hoax is so bad right now that The Dallas Morning News has a story about the “Unlucky Seven” worst scams out there, and lotteries are – without a doubt – No. 1. Spain, Germany and Holland are just three of the countries that supposedly have lotteries. An 86-year-old woman featured in the story ended up giving more than $88,000 to these crooks. She was told upfront she needed to cover “administrative costs.” Then, each time, it was something more. She never recovered her money, and the crooks were never caught. When you get these e-mails, you want to believe they are real. They certainly look it. But if they ask for money – even a little – to get you your money, it’s a scam. Throw the paperwork in the trash. The second biggest scam is home repairs. These people get upfront money and then do shoddy work or no work at all in some cases. Work-at-home scams are in position No. 3, and phony charities are No. 4. These scams often affect seniors more than others, but everyone is at risk. Fraudulent “living trusts” come in at No. 5. You need a living trust in only a few circumstances, so most of the people are just trying to sell you insurance products. No. 6 is e-mail phishing scams. And, No. 7 is probably the ugliest of the “Unlucky Seven.” It’s when you’ve already been scammed and a service offers to help you recover your money. The very same people who took your money the first time are the ones behind this, and you give them more trying to get it back.

The Los Angeles Times has been working on a series of stories about a new scam targeting the elderly that will shock you. Crooks have figured out that they can easily assume guardianship of aging people simply by telling a judge that they are no longer mentally stable. These people don't have to prove they are related, so they basically seek out elderly folks who are losing faculty and then go to court seeking guardianship. Family members have no idea that it's happening and have no recourse if it happens. Busy courts and judges don’t have time to make sure these crooks are above board, and there is no requirement to do so. So when the scamsters go to court seeking a ruling, it happens quickly and the victims don’t even know it happens. Clark doesn’t know how these people get leads on their victims. But it’s up to children of aging parents to look out for them and make sure they are not being victimized. It’s easy to steal the money and very hard to get it back. Several legal forms can protect them, as well. First is the “Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care,” which allows someone to handle your health care issues if you cannot speak or act on your own behalf. These are sometimes available for free. The other edict is a regular “Durable Power of Attorney,” which is a bit more difficult to get and requires the help of an attorney. It allows the appointed person to take care of someone’s finances, which would make it impossible for these crooks to step in and steal your parents’ assets. Having both of these in place is a great idea to ensure your parents are safe if you cannot always be there.

A marketing company based on Ohio known as the Annuity Service Center has been targeting seniors to scam them out of their money. What happens is the seniors go to their mailboxes and find something from the company. The notice tells the seniors that the annuity has reached the end of its service period and asks them to contact the company. It sounds very legitimate and convinces people to take action. But really, the organization is just trying to get leads to get into the seniors’ homes to sell them annuities. Sometimes the people don’t even own an annuity, but they call anyway. About 30,000 of these notices go out each day. Make sure you tell your parents that this scam is out there. Don’t let people into your home and cancel an appointment if you’ve made one. You don’t want to engage these people in any way.

There is a trend in direct marketing right now to send very misleading, yet convincing mailings that could wipe out your wallet. The main target is senior citizens and they are old fashioned ways of taking advantage of you. They mailings look like they’re coming from an official government organization or department. A popular one today uses a logo that looks like the one from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Really it’s just a pitch from a mortgage company to try and get you to refinance. Another one featured in the Washington Post looks exactly like an envelope from the U.S. Treasury, but it too is a refinance pitch. Many also look like correspondence from your bank or from some kind of “sweepstakes commission” or bureau that doesn’t exist. The Federal Trade Commission is very concerned about these scams, so warn your parents. These are all scams demanding payments, so be very careful.

Clark talked recently about the new Medicare prescription drug program that is launching next year and the fact that it’s so confusing. Well, crooks are taking advantage of that confusion and are trying to dupe seniors who are about to sign up for the program. Tons of information about these programs is showing up in mailboxes, so crooks have decided to start soliciting people over the phone for phony programs. Scams have popped up in Illinois, West Virginia and Missouri, according to the Kansas City Star. There are a lot of programs available and differing fees on top of that. So, crooks are joining in the game and are asking for seniors’ social security numbers, addresses. No one from Medicare should ask you for this information, so if you or your parents are getting calls BEWARE! The FBI is involved and is concerned about both fraud and ID theft. There are only 16 insurers in the program and the book you will get is called “Medicare and You.” The propaganda period has started and the sign-up begins Nov. 15. Seniors have to sign up for a program to be included next year. So, do your homework and go to medicare.gov for more information.

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Another scam out there is going around online. It’s a Yahoo Photos scam that claims to need your Yahoo login and password. Basically, you get a message telling you there are pictures from Yahoo.com that are available to see. When you click on the link, the site asks you for your information before you can see it. Don’t fall for it!

We say all the time how great people are who become teachers. These individuals work overtime to teach our children and very often get little in return. But teachers have been taken advantage of for as long as Clark can remember, especially when they retire. First of all teachers don’t have access to the same retirement plans that other workers do. Instead they are forced into 403b plans, which are inferior in nature to 401k plans. Even worse, they’re offered very few choices and most of them are horrible annuity plans. In the worst cases, teacher’s unions are handling the retirement plans and are taking kickbacks for putting teachers in a certain annuity. In New York, for example, the New York State United Teachers union gets a $3 million kickback to put teachers in these plans. If you’re a teacher, you need to know about this and take action. You can transfer your money tax free to two low-cost companies. The companies with the lowest costs are TIAA-Cref and Vanguard. TIAA-Cref is cheaper than Vanguard, but both are much better choices than any kind of annuity your union is pushing on you. If you have friends who are teachers, please let them know. Click here for the full story (free registration may be required).

Elderly people that live in retirement homes should be aware of a new scam that has come to light. Criminals are calling individuals, usually women, who reside in retirement homes, and then pretend to be grandchildren in order to extort money. One of these crooks will call a retiree and say, “Hey Grandma, it’s Timmy. I’ve been in an accident. Do you think you could wire me some money so I can fix my car?” The unsuspecting woman then wires money through Western Union and the crook on the other end cashes and gets off scot-free. They can get away with the scam because Western Union does not require identification for wire transfers of $1,000 or less. If you have elderly parents living in these facilities, tell them know to hang up and call back to make sure the call is legitimate. The best way to stop this awful scheme is to be aware and to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Clark often reports on ripoffs going on in the consumer world. Today, he has a Top 10 list of scams, schemes and scandals, provided by the state regulators who watch over financial analysts and brokers. Drum roll please…. The No. 10 scam is variable annuities. If you don’t know what these are and you don’t have any, good. If you do, you don’t want to put any more money into these plans. They have massive commissions and are absolutely horrible for your wallet. No. 9 are scandalous mutual fund companies. No. 8 is Internet fraud. No. 7 are “high yield investment” scams. Some that Clark has received calls on involve exotic overseas investments that are a complete scam. Insurance agents who sell people bogus investments come in at No. 6. Most insurance agents are honest, but a number of them have been involved in very scandalous affairs. No. 5 are church ripoffs. Just because someone seems religious does not mean that person is on the up and up. At No. 4, phony brokers. Just because someone says something is going to be a great investment doesn’t mean it will. Promissory notes – or fake CDs – are No. 3. These are promises that someone will pay you later if you give them money. But there is no guarantee, and it’s not safe. No. 2 is any kind of scam against seniors. If you’re not involved in your parents’ finances, be nosy! And, the No. 1 scam in the U.S. involving your wallet are Ponzi schemes. These are schemes where criminals recruit people to pay back other people who have invested, and then you have to recruit someone once you’re in. Eventually, these collapse because there are no more people willing to “invest.” There a lots of people who will sell you sizzle, but that’s all it is.