Editorial: Protect elderly from scams

This sort of behaviour is despicable and the perpetrators shouldn't be able to get away with it because money was given to them willingly. Photo / NZH

The sorry tale of a local man fleeced of $100,000 by scam artists is enough to make your blood boil.

As we reported yesterday, the man's story was told at a public meeting in Ngongotaha this week held to discuss recent scams targeting residents.

The 86-year-old had been approached by a woman with a sob story who asked for money saying she'd pay it back.

His daughter had worked out he'd given away at least $100,000 over two years.

When he told the woman he wasn't giving her any more money she went away and came back with her partner, threatening him with "gang violence", the daughter told the meeting.

The man's family took him from his home for the night in case of retaliation, and, of course, reported it to police.

But a police spokesman at the meeting said that because the victims in these cases were handing over money as a loan, expecting it to be paid back, it was a civil matter.

Police say they're investigating to see if there had been any fraudulent activity, but surely more could be done to protect the elderly, vulnerable and overly generous.

Community meetings are a good start, telling residents what they need to know and what to look out for.

Families also need to alert elderly relatives to the dangers.

This sort of behaviour is despicable and the perpetrators shouldn't be able to get away with it because money was given to them willingly.

As Garth George noted in his column on Saturday, it is generally accepted that the degree of civilisation of any society can be judged by the way that society treats its most vulnerable citizens.

Some people need to grow a conscience.