A survey conducted among a representative sample of people aged 65 and over in the Jewish population in Israel highlights a fact that should bother each of us: 26% of all senior citizens have experienced consumer fraud in the past two years.
Consumer fraud occurs when a person is forced to make a transaction against his will, or when details (the "fine print") related to the transaction are hidden from him, in order to obtain his consent for its execution. According to data presented by the Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority in a recent Knesset debate, adults under the age of 70 lose money five times more than the rest of the population due to the same "fine print."
26% of all senior citizens have experienced consumer fraud. Illustration
The Aviv Association for Holocaust Survivors, which assists Holocaust survivors on a daily basis in exercising their rights vis-à-vis the various entities, has embarked in recent weeks on a move to raise awareness among seniors, who by virtue of being weak and vulnerable are more exposed to fraud. As part of the move, a survey was conducted for her, which found that more than a quarter of these citizens have experienced consumer fraud, as mentioned, and that women (60%) are hurt more than men (40%).
There is also a difference between women and men in the types of fraud: while men suffer more from online or text message scams, for women they occur more face-to-face, in front of a salesperson or a salesman in a store. Of all respondents who experienced fraud, 15% said it happened face-to-face, a third experienced it over the phone, a quarter online, and about a fifth via text message.
It was also found that most of the complaints related to the purchase of a household product or to any subscription, about one-fifth related to donation and the rest related to the purchase of a subscription to cable, insurance, recreation, cellphones and more. As for dealing with the fraud attempt, 57 per cent were able to solve the problem they encountered alone, about a tenth were assisted by family members, and about 18 per cent indicated that no one had been helped and that the issue had not been solved.
Cellphone store salesman in Kfar Saba suspected of sting elderly people (archive) \\ Police Spokesperson's Office
Not innocent mistakes
Some 1.2 million senior citizens live in Israel, constituting about 12.5% of the total population. Against the background of the increase in the number of victims of consumer fraud among this public, the Class Action Fund at the Ministry of Justice allocated funds this year for the "Consumer Protection" project of senior citizens.
Aviv leads the project, and its consultants provide free guidance and personal assistance to senior citizens who have encountered consumer problems and fraud. According to attorney Mali Granot, director of the organization's legal department, she has received more than 100 inquiries in the past two weeks.
"Unfortunately, most of the cases are not innocent mistakes, but sophisticated mechanisms designed to exploit the innocence of senior citizens for money, which are fertile ground for fraud and fraud. However, there are also cases in which the citizen simply does not recognize his consumer rights and does not take advantage of them."
Orly Sivan, the organization's CEO: "I invite senior citizens who are dealing with a consumer problem to contact us at *5711 and receive guidance free of charge."
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