NEW YORK, May 20 (UPI) -- In a scam targeting the elderly in the United States and Canada, telemarketing thieves gather key information and later raid bank accounts.
The New York Times reported Sunday that crime-minded telemarketers are calling elderly people and gathering information on consumer habits. They then break into their victims' bank accounts and strip them of thousands of dollars.
Many banks reportedly have made it possible for telemarketing thieves to break into customers' accounts without authorization, the Times said.
"I can't understand why they were allowed inside my account," said Richard Guthrie, a 92-year-old victim who lives in Iowa. "I just chatted with this woman for a few minutes, and the next thing I knew, they took everything I had."
Some thieves, the Times reported, would call posing as government workers, saying the Social Security Administration's computers had crashed. They scare the victims by telling them they would not be able to obtain their medications if they did not divulge information.
One company, the Times reported, went so far as to advertise lists of "Elderly Opportunity Seekers" and "Oldies but Goodies."
