Knowing your letters and numbers is not enough – scam literacy has become a non-negotiable for seniors, providers and loved ones

In the immediacy of the activation of the new act, scammers have found an opportunity to exploit the confusion, hopelessness and desperation of many of Australia’s most vulnerable. For the thousands of seniors attempting to navigate the complexity of not only the new system but the new pricing mechanisms that drive it, organised crime has found a niche in the market, bringing ‘answers’. Not only is this repulsive danger one that reinforces that seniors, loved ones and providers must always be scam literate, constantly checking in on the latest approaches to swindle, but one that is an indictment on how the whole system is set up. As BaptistCare’s CEO, Charles Moore publicly shared, it has become a confusing challenge for his parents to navigate aged care with an aged care CEO in the family, how much more so for the seniors without any help.

The scam

The commonwealth has broadcast a latest scam alert for seniors, loved ones, as well as providers, to be aware of and safeguard against.

“We are aware of scammers targeting older people by pretending to be aged care assessors”, the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing messaged this week.

The Department notes, “There have been reports of suspicious phone calls and visits from people caliming to be from My Aged Care or allied health services.”

My Aged Care website

The government’s My Aged Care website is where assessments are legitimately centred. Here, seniors and loved ones might try to find answers about the newly activated Support at Home program and provider and services within it, cost or even how the system functions at all. It has left many in a befuddled daze. The key word for many seniors, loved ones and even aged care leadership when it comes to navigating for answers, has been to ‘try’.

For many experts who have attempted to navigate it, as well as Hello Leaders staff, the key take-aways are complexity, time and persistence. Answers do not come easily, and significant time is encouraged to be allotted to navigating the website, and calling the department, for answers.

Confusion – a key ingredient

Leaders in the aged care space, such as Moore, have been open about the difficulty of trying to navigate the changes. 

To find out how much in-home services will cost, a senior should not need an MBA, decades of business experiences or a law-degree yet many are finding that the opaque and sometimes contradictory information they are receiving means they constantly feel in the dark.

It is within this environment that scammers are operating.

Providers – robust fraud policy

For providers as well this has an impact, whether providers are being specifically defrauded in name is one danger, as well as long-term reputational damage. It is paramount that providers have robust fraud policies to manage the exploitation of genuine confusion.

From updating all staff to carry IDs, wear uniforms, to even sending pictures of front-line allied health services staff to seniors and loved ones ahead of time, there are measures that are worthwhile to consider for provider leadership in combating the current potential deceit.

Safeguarding the seniors in the sector is a human and financial responsibility, one that many providers already adhere to. It is now, as scams increase in the time of new act confusion, that all provider leadership teams must pivot policy and resources to protect clients, staff and operations against the sometimes irrevocable damage of fraud.

Government advice

Government messaging has asked loved ones and professionals within the aged care space to be actively reminding seniors of procedure.

·   “Aged care assessors will always schedule visits in advance and provide verifiable identification”

·   “Older people should refuse entry if they are concerned and not share personal or financial information.”

·   “All legitimate aged care activity can be confirmed by calling the My Aged Care Contact Centre on 1800 200 422 (8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm Saturday local time).”

·   “Report any incidents to Scamwatch by visiting their website.”

Understanding challenges

For those in the daily care work, whether personal or professional, with a senior, many will articulate that digital literacy may not be the strongest element in an older person’s skillset.

There remains a divide between how the government hopes to safeguard seniors against fraud and the reality of digital literacy and by extension fraud literacy.

In centralising not only seeking answers on a website such as My Aged Care, to access critical in-home care but learning about fraud online as well as reporting it there, there is a sizable lift that seniors must achieve to be equipped, educated and empowered. The gap to reasonably access care, even understanding how to begin, as well as protecting against devastating deceit is arguably and unnecessarily large.

Education in person

For the interim there remains an onus, grounded in reality, for loved-ones and providers to make this lift to safeguard seniors by instructing seniors in their care in person.

Coupled with ever-assessed and upgraded anti-fraud policies in operational and procedural policy and practices, care leadership must see fraud awareness, detection and mitigation as a core component of providing in-homes services well.

Person-centred, dignified care is not limited to the legislation of the new act but deeply rooted in the reality of every-day life. Care of the body, mind, soul and finances are integral to the comprehensive well-being of a human-being. All in authority, whether government departments or provider leadership, have an ability to consistently and dynamically work to reduce not only fraud itself but the environment in which it is flourishing.