If you know that someone in your family, such as a sibling or a parent, appears to have been defrauded by a telemarketer, you should avoid confronting that person directly and stating that he or she has been "duped" or "swindled."

The psychology of telemarketing fraud is complex. Victims can get lured into the scam if they let their guard down. Then they're afraid to tell relatives. We shouldn't blame the victims; we should blame the criminals. If you get mugged, nobody blames you for being a victim. Likewise, we shouldn't blame people who get mugged over the phone.

Particularly in cases where an older parent may be the victim of telemarketing fraud, the victim is likely to fear that others will try to take away his or her independence or to take over their affairs, and may become highly resistant to your efforts to address the situation.

Unfortunately, a number of adult children whose parents were victimized have reported that their efforts to try to confront the problem resulted only in creating severe strains on, and even apparently irreparable damage to, their relationships.

Some fraudulent telemarketers have been known to persuade victims that they are more concerned about the victim's welfare than the victim's own family, whom they try to portray as greedy. Some people are so convinced that they even rebuke direct warnings from law enforcement or consumer protection groups after they themselves call for reassurance that the offers are true.

The longer the telemarketer can keep the victim on the phone the better likelihood of a sale. Anything you can do to put distance and time between the fraudulent telemarketer and the targeted victim the better. Unfortunately, many seniors don't have answering machines or voice mail. They often don't know how to use them or they may be afraid of losing calls. People worried about their parents getting scammed should give them an answering machine and make sure they use it to screen calls. This deprives con artists of "the courtesy victim".

Unfortunately, many elder victims are too embarrassed to report the crime as they often experience shame or embarrassment about losing large amounts.

Often, elders are not aware they have been defrauded or feel that reporting will do no good, or they don't want to "bother" the police. Sometimes, they are reluctant to confront their greatest fear - that they will be considered incompetent to handle their own financial affairs. In elder abuse cases when the perpetrator is a loved one or their caregiver they just don't want to get them in trouble.

When elders do reach out, help is rarely available. Policy debates about crime and its victims focus on victims of violent crime, virtually to the exclusion of victims of nonviolent property crimes. A recent national survey of victim assistance programs reveals, only 8 of the 184 responding programs indicated that they intervene on behalf of elder abuse victims, including victims of financial exploitation. Even when elder victims of fraud do report, it is often to a social agency already providing services to them, and it is common for their complaints not to be passed on to the police.

There is a concern that because fraud victims are induced to cooperate in their own losses, those who have never talked to victims or offenders personally may blame the victims or hold them partly responsible, suggesting that victims "brought it on themselves," were "just greedy," or should have been more prudent. The reality is more complex. Telemarketing fraud involves the victimization of innocent persons by dishonest or deceptive conduct.

For cases that find their way to the criminal justice system, police, prosecutors, judges, and jurors may discount elderly witnesses, failing to distinguish between mental incapacity and physical infirmity. They may be unable to recall details of the fraud, or be unable or unwilling to explain the true impact on their lives. This can conceal the seriousness of the offense from friends, relatives, police and the courts which sentence the offenders.

"One of the problems we run up against with this type of crime is that elderly citizens are less likely to remember exactly how or when a transaction took place. It's hard to investigate an alleged wrongdoing when the complainant can't provide enough of a lead to do a follow-up, and you can't win a case in court when the prosecuting witness can't come up with enough evidence to nail the offender," said Postal Inspector John Brugger, National Public Information Officer for the Inspection Service.

Victims also sometimes die or become incapacitated before they can testify, particularly where the accused must be extradited before they can be prosecuted. They are often physically unable to travel to testify at trials held in the jurisdictions of the offenders or other victims.

Before they have come to terms with the fact that they have been defrauded, telemarketing fraud victims are often reluctant to talk with others about their dealings with the telemarketer,  to admit how many transactions they have done, or how much money they have actually lost. Patience is therefore essential in establishing and maintaining a dialogue with the possible victim, and in trying to learn as much information as possible that could help before reporting it to the authorities and assistance agencies.

While it is true that most money lost to investment fraud is rarely recovered beyond pennies on the dollar, there are also many cases in which older people, who recognize early on that they have been misled about an investment, are then able to recover some or all of their funds by being a "squeaky wheel."

Again, statements that may sound judgmental or critical are likely to stiffen their resistance to talking about their dealings with the telemarketers, and to make them suspicious of your motives in raising the subject.

A better tactic is to approach the matter indirectly and exercise patience in talking with the person about your concerns. It should not offend the person's dignity if you mention that people have to be careful about telemarketing scam artists, and suggest that it is wise to consult other sources of information before trusting your money to someone.

Having discussed the vulnerability of seniors to such criminal tactics we shall move on to victims in other age categories to dispel the notion that it is solely a problem affecting the elderly.