Con Artist Steals Seniors’ Sense of Security and Sells It Back to Them
Question: I am 72 and my husband is 82. We have $1.5 million in certificates of deposit and money market accounts. We rent and own no property or stocks or bonds. A young man has become very friendly with my husband over the last year.
He has told my husband that he has a friend who, for $15,000 or more, will set up papers for us so the remaining spouse will not have to pay inheritance taxes. He said that if we don’t have these papers drawn up, the surviving spouse will not be able to take any money from any accounts.
We both have wills leaving the surviving spouse everything. Do we really need these other papers?
Answer: Of course not. This young man is a con artist. If he shows up again on your doorstep, call the police.
Surviving spouses don’t have to pay any estate taxes on the assets they inherit, if both are U.S. citizens. You can leave an unlimited amount of money, property and other assets to your spouse without fear of an estate tax bill. (This is true under current law and under the gradual estate tax repeal that begins taking effect next year.)
The survivor shouldn’t have any trouble accessing the money if both your names are listed on your CD and money market accounts.
There’s no estate plan in the world for a couple in your situation that would be worth $15,000. The scamster makes his living by stealing older people’s sense of security and then selling it back to them. Don’t fall for his slimy tactics.
Your estate may face probate and estate taxes after both of you are dead. If you’re concerned about that, consult a qualified estate planning attorney for help in drawing up documents that can reduce the potential costs. Your local bar association can provide referrals.
Some Credit Card Users Want IDs Checked
Question: You recently responded to a reader who was outraged that a clerk asked to see some identification for a credit card transaction. I personally appreciate it when identification is requested. A few years ago my credit card with my picture ID on the card was stolen. More than $12,000 was charged to electronics stores before the card issuer realized something was wrong and put a hold on the card. Not a single clerk stopped to compare the photo on the card with the buyer.
Answer: The good news is that your credit card company caught the theft and it apparently has had no effect on your credit rating. Other readers have reported that similar thefts caused them ongoing problems, either because the credit card issuer was reluctant to credit them for the unauthorized transactions or because the information from their card was used to create other phony credit accounts that kept popping up in their histories.
After last week’s column, some readers wrote in to say they had written the words “ask for ID” on the back of their cards to try to encourage clerks to match the name on the card with some other form of identification. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t.
Some credit card issuers have agreements with merchants not to ask for identification from customers. In many more cases, merchants simply don’t feel it’s worth the time and trouble to verify who’s making the charges.
But some do, and they often face upset customers. Here’s a perspective from one of them:
Clerks’ Vigilance Can Deter Fraud
Question: My company has 50 or so retail locations around Southern California. All of our employees are fully authorized to decline to serve credit card patrons who cannot or will not show photo ID.
I have fielded complaints from people such as the one who asked you whether there wasn’t a state or federal law prohibiting a merchant from asking for identification. (You were right--there isn’t.) I usually point out to the very indignant customer that the credit card is in fact not their property.
Credit cards are the property of the institutions that issue the cards. We have an agreement with the issuer to ensure that only authorized individuals are using their cards. I wonder whether folks would be so reluctant to offer identification if they, rather than the credit card companies, were obligated to pay for unauthorized use of the credit card company’s card.
Answer: Probably not, but most people probably wouldn’t carry a credit card if they would be on the hook for unauthorized charges.
Most of us carry our credit cards in the same place we carry our driver’s license or other ID, so handing over one more plastic card usually doesn’t delay the transaction by more than a few seconds. (This assumes, of course, that the clerk is simply looking at the information and not writing down personal data that could lead to identity theft.) A little vigilance seems a small price to pay to deter fraud, which ultimately costs all of us.
*
Liz Pulliam Weston is a personal finance writer for The Times and a graduate of the personal financial planning certificate program at UC Irvine. Questions can be sent to her at moneytalk@latimes.com or mailed to her in care of Money Talk, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. She regrets that she cannot respond personally to queries. For past Money Talk questions and answers, visit The Times’ Web site at https://www.latimes.com/moneytalk.
