Problem
Jenny Lanstrom regularly visits her grandfather, Mike Lanstrom, every Thursday night. Jenny's grandfather has been a widower for the past six years. Her grandfather is 95 years old, has all his faculties, and is still very sharp despite his advanced age. He is a decorated veteran of World War II, and over the years, he has been active in community service where he meets a lot of people. For the last several months, Jenny has noticed something different about her grandfather. Lately, he has been agitated and upset, and that is quite different from his normal self.
One Thursday night, Mike told Jenny about products he has been buying over the telephone from a company recommended to him by a person he met in community service. As Jenny investigated further, she realized that her grandfather had bought several products from a distributor by the name of Products for Life. Although the individual transactions were not large, the total amount had already added up to several thousand dollars. The next day, Jenny decided to research the company on the Internet. Surprisingly, she was unable to find any information about the company. She became extremely worried that someone was taking advantage of her grandfather.
What should Jenny do? Should she confront her grandfather about the possibility of fraud? If so, how should she approach him? Jenny realized that certain words and phrases should be avoided when talking to the elderly about fraud. What are these words and phrases and why should they be avoided and why are the elderly so susceptible to fraud?