Are you a support group coordinator or leader for
either PD or Alzheimer's?  Are you a general
member of a PD or Alz support group?

If so, you or your support group may be hit by a
slick, fast talking scam artist who may offer his
services as a guest speaker for your group. claiming
he's got FREE, money-saving  information for you
and/or your group.

I was called at my home 6 weeks ago be a man
claiming to be "Bill Fisher," and stating he wanted
to save PD and ALZ caregivers money, and thru
THEM, their Parkie or Alz loved one will benefit.

I told him I'm always looking for guest speakers for
my PD support groups  but I but needed  some
kind of personal reference from someone I am
aquatinted with or who can speak on their behalf.

With a "No problem," he told me all he wanted to
do is to save money for those living with PD or
ALZ, by telling us "What the Government is Doing to Help
Middle-Class Seniors with Nursing-Home Costs. (Actual
title of workshop).  All I had to do was to give him my
home address (BOING! Warning bell goes off in my head!)
and he'll snail mail me the information backing him up as
being on the up and up.

 I told him I don't hand out my home address to strangers
who phone me out of the blue, so I countered  with the
suggestion that he email me the information he assured
he had verifying his authenticity.   Claiming he had a PC,
he said he didn't know HOW to use email and I countered
with the fact that I had stepped so many newbie PC users
thru their initial logons thru the past 9 years as to qualify me
as a "Professor of Logonistry !He said OK, assured me
he was that he was "Honest Bill Fisher," he was on the
up and up and he'd get those references to me.

He also claimed to work 30 hours a week at this
philanthropy out of the goodness of his heart, for
which he never received so much as a thin dime f
or his services.

Upon my asking him how he made his living, he
hemmed and hawed and finally claimed to be a
FINANCIAL and an investment councilor..
(BOING G G! BOINGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!) (BOING!)
<BOING> (BOING!)

I flat out told him that I was skeptical and would need
that personal reference before even considering
permitting him to be a speaker at our support group,

Needless to say, he never emailed me a reference of
any kind.

HOWEVER... at our 6/17 support group, a man who was
unknown to any of us there walked into the meeting room
and introduced himself as "Bill Fisher." our guest speaker
for the day.  Odd, because our guest speaker, List
member Joni Diamond, was sitting right across from me!

I was totally dumbfounded at this intrusion.   I was even
more astounded as he dexterously suggested now that he
was there, why not permit him to share his valuable money
saving information with everyone?!?

I felt backed into a corner by this pro shyster!  My only
options appeared to be either kick him out or to let him
speak.  Since he appealed to our membership directly, if I
wanted to take any action, that would have to be done in
front of all our members.

As I pondered this dillema, Fisher grabbed the floor and
began speaking!  I sat there stunned at what had transpired.
I less than two or three minutes, this SOB had got the
income brackets of most of our members who were there, as
well as their home phone numbers and addresses!

I began telling our members that I didn't endorse Fisher
and that he was an uninvited interloper at our meeting,
and as I spoke up, he wrapped up and exited the meeting!

As strongly as I could, I warned the members that it
 appeared we had been hit by a professional CON ARTIST
and that he was NOT referred to us by anyone of repute.

In reading over the four page "information" sheet he had thrown at
the group
as he exited, it was noted that there was no business information
about Fisher in it, that is there was no company name or business
address. The "information" he had listed could easily have been
downloaded from the Internet or the Web.  When asked for a
business card by one of our members, he said he didn't have any.

And here it is - just a few days after that meeting he crashed,
and Fisher has been phoning those members who were there that day,
telling them he can save them money IF he could meet them at their
home!

I phoned the police the day after the meeting and was told they
could step in only if a crime had been committed.  The detective I
spoke with stated that this kind of scam was frequently aimed at
seniors with PD or Al, because they - WE - are SO vulnerable..
It's like we wear one of those signs on our back saying "KICK ME."
And they DO!

Finally, I've always prided myself on being pretty darn savvy,
very street-wise to this type of crime.  I've gotta tell ya (and
this is rather humbling to me) that while I gave him no personal
information about myself (heck - he already had my phone number!),
as a group leader. II was caught COMPLETELY unprepared to meet
this type of person or event within the safety of the Encino
Hospital classroom where we have our monthly meeting.

I STRONGLY urge each of you to reconsider your own vulnerability
and prepare yourself BEFORE you're taken for a ride and up broke!
Discuss you financial safety with a lawyer who specializes in
ELDER LAW. And if someone named Bill Fisher calls YOU, Hang up on
'em!

Barb Mallut
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