Scam Mail: 15 Rip-Off Companies Targeting Seniors

I wrote about Scammers and Junk Mail last year after tackling my aunt’s huge volume of junk mail. One category is the slimy people who are targeting Seniors fears that they will lose Social Security. The letters shout.. Congress is attempting to abolish Social Security and this group.. will save you for the mere price of $15-$19.95. The letters come in all colors (CODE ORANGE), all sizes, ballots enclosed, DUE NOW, urgent, vote now, sign the referendum now, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.. Do not Forward. .

The other thing, you can hardly find out about these companies.. which to me.. mean they are a bunch of predators. Worse yet, if you even respond one time, you get on the suckers list and the junk mail will continue.

None of these companies are a tax deductible corporation, even though they claim to be non- profits.

1. Benefit Security Coalition 1 letter a month. Sean Murphy is the head of this organization. Here is the Fox News from 2013 alerting people to this scam. The Better Business Bureau also rates them an F
2. Benefit Protection Alliance a program of U.S English another scam junk mail.
3. Christian Seniors Association: Campaign to Save Medicare by Stopping Medicare for All which will lead to the Rationing of medical care for seniors. 1 per month. They have an ‘F” by the Better Business Bureau. The complaints.. they are taking unauthorized money from people’s checking accounts. (BBB)
4. Coalition To Guarantee Social Security 1 letter per month. These booklets are sent by Virginia-based Coalition to Guarantee Social Security. This is  “a project” of the Christian Seniors Assn., which is division of the Traditional Values Coalition. (UH???) yep, that means 3 x as much mail. Jim Lafferty is the director and the organization has been tied to racism. Read more about them at LA Times.
5. National Campaign to Guarantee Social Security : CODE ORANGE Deadline. The address is 600 Diagonal Road, Suite 600, Alexandria, VA, which happen to be the offices of the Federation of Responsible Citizens. UH?? 
6. National Census of Senior Citizens: Rated F by the Better Business Bureau . 6 complaints filed. They are a 501(c)4 group and donations to its advocacy efforts are not tax deductible.
7. National Council for Survivors– National Council for Survivors is a part of the American Service Council, Inc. Also, the American Service Council is registered as a 501.c.4 charity. This means you may not deduct donations made to the company as you can with a 501.c.3.  This is also A Program of American Service Council, which also sends out mail for Seniors Advocate. (see #8 listing)
8. National Seniors Council – This actual might be legit as Bloomberg wrote about them. I emailed them to ask them how to stop getting their junk mail. Receive about 2 letters a month.
9. Seniors Advocate: 1 per month. From Washington DC. They like ballots to send to whomever. A Program of The American Service Council. The only website for Seniors Advocate is in Vancouver, Canada. They are not listed on the BBB website. Again they are NOT tax deductible. An URGENT Response was needed.
10. Senior Security Alliance: Another one ACT now, sign the petition. A program of the The Citizen’s Assembly. ( See #9)
11. The Senior Trust: a Program of The Citizens Assembly Inc:  1 letter every 2 weeks. 5 Complaints at the Better Business Bureau. I just sent them an email requesting to get off their list . The BBB rated them an ‘F” (see #14)
12. The Seniors Center: 1 letter every 3 weeks.  A programs of the American Service Council is a 501(C)(4) See listing #6 and #8. Basically American Service Council also operates as Christian Voice. BBB (202) 625-4377
13. The Senior Citizens League: 1 per month. Another non-tax deductible company. Can’t find too much about them.
14. The Seniors Coalition 1 letter every 2 weeks. Not much about them, except this one review on BBB. After sending a contribution to Seniors Trust, I received two more solicitations within the next ten days and continued to receive them weekly forever with no thank you or recognition of the donation.
15. The Seniors Group For Social Security: Their campaign: Auditors now reporting that the Security Trust Fund is headed for imminent bankruptcy sooner than expected. They have a very old website and cannot find out much about them. Project from The National Senior Citizens Committee. Non -tax deductible. Director is David Coyne and this is an emergency!!!! Financial Support is Vital!

Add to the legitimate mail from AARP and others and adds up to major tree killing companies, that care more about lining their pockets instead of actually protecting seniors.

And they find you again.. they are continuing to send mail to my aunt.

Bottom line, if you have an aging parent or relative, start now by monitoring their mail and check books. The process of getting rid of this mail before they start to sell their lists is painful and long.

Resources

Junk Mail Redux: A blog about getting rid of junk mail for her father

Drowning in Junk Mail: Another blog about getting rid of junk mail

Better Business Bureau 

CNN: Sucker Lists 

Social security scam letter targeting seniors