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Family caregivers are the biggest source of support for older adults and people with disabilities in the U.S. If you’re one of the busy people who prepares meals, drives to medical appointments, helps pay bills, and visits someone regularly, you’ve seen the tremendous difference your contributions make in their life. You may also have warned them about the scams that may come through their phone, email, or mailbox. We know it takes a lot to be a caregiver, and during National Family Caregiver’s Month, we’ll publish a series of blogs to share resources and suggestions that could make your days a bit easier.

 

First, we’ll explain how to avoid and stop the unwanted calls that seem to come when you’re waiting for an important call, or sitting down to relax. Then, we’ll share advice about claims to watch out for if you’re interested in a dietary supplement and how to spot false or misleading ads for treatments. Finally, because many caregivers are interested in work with flexible schedules, we’ll show some warning signs of scam job ads for mystery shoppers, personal assistants, re-shipping clerks, and other jobs. We’ll tell you how to spot and avoid the scammers that are after your money and personal information.

 

Find more articles about common scams that affect older adults, including home repair scams, identity theft, and calls from fake “grandchildren” at Pass It On. If you spot a scam, or consumer problem, please tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

Tigerlewis8Don…
November 08, 2021
I'm my moms primary care provider for my mom and we are wIting for the state of ny to approve her for medicaid so I came be paid to pay the bills
Rob798
November 08, 2021
This is good to know
indi
November 08, 2021

In reply to by Rob798

I'm my mothers care giver , She's bed ridden , i"m disable as well and in a wheel chair, my question is Why can't we get paid for taking care of our family members It cost a lot to make sure she has everything and we both are on disabilty! please let me know please. Thank you!
FTC Staff
November 16, 2021

In reply to by indi

The US Administration on Aging has information to help caregivers with questions about in-home care, respite care, getting paid to be a caregiver, and much more.

Go to Eldercare.acl.gov/caregivers to see what's available near you.

Rob798
November 08, 2021
Watch you families back when it comes to scams
Tired
November 08, 2021
It’s only available in NY, NJ has nothing for family care givers. I hv taken on the care of my 91 year old mom with laundry and meals added plus all doctor visits and hygiene of all type. It’s been 2.5 years. She is now wheelchair bound and I don’t feel I can care for her any longer. I hv no steady income and need to be re trained in a field that will provide me a more steady income. I will need to turn to aids and other professionals for the care of my mom. Where to start?
HOPE
November 08, 2021
I’m a senior citizen, my wife has a foot surgery and suddenly I became the caregiver . My wife is a retired teacher and used to be working abroad, but now she is a US Citizen. My income is rather limited and couldn’t hire a helping hand for her. But I’m taking care of her current state which would continue for 6-8 weeks. Is there any help we could get?
FTC Staff
November 16, 2021

In reply to by HOPE

The US Administration on Aging has information to help caregivers with questions about in-home care, respite care, Medicare, getting paid to be a caregiver, and much more.

Go to Eldercare.acl.gov/caregivers to see what's available near you.

Bunny
November 08, 2021
I’ve been a caregiver for 2 different family members, and I’ve seen just about everything from abusive nursing homes to both me and my mom, agencies that were on the take along with doctors and when I reported the issues, the places put the spotlight on me. And now it’s happening again but in a different way with a spouse.
Yogachic4life
November 08, 2021
I take care of my dad, so I wanted to thank you for everything you’ll do to keep us safe.
Rebeccacolorez84
November 12, 2021
My sisters a caretaker also and Shes aN exllent parent care taker and goes threw alot but Never gives up and will always be a trait in any form way and is love u sister
M1921933
November 12, 2021
I am my father‘s primary care in his home… He is on a feeding tube which I have to take care of three times a day or more, he has diabetes which I have to check several times a day, he has several doctor and specialist appointments that I take him also, I take care of his laundry and anything else he needs… He has a nurse that sees him at home once a week and a Physical therapist and a Speech Therapist…But they will be signing off on him in the next couple of weeks if they feel he is doing good enough It’s a lot of work and i’ve been trying to figure out how to get compensation for doing this as my dad is on a very fixed income Which barely takes care of his current needs… And actually I try to get help wherever I can I am also disabled but I am fighting for disability at this time and not sure if they’re going to even approve it or not I just need help because I do not want him to end up in a nursing home
FTC Staff
November 16, 2021

In reply to by M1921933

The US Administration on Aging has information to help caregivers with questions about in-home care, respite care, getting paid to be a caregiver, and much more.

Go to Eldercare.acl.gov/caregivers to see what's available near you.