With regard to stopping elder fraud during National Consumer Protection Week

Annmarie Throckmorton, M.A.

Mar 6, 2018

Today I received yet another telephone scam. This time it was an actress with a fake-elderly voice that urgently said, “This is the Internal Revenue Service, the very moment you receive this message I need you to...”, and I hung up because I am sure that what that fraudster needs is my money and I still have most of my faculties so that is not going to happen...today. Because of the vagaries of aging, I suppose that there will come a time when I cannot so clearly see the financial dangers in my life, therefore, I appeal to the government to DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THIS FINANCIAL FRAUD CALCULATED TO ROB OLD PEOPLE.

today’s email to me from the President of the United States

(It is always a thrill to receive my daily communiqué sent nationwide to American citizens by our President and his team.)

“On March 2, President Trump proclaimed this week as National Consumer Protection Week—an important occasion to help consumers learn more about their rights in the U.S. marketplace.

A few messages that President Trump wants all Americans to hear this week:

“American consumers must be alert for a broad range of scams and schemes, including identity theft, cybersecurity breaches, and charity fraud, all of which . . . erode financial security.”

“Depraved scammers often target the elderly. Such fraud can rob victims of their dignity and confidence, in addition to their resources.”

“The best weapon against fraud and extortion is a well-informed consumer.

“A vibrant economy, fueled by consumer confidence, is at the heart of American prosperity,' President Trump writes. 'Fraudulent and deceptive practices erode the marketplace.'"

(emphasis added)

So I made this comment on the President's website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Many, if not most of the elderly are unable to protect themselves (that is almost the definition of elderly.) The elderly often no longer have the mental acuity and physical strength to maintain themselves as “well-informed consumer(s)”. The elderly are worn-out by life lived long, some of the elderly are ill, others who are elderly are also still overburdened with too many family obligations and too few resources; and inevitably all are dying (this is the ultimate definition of elderly). An excellent example of what the government must do for the people as a whole, that they cannot do for themselves individually, is to protect the elderly from financial fraud. It is the decent thing for a country to do. I ask that the United States government pay particular attention and apply special efforts to protecting the elderly during National Consumer Protection Week, and every other week in the year. Shine a light on elder fraud, then demolish it.

I thank you for your consideration of this request.

Best wishes from an elderly citizen to President Donald J. Trump, family, friends, and allies.

Five minutes later, I received an email response from the President's office:

“I appreciate you taking the time to send your thoughts and suggestions. My staff will share your email with me shortly.”

When I tried to open the same email a second time, I got a nonsensical, mocking error message that said (it was certainly not from the President), and I quote: “The message can’t be closed for the following reason (I did not try to close it, I tried to open it): The message can’t be saved because it no longer exists (I did not try to save it, I tried to open it). It can only be discarded (really?). Make sure you copy the contents of the message before you discard if you want to use them later (again, I did not discard it, nor did I delete it which is the usual term for removing emails).” Is this another attack on presidential communications by so-called “Social Justice Warriors”?

SJW’s fancy themselves invulnerable because they know The United States of America is relatively safe for them, but if they keep degrading the public realm, they too will find themselves at risk. I wish they would go back to studying, or however they occupied themselves before they became dupes and mercenaries of the ultra-left. Shame on them for interfering with an email to an old lady from her president.