People in their senior years spend most of their time at home and they can become vulnerable to isolation and loneliness.
Many senior Americans rely on meal delivery programs to make sure they can eat nutritious and warm meals daily.
Most of the packed meals are delivered by volunteers who also use delivery times as a chance to check on the seniors.
One delivery program, Meals on Wheels, do not ask seniors to pay for their meals but people they could make donations. The program is paid for in part by federal funding.
But recently, an elderly couple was scammed by a man who told them they have pending payment for their Meals on Wheels deliveries.
On May 8, the elderly couple received their Meals on Wheels delivery. But after around 10 minutes, another man knocked and said he needed the payment for the meals.
The woman gave him $20 as she was not entirely confident about Meals on Wheels payment structure. She then called the Aging and Disability Resource Center to ask about the $20 payment and it was discovered that her family had been conned.
On behalf of the couple, the ADCR staff called officers to report the scam. There is still no information about the suspect, according to police.
The amount may not be big but police officers are taking the crime seriously.
A spokesperson for the Eau Claire Police department, Bridget Coit, said: “They clearly had the intent to defraud these individuals.
“Meals on Wheels does not ask for payment, they do not bill for their services, they simply mail out a letter and ask for donations,” Coit added. “So the individual who was doing this clearly was trying to take advantage of individuals who are vulnerable.”
After learning about the story, an anonymous stranger restored a little faith to the couple’s hearts by contacting the police and asked if they could help.
The police department shared the act of kindness on social media, writing: “Update to Meals on Wheels Scam from last week! We weren’t going to share, but we were so moved we had to:
“After hearing about how an elderly homebound couple was defrauded last week, an anonymous person reached out and asked if they could repay what the couple lost.
“Today, that amazing citizen dropped off an envelope at the ECPD, with the amount lost + some. They were sickened by the fraud to the couple and stated, ‘We are better than this in Eau Claire.’ Indeed we are!”
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