(Jun 11, 2007)

The day the handyman moved into her elderly aunt's home, Nancy McLean knew there was a problem.

There were other signs her widowed aunt was vulnerable: the student who worked at the local dollar store who started eating out of her fridge, borrowing her car; the firm that paved her driveway for a huge sum.

Hamilton Police Sergeant Pat Blake of the Crimes Against Seniors Unit said he's heard countless similar stories. Last year the unit investigated about 450 cases, and "that's the tip of the iceberg."

Blake said it's estimated that about 8 to 12 per cent of seniors will be victims of abuse. He said 75 per cent of cases his unit has investigated are financial, such as misuse of power of attorney or misuse of credit cards.

Phonebusters Canada says seniors are common targets for telemarketing scams and fraud. Between 1996 and 2003, 84 per cent of the total dollar loss through telemarketing prize and lottery scams was accounted for by victims more than 60 years of age. Total losses due to fraud totalled $75 million last year.

But most of those taking advantage of seniors are those charged with caring for them: family members or personal support workers. Sometimes that abuse is physical or emotional.

Police have three senior-support officers. Call 905-529-4925. Check out hamiltonpolice.on.ca/HPS/Seniors/SeniorsSupportOffice.htm.

Back to McLean. Once she confronted the freeloading student, he never came back. As for the handyman? Her aunt, an eccentric and longtime lover of animals, brought home a dead squirrel one day and put it on the kitchen counter to admire it before its celebrated burial.

"He moved out," McLean said with a grin.