welcome to the show, i'm susan. no one likes to be scammed out of money. and older victims are less likely to recover financial loss. i know, it won't happen to you, you'd be smarter than that, maybe. but a scam artists get better, letting down your guard even once could cost you big time. there's a watchdog. the consumer financial protection bureau's office for older americans. it's let by skip humphrey son o wert humphrey and skip served as minnesota state senator then later at the state's attorney general. he's the former board member of the national aarp, and now heads the office of older americans. welcome, good to have you here. >> thank you, susan, great to be here. >> did i get that right? >> a lot, a lot of names and words. >> but the point is this is the thing i believe that most people kind of got the attention of elizabeth warren, now the new senator from massachusetts, this was her baby. this is a young agency, right? >> yes, it's. >> what does it do? >> it's barely two years old. well the mission of the consumer financial protection bureau is to make sure that the financial markets are open and they're accessible to every american. that there's competition that provides for good nooses at fire prices, and so that's the broader mission of the consumer financial protection bureau. we call it the cfpb. and, but within that office, within that bureau, there are several offices some of which represent particular parts of the population. we have service members office, we have an office of students, stents have lot of financial debt they're trying to make decisions as to where they go to school and how they can afford it. we have an office of empowerment for those who maybe have less resources, but still need to use the financial markets that we have. and then there's the office of older americans, and that, that is to look at the concerns that older americans have as they age. >> okay, because there is a separate office just for that this that tells us there are enough problems to warrant the attention. are the scams getting worse, and if so, why? >> i think to a certain extent, i wouldn't say they're necessarily getting worse, but there's more of them. >> more. yeah. growing. >> they're growing because number one, the population is growing, and number two, the resources that are under management or control of seniors is a very, very large part of the market. you realize over $17 trillion is under either management or control of american seniors. >> what i wondered about too was because a lot of these people are on fixed incomes, they're not that wealthy, and correct me if thursday does not play in here, but they are probably the last in general demographic to own and have paid for completely a home. >> well, a maof them have. some are still paying, but the fact you're saying is these are the resources they've accumulated over the years, and the idea here is to help them preserve those resources so that as they age, they can live independently from a financial standpoint. from the point of view. >> if a senior let's say a monotone, maybe pay ited for, and they have social security, maybe they've got an annuity or pension or some other thing. still, they're not living high on the hog. my question is what are these scam artists milling money some other place? >> of course. this is a little bit like willie sutton when asked why do you robbacks, he said that's because that's where the money is. in many expects, scammers know that resources are there that often seniors are isolated, that they tend to be a little more trusting. we are trusting individuals at our age. and, we're able to be pushed around a little bit. and that's where i think we need to kind of work on the prevention side, and the mission of the office of older americans republican is two things, number one to help seniors make sound ncdeage. give them the training, the education, work with local organizations and others to see if that happens. and secondly, to stop these scams. and to put an end to it and work with local prosecutors like you have here in the san francisco bay area, and to work with state attorneys general and others to put an end to these kinds of scams that are truly ripping off older americans. and the reality is, you have to remember, it's one thing if you get ripped off and you're 40 years of age, that's bad enough, but you have at least another 40 years or 30 years of work that you can rebuild it. >> right. >> when you're 70, 80, 85 and you get ripped off, there isn't a chance of recovery. >> uh-huh. >> it's your life that's at stake. >> what kinds of scams are you seeing? we see commercials on tv for instance for reverse mortgages, sounds like a good idea, i have my house, take the money out -- >> you should obviously listen to retired actors. to give them that advice. no, don't do that. >> yeah. >> go and talk to a housing counselor, make sure that you know what the choices are. don't jump into anything super fast, you know, and don't be now. like you have to make a you don't. you get good advice, talk to your friends, talk to family necks, make sure that you are doing the right thing for the long-term. these are your resources, and you need to use them for what you're interested in. >> okay, we're going to take a break. when we come back, we're going to walk you through five things you need to do so you can protect yourself. maybe you're too young yet, maybe you're overseeing your parent's finances, maybe you have power of attorney, or props you're concerned about a grandparent. we'll tell you what to look for so that your loved ones don't get ripped off when we return. skip humphrey is here, yes, he's that humphrey, his father was vice president hew better humphrey when lyndon johnson was in the white house. >> yes. >> indeed, okay, we could have a whole conversation about that, but let's get to the matter at hand here. we're talking about reverse mortgages, older americans, and at watching out for people who are older, who don't have a georgia gill don dollars and getted scammed all the time. as a result, losing money. how often is a scam artist caught. and >> well that's a good question because we believe there is a serious lack of reporting of these kinds of scams. seniors feel embarrassed that they've been taken. many times the people that are running the scam are relatives or someone in the family, and they are, the victim is worried about reporting to the police, they know that this kind of fraud anlingofmoney should stop, but they don't want their loved one to go , so to your question, there's obviously very serious problem, but we need to open up, we need people to speak up and speak out and make reports. so that we understand better what the whole sculpt of the problem is. >> we talk about this generation of people who like maybe now in the 80s and out certainly, owning homes and having real estate and maybe what they own is in the home. we touched on reverse mortgages when we went to break. is it ever a good idea for someone? >> it can be the appropriate vehicle, but reverse mortgage, at the time they establish this product to make sure they needed supplemental income in the out years, 70, 85, whatever, that there would be something there. unfortunately many of the reverse mortgages that are taken out now are taken out in lump sum, just after your eligible, which is age 662 and older. and people are left in their 70s and 80s without any significant resources to tap into when they really need it. that's a challenge, but i have to let you know that there are times when where it's appropriate. you just need to understand what the limitations are, and what, and make a responsible decision. the best way to do that is to get the councilling that usually comes along with this kind of of a financial product. >> okay, so if you look for a good financial adviser, and you think that person is good, many of them are, i assume, going to be somebody that you trust or that you know. >> sure. >> but there's also a lot of scam artists who say hey, look at me, and on the internet, i can come up with a beautiful business card that really looks official. >> well if you're my age, you go home and open up the mail in the morning and you are invisitted to go to the free lunch, and there's someone who has a special senior designation that knows exactly, knows special things, well what they're doing is selling you an insurance product. and may have gone to a class or two three weeks, and to figure out how to sell that product. that's not, that's not the right kind of way. >> is it legal? >> it may be legal, but it's not appropriate when you're using the designation, and in fact, in my states now, it is illegal and we have the office of older americans and the cfpb issued a report, i'd ask your viewers to take a look at consumerfinance.gov, it's important that you get good advice about your investments. >> uh-huh. >> and there you can at least find out what the concerns are, and how states and the federal government are working together to resolve it. >> we'll give you this website at the end of the show certainly, what about the internet's role here because a lot of older americans, although people don't always think so, but they are, online. >> and more so. >> and pitches online, which i assume is legal, this is in america, but it can make a buck, here, buy my product or come here. give me your information. >> first thing, don't rush to judgment. you know, and, you know, the most important thing, and i used to say this when i was attorney general, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. so step back and ask yourself if this is such a great deal for me, why aren't all of the other people that i know doing the same thing? >> uh-huh. you know, just step back a little bit. be patient, and if you think something isn't right, go ahead and ask. ask others, ask your frie report, report anything that like that looks like a scam to local law enforcement. let them take a look. >> okay. so you've got the scams that can come online and you want to take your times for those or maybe just ignore them perhaps. you have the things that come in the mail inviting you to free lunch, doesn't that sound good idea in the afternoon? >> phone call. >> isolation. what are way are they getting to seniors? because most somebody has financial power of attorney for their parents, and then they find out that the parent wants to do something else with the money. >> you know, a good number of people are, they get engaged this way because either there's an estate plan and they love and care about their elder, and they're doing the right thing, and they are handling it in an appropriate way, but there are those who either by their negligence or by an active effort, sigh fen off money in directions that the -- cbs5 on if off money, that needs to stop, we are developing and we'll publish in lay fa fiduciary guidelines. they are providing formal or informal care and how to identify where there might be scams or ripoffs going on. >> and the website we'll give you we'll lead you to that. let's give you the tips quickly. ask questions, so somebody's got a card or business, check them out a little bit, do homework here, or ask the grandchild who's good online. >> don't stay away from your friends, talk to people who you trust and be engaged. >> we have to plan ahead which is basically means, and again i guess from the website we'll get information here which is, know what you're getting for social security and with those rights are, your pensions, power of attorney should go to somebody you trust, yes? >> absolutely. >> be skeptical. we talked about that. protect your identity, and say no to being pressured. let's go back to protect your identity. they're always asking you for your social security online when you buy something. >> i've said, and it's rather interesting, usually it's a younger person asking, and they've been told that's what they need to ask for, and they're doing it innocently and appropriately for their job. i say i'm not giving you my social security number. well, i'm supposed to get it, i said no, you're not, and you don't know. i can identify myself in other ways, here's my driver's license, you know, here's any number of other ways to identify. then some people will okay, don't give me that, but how about your medicare card, t your social security, don't give them that either. so, you know, you just keep your identification cards, particularly the social security and medicare card, to yourself. and you don't need to give that out, they can find ways to identify you. >> one quick question, this group, begins with the word consumer, and we've had other agencies that have begun with consumers before, and they've done good things, but sometimes they fall short. are we going to see real help here? >> absolutely. but it has to be in done in coordination with other federal agencies and state and local organizations. today we will be an army for good and taking on scammers. >> listen, i don't i'd to want get you mad at me. i need to get the right guy in the job, thank you, it was a pleasure to have you here, and i'm glad you're doing what you're doing, and for more information, you can go to office for older americans, there's a phone number there and obviously west side consumer finance.gov. okay, buyer beware. stay with us, more ahead. thank you so much. a's crisis hit san francisco hard. the story of those who carry cared for and helped those diagnosis was being complete -- would be incomplete without project open hand. ruth saw a need and filled it. ruth and her volunteers deliver meals to people with aids who often didn't have the strength or the income to provide their own peoples for themselveses. project open hand has extended its to help many more who need it here in the bay area. for how they continued their good week, we -- work, we welcomed kevin. how long have you been with project open handle? >> year and a half. >> okay, and you are from minnesota as our last guest was. >> absolutely, it's a minnesota contingent today. >> minnesota day, all right. briefly, i know you know the story, for those who don't, ruth brinker, she passed in 2011 -- >> yes, just a year and a half ago. >> tell us how this idea came about. >> reporter: you know it really is a basic idea, ruth 1980- 1985, we know what was happening with the start of the aids pandemic. tart to see her neighbors and friends getting sick. she did a lot of things right, one of the things she did really right was cook meals and decided that if there was something she could do to help people with hiv in the bay area, it was prepare and deliver meals, one day she cooked a meal for five men living with hiv, jump ahead 28 years later, and project open hand now. serves over 8,000 people a year in the bay area. not just with hiv, but other critical illnesses like cancer and other seniors in the bay area. >> as ruth realized, and i'm sure this applies to the other people in need, is that sometimes when you're dealing with a cancer or aids or some other situation that's debilitating, you don't have, you don't have the strength to literally prepare a meal or get yourself ab scanned witch. >> absolutely. there's so many things. to your point, they don't have the strength to go grocery shopping, to prepay pair a meal for themselves, oftentimes can't provide healthy meals for themselves. and what ruth realized as well, and she was ahead of her time in so many ways, but realized that if this is important for people with hiv, it's no less important for people living with other critical illnesses, and that's, that's how project open hand republican continues to lead the nation with this issue. >> yeah, eni should say in full disclosure, skip worked for ruth brinker when they were first starting out, a little after she was established, everybody adored ruth. and she was very, very careful to make sure that the meals were beautifully served with, fresh food, it wasn't just some junk put together, it had to be well done. i guess the question now is because you've expanded the service so much, do you, are you at a point where you have to turn someone away because how much can you do? >> that's a great question. no, we have never had a waiting list, never turned anyone away who carefuls for that service. obviously that becomes more and more challenging. we continue to see cuts in government funding, only a third comes from the government toll begin with, but the economy certainly has impacted the work we do by 28 years into this we have still have not turned anyone away who was qualified for service. >> and volunteers are still delivering meals. republic you ever lacking for volunteers? >> sure, we need 100 volunteers every day week, 265 days a year. >> did doesn't mean they have to say, i can do it seven days or not at all. >> absolute we, we're very flexible, people can always call us and get signed up pretty quickly to not only deliver meals for us, but to also chop vegetables in the kitchen, answer phones, help with special events, we use volunteers in any capacity we can think of. >> and cooking and setting up a situation like this costs money. you've got to run it, you pay a chef, i assume. >> we pay a whole number of chefs -- >> and you've always moved your facility, have you not? >> large facility right on polk in the tenderloin, we have arkansas very large commercial ditch than operates seven days a week, and you know, as you said, it's an expensive operation, but what we do is, we're not addressing hunger, we're addressing a very specific need which is nutritious food and meals for people who are colonically ill or seniors. so it's an different model of our work, and it's a very expensive model, be up it's also a model that we know pays off because we live in a community where no one in this community wants someone ill to go without a meal. >> that's true. >> and that's what we do every day of the week for 28 years, absolutely. >> well and you have some very generous sponsors to help you along. and one of them, there's a run today we should say. it's a little too late to sign up to run, but you can make a donation. >> that's right. >> and ppt, we'll give you that information at the end. also besides the looking forwarthe annual deer jelly chocolate festival. now the gear jelly chocolate festival is going to do what? >> project open hand, we're very well known in the bay area, but we'rally fortunate to have two icons in the bay area as our sponsor, it's the giants race. >> giants. >> that's the race that's happening -- >> you're on the right team. >> we're very grateful for, over a million dollars for us this morning. and we have our really great friends at giradelli, it doesn't get better than those two supporters. they, every year does a chocolate festival. this year it's september 14 and 15th. >> eight and ninth? >> wrong, 14, 15th, saturday and sunday. it is the place to be in san francisco on the 4th and the 15th. >> and the proceeds for this entire thing? >> 100% of the proceeds comes to project open hand. >> wow, that's a lot. >> they underwrite everything and give us all of the money. and it's a free event, people can come to the event, there's a lot of activities that they will enjoy. >> i hear there's, i think it's a chocolate sundae eating contest. >> eating stuff first, right? >> absolutely. >> there's a chocolate workshop. >> demonstrations throughout the day, including tim nugent who your viewers might remember from top chef just desserts will be doing demonstrations. we will have 35 chocolate venders there. if people want to the take chocolate, which i recommend they do, it's $20 for tickets in advance, $25 at the gate that day. as i said earlier, it's free, observe, but it's the best town >> the on go hungry. very quickly you've been working with project open hand, >> oh, i have the best job in the world because i know when i leave work every day, whether or not we've succeeded. and we measure success by the fact that more than 4,000 people in the bay area get a nutritious meal every day. so i take little for granite, and very grateful for all that this community provides a whole lot of people. >> it's good work. >> great work. >> i'm glad to continue it, sorry there's a need, but glad that somebody's filling it. >> thank you. >> for more information on today's giant race, and the upcoming chocolate festival and how you can help project open hand just visit their website at openhand.org. that's openhand.org. probably donate there too. we leave you now with a longest running musical review in theater history, steve silvers, beach blanket babylon, for more, go to the website, thank you for watching [ music ] . ((butt to)) 07:11:56;07 wil of no one will like the fin solution. but that means i'a good one. we're less than 24 hours aw from the bart contract dead. >> we will go as long as we have to go. >> we do not -- we did not -- we don't want a service disruption in the bay area. >> no one will like the final solution, but that means it's a good one. >> less than 24 hours away from the bart contract deadline as they look at the next -- preventing a strike. political insiders -- what is going on behind closed doors. good sunday morning to you, fog and low overcast and unusually cool reading. go the forecast coming up. and u. s. embassies are closed right now. the global travel alert for the americans overseas and the preaugusts they're asking

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