Korean seniors in the New York and New Jersey Korean community have

Korean seniors in the New York and New Jersey Korean community have long been the targets of scams, but these days, the number of such cases is rising and the seniors are becoming increasingly distraught.

Most of the Korean victims are over 60 years old. Because of their reduced finances, many seniors look for roommates to defray living costs; this is also a way to make friends and lessen the loneliness that can beset the elderly. But, increasingly, many of these roommates turn out to be anything but friends. These scammers delay paying their portion of the rent, in some cases paying nothing before disappearing.

These elderly are left with a financial burden, and a sense of shock.

Ms. Regina Kim, the director of the Korean American Family Service Center said, “This targeting of Korean seniors is not new – it’s really been happening for a long time. But sadly, this particular scam is growing in frequency. We see a number of cases each month and saw many cases by mid-January.”

A Korean grandfather in his 70s fainted and was brought to a hospital emergency room, after an argument with a roommate who had not paid any rent for six months, and was being quite unpleasant about it.

Another senior, in his 60s, was shocked to learn that his roommate, a woman who appeared to be in her 50s and said she held an office job, instead of going stayed home instead of going to work. She asked questions about the man’s family and private life, and soon began to threaten him about his immigration status. She disappeared after a few days, without paying any rent.

Other situations include an elderly Korean whose roommate brings a girlfriend to the apartment at odd hours; another senior has a roommate who gambles and does not pay rent.

Seniors often want to get rid of their difficult roommates, but find they can’t because they have no lease or rental agreements with these roommates; they hesitate to oust them, for fear of legal repercussions.

Ms. Kim pointed out, “The offenders are mostly Koreans who do not have regular income and are between 40 and 50 years old. These individuals are abusing the elderly, who are physically weak and unable to protect themselves; it’s a free ride at the expense of these seniors.”

She called for Korean seniors to be vigilant against false roommates saying, “seniors should not rely on roommates for help with the rent or living costs. If they must take in a roommate, they should try to find out as much as they can about that person. They should also protect their own personal and private information from snooping roommates.”

Via The Korea Times, 28 January 2011. Translated from Korean by Sun-Yong Reinish.