“It may have been a scam from the beginning,” she added.Seniors in rural areas could be especially vulnerable. They often live alone because their children have moved to big cities for jobs. About 16 million elderly people had been left behind in rural areas, according to a 2016 survey by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.Many older adults “don’t have the financial resources to pay for long-term care services and they don’t have children who can provide the care for them, so they are basically stuck,” said Bei Wu, a professor of public health at New York University who …
