"When she finally understands what's going on, she goes to call the police and she's beaten," Burton said. "And, I must say, badly. She's suffered post-traumatic stress."
Another patient had $300 stolen by a person who claimed to be from a local community service agency, Burton said. He also remembers an 80-year-old patient who was raped and another who was targeted by a caller who insisted he was a friend of the patient's son and needed money for an emergency.
"I could go on and on. I hear these stories all week," Burton said. "It's devastating. It's why older people lock their doors 26 times and become increasingly isolated and never come out."
FOR THE RECORD - An article in Friday's editions of The Sun misidentified the director of the Johns Hopkins Geriatric Education Center. His name is Dr. John R. Burton.
The Sun regrets the error.
Baltimore police say Schmidt was stabbed Monday by an apparent burglar, who may have encountered the elderly woman after breaking into her house in the Remington neighborhood near Johns Hopkins University.
Police in Montgomery County have been investigating a series of home invasions in which all the victims were over the age of 75. In those cases, the seniors were tied up by the burglars.
These are the kinds of crimes that send seniors into depression and sometimes force them to move into retirement communities, Burton said.
"It is a major-league societal problem that I don't know an easy answer to," he said.
Experts say there are some things that seniors can do to protect themselves from abuse, schemes and other forms of victimization.
The Maryland attorney general's office works to protect seniors from financial exploitation, said Jeffrey H. Myers, assistant attorney general and principal counsel to the Maryland Department of Aging.
Myers said seniors should use direct deposit for Social Security checks and other income. They should also beware of callers who promise deals that sound "too good to be true." And many seniors don't use ATM cards but keep them lying around.
"If you're not using an ATM card, cut it up," Myers said. ""
Blancato urged seniors to never open the door to strangers or share information about their assets or identification.
"Never offer anything, not even a phone," he said. "And if you have any doubt, don't deal with them."
No one wants to see older residents becoming further isolated out of fear, said Burton. Instead, he hopes stories like what happened to Schmidt will remind seniors to be cautious and ever-vigilant.
"I think we need to alert the public to this," he said.
tanika.white@baltsun.com
