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A volatile stock market is fertile ground for scammers trying to scare seniors in to parting with their money. Today, a one day nationwide hotline to educate seniors about financial frauds is wrapping up its final calls. The free advice is designed to protect seniors from scammers who, as Whitney Ray tells us, can steal a lifetime of savings in just a few days.

Music keeps 95 year old Vera Nessen and 88 year old Paul Frohe young. It may also keep them sharp enough from becoming a victim of financial fraud. According to the Investment Protection Trust one out of every five people over 65 have fallen victim to some level of financial fraud.

The trust hosted a nationwide hotline Thursday to give free advice to seniors and their families about avoiding investment fraud.

AARP is also spreading the word about scams. Spokesman Dave Bruns says criminals are now using the turmoil in the financial market to rip off seniors.

“If they get inside those defenses, they will clean you out in a heartbeat and a lifetime of prudence and hard work can go, poof, like that,” said Burns.

Crooks also look for signs of cognitive impairments when selecting a victim.

As for Vera and Paul, they remain alert, and have family support to protect them from scams. Family involvement can be a big deterrent to scammers. AARP says if a deal sounds too good to be true it probably is. They say always get a second opinion before signing any investment deals and never giving banking information to anyone over the internet. For more tips visit www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/