A company doing business throughout the United States under the name of Survey Trust is targeting senior citizens through their churches, senior centers, and possibly other trusted organizations.  They call their survey the “Health and Behavioral Survey.”

Senior citizens are offered $1,000 up front, and sometimes scooters or other durable medical equipment, to complete the survey.  They are then told that they will receive $250 per year for the rest of their lives.

The survey requires seniors to provide extensive personal information, including social security number, Medicare number, financial details, and all health information.  They are asked to sign a fourteen page contract, which includes signing an irrevocable durable limited power of attorney that gives the company the right to lifelong access to the individual’s medical records, and signing a form authorizing and directing the senior’s heirs and assigns to provide a copy of the person’s death certificate.  The documents then must be notarized, which indicates that this is much more than a survey.

The contract is confusing, with many unfamiliar terms and conditions.  The required information puts the seniors at risk for financial exploitation and identity theft. 

This appears to be a program to sell an insurance product called Stranger Oriented Life Insurance, where a stranger purchases a life insurance policy on a person and collects the benefits when the insured person dies.  The person whose life is insured receives none of the benefits from the policy.  This is a legal transaction, but is often a deceptive and dangerous practice.

It appears that Survey Trust purchases the personal information from seniors, then may insure the individual or may sell the information to a speculator who insures the individual. 

There is additional information, at www.KCRA.com; search for “Survey Trust.”