ORGANISED crime gangs are targeting retirees with increasingly
sophisticated scams that may have already cost thousands of
elderly Australians more than $100 million.  The fraudsters are
homing in on Australia because the economy rode out the global
financial crisis comparatively unscathed.  Police and the
Australian Crime Commission have told The Age that crime gangs
are going to extreme lengths to ''backstop'' their scams by
manning multiple phones with well-informed, convincing
associates.  The commission - which has set up a joint taskforce
called Galilee with state and federal law enforcement bodies -
estimates that more than 2400 individuals, 800 companies and 51
superannuation funds have lost a total of $93 million to date.
On average, victims have lost about $130,000, with losses
ranging from $35,000 to greater than $4 million.  The frauds are
a further blow to retirees, many of whom saw the value of their
superannuation plummet due to the GFC, and it is believed the
cost is far greater than reported