By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The senior community took advantage of a special seminar Thursday aimed at arming them with the knowledge to protect themselves from senior scams and fraud.
Ryan Lippe, a consumer educator with the Consumer Protection Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, gave an hour-long presentation addressing elder fraud and scams.
Though seniors are targets for a number of reasons, Lippe said one of the biggest reasons senior citizens are targeted is because they come from a different culture that had a more trusting lifestyle. Though seniors are only 15 percent of the population, Lippe said they represent 30 percent of those people who have reported to be victims of fraud or a scam.
“They grew up in a generation where a handshake meant something,” Lippe said. “Where you could look in somebody’s eye and see if they’re telling the truth or not. These days you’ve got to read fine print, you’ve got to worry about scams over the internet, and it seems like you can’t do any purchase without being hassled and providing personal information and maybe getting involved in a scam.”
Lippe said seniors are also less likely to report a scam, whether it is because they feel embarrassed or they don’t know where to report it.
Lippe reviewed the most common scams, such as the grandparent scam, the imposter scam, and home improvement fraud. Oftentimes, those scams will come from a telephone call, letters, door-to-door solicitations, fliers, emails, phony websites, and text messages.
The Bucyrus Police Department, along with the other law enforcement departments in the area, often receives calls about scams that have made their way into the area. Most recently, the police department reported on tax fraud complaints. At the end of February the department also received a report of a scammer that pretended to be the Ohio State Highway Patrol in order to collect money.
“Really, the best way to combat the scams we see every day is through education and it is vital all year round,” Lippe said. “This week happens to be National Consumer Protection Week where a whole lot of law enforcement and attorney generals from across the country are doing a lot of work to educate people. But every day of the year we are willing to go out and educate people. We can go to civic organizations; we can go to senior homes and educate people like we did today. Whether it’s identity theft, cyber security, consumer rights, senior scams, those are just a few of the topics we can speak to at the Attorney General’s office. We provide the public service to have educators to actually come in to the community and deliver a presentation to give customers some good red flags to look out for before getting scammed.”
“It was very informative,” said Dean Heid, Development and Marketing Coordinator at HomeCare Matters Home Health and Hospice. “I think it was exactly what we wanted to accomplish: to educate our seniors on fraud and what they can do to protect themselves.”
“What’s interesting to me is how many folks came in with their own problems,” Heid said. “Then it was addressed. They could ask questions right here and they got answers.”
Maxine Keller had a few ideas on how scam artists attempt to target seniors but she wanted to be even better prepared should she or anyone she knows become a target.
“It was interesting to hear about,” Keller said.
Keller has not been a victim of a scam or fraud before and she certainly does not intend to be one in the future.
“I know a lot of we seniors are susceptible to these things and I didn’t want to be one of them,” Keller said.
Reports of scams can be sent to any of the local law enforcement offices or to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. More information on senior scams can be found at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/individuals-and-families/victims/seniors/elder-fraud.aspx.