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Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

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Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

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There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

CT senior advocates host series about scam prevention

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Friday, February 23, 2024   

Today is the first day of AARP Connecticut's new series addressing scams and fraud. As scams become more complex, it can be harder to notice the warning signs.

In Better Business Bureau data, consumers reported 400 different scams in 2022, an increase of 90 from the year before. A primary reason older adults are targeted in some scams is that they have more money than younger people.

Kelli Lefler, associate state director for community outreach at AARP Connecticut, said losing money to scams can pose serious financial challenges.

"It can take a toll, you know; some people will only get scammed out of a couple hundred dollars, but even a couple hundred dollars is a lot of money," she said. "But it can be as drastic as losing $7,000, $10,000, $100,000 for the 'right' person with the 'right' scam."

Beyond money, scams can take a massive emotional toll as well. Lefler said it isn't true that only gullible people fall for scams, and the embarrassment of being conned can prevent people from reporting them.

The series is all online and free. Anyone looking to register can visit events.aarp.org/FightFraudFeb.

Lefler said AARP is collaborating for the series with other organizations that address or deal with fraud. Other topics will include Artificial Intelligence in April.

She said increasing robocalls and advancements in AI have created fear in some seniors.

"There's some fear that scammers can take the voice of your grandchild now," she said, "and call grandma or grandpa, saying that they're being held captive or they're in trouble with law enforcement and need help."

Last year, a Connecticut man was indicted in Wisconsin for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He scammed Wisconsin seniors out of $200,000 in 2022 by calling them and falsely claiming to be representing one of their relatives who had been arrested and needed money for bail.

Later installments in the series might focus on cryptocurrency and romance scams.

Disclosure: AARP Connecticut contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Health Issues, Hunger/Food/Nutrition, Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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