Recently, I hosted a fraud prevention seminar with the Milton Township Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (S.A.L.T.) Council. S.A.L.T. is an organization that brings together volunteers, local citizens, law enforcement, and public safety agencies to enhance the quality of life for the elderly.
I was grateful for the opportunity to partner with S.A.L.T. to help further their mission of educating area seniors about the steps that can be taken to protect against fraud and abuse.
If you have fallen victim to a scam, there are steps you can take:
- Call your bank, credit cards, and mortgage company and report identity theft. Contact all three credit reporting agencies and put a freeze on your credit history.
- Immediately file a police report for identity theft. Get a copy of the report.
- Report fraud to the Attorney General’s Office through this complaint form, or call this hotline number 1-866-999-5630 or 1-877-844-5461 (TTY). Additional information about how to handle a breach is also available at this link.
- You can also file a report with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which investigates many scams and requests that you report to their office.
- Keep a hard copy of all your correspondences, letters, and information regarding the scam to show your efforts to correct the issue.
While many of these scams target the elderly, anyone can be a victim of fraud, and everyone has an elderly friend or relative they want to protect, which is why I wanted to make the presentation from S.A.L.T’s Arnold Shifrin available to you. I hope you will find this information insightful and share it with anyone you think could benefit from learning to prevent fraud.