Fraud prevention event aims to educate seniors and their families
Published at
IDAHO FALLS — Consumers reportedly lost nearly $8.8 billion to scams in 2022, with people losing the most money to investment scams. Older Americans were on the hook for about $3 billion of that; in fact, people over 60 lost more money than any other age group, according to the Idaho Department of Finance (IDOF).
The IDOF is offering its Fraud and Senior Financial Exploitation and Prevention Roadshow in hopes of bringing those numbers down. The event will be held in Idaho Falls on Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and aims to educate seniors, their family members and caregivers about financial crimes.
“There’s a huge growth in crimes against seniors. They’re losing a lot of money,” John Yaros, the securities bureau chief for the Idaho Department of Finance told EastIdahoNews.com.
Older adults are victimized more often and to a greater degree for one very simple reason.
“Let’s face it, scammers are going to go where there’s money,” Yaros said. “And the over-60 crowd has money.” He noted that seniors save their entire lives for retirement. These funds, meant for their golden years, make them a prime target for scammers.
“We always say, ‘It takes 48 years to build your wealth and less than 48 hours to lose it.'”
Financial crimes against seniors typically fall into two categories. The first involves known exploiters, where family members or caretakers take advantage of vulnerable seniors. The second category encompasses investment scams and cybercrimes, according to Yaros.
Experts from AARP Idaho and the Idaho Commission on Aging will discuss resources and best practices for spotting scams, protecting assets and reporting crimes in either of these categories to authorities.
The Fraud and Senior Financial Exploitation and Prevention Roadshow will be held in Idaho Falls on Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Westbank Convention Center, located at 525 River Parkway. A meet and greet will be held after each presentation. Light refreshments, gifts and door-raffle prizes will be available for those who attend. Registration is free and strongly encouraged, but not required. You can register online at https://fraudpreventionroadshow.eventbrite.com.