No-Scam November: Spotting Signs Of Fraud

“No Scam November” is underway. The goal: to prevent scams before a vulnerable person gets ripped off.

The Worcester County Vulnerable Adult Task Force, The Sheriff’s Office, local police and the Worcester County State’s Attorney plan to raise awareness about common fraud schemes that most frequently target senior citizens.

“We are proud to partner with our allied agencies to help educate our residents about the ongoing scams that victimize them,” Sheriff Matt Crisafulli said. “Education is a key component in the reduction of these crimes, and partnering agencies make our residents much safer.”

One scenario involves gift cards – a person gets a call from someone claiming to be in an emergency need of cash, and gift cards could resolve the issue. Or, a scammer claims to have infected a person’s computer with a virus and demands thousands in gift cards to fix the problem.

“The Office of the State’s Attorney is thankful for the continued partnership that lead to this innovative idea for preventing gift card
scams,” Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser said. “As was our goal last year when we created the Task Force, we will continue to provide this type of outreach and education to the benefit of our senior citizens and shine a light on the issues and problems affecting them.”