02:17 - Focus on aging adults is sponsored in part

02:20 - by AARP.

02:23 - Pennsylvania has one of the largest aging populations in the country.

02:28 - Our aging adults are vibrant, active contributors to our society.

02:32 - PCM, in partnership with AARP,

02:35 - present focus on aging adults.

02:39 - Welcome to focus on aging adults.

02:41 - I'm Larry Casper.

02:43 - This program is brought to you in partnership between PCN

02:47 - and the AARP of Pennsylvania.

02:50 - Today we'll be talking about how to avoid holiday scams.

02:55 - Our guests are David Shallcross, director of senior protection

02:59 - at the Attorney General's office, and Mary Bok,

03:03 - chair of the Consumer issues task Force at AARP Pennsylvania.

03:08 - Welcome to both of you.

03:10 - Thank you.

03:11 - Mary, how often is AARP hearing complaints

03:15 - from members about holiday scams?

03:18 - Larry, it's all too often.

03:19 - In fact, they have done a recent survey, and they found that 82% of

03:24 - the respondents said that their lives have been touched by fraud or a scam.

03:30 - And I think many of us can say that

03:32 - although we have not necessarily lost money, but

03:35 - we are getting those terrible telephone calls, the phishing emails,

03:38 - and now more than ever, the texts on our smartphones.

03:43 - And David, let's consider a report that came from the Center

03:46 - County Office of Aging.

03:48 - They said that financial scams top the list there,

03:51 - and they got 350 reports in 2024.

03:55 - Can you tell me about activity within your office that might address this?

03:59 - Yeah, we have a financial crime section in our office and

04:03 - they can address those type of crimes.

04:04 - And of course, Pennsylvania now has the, fraud complaint under the statute

04:10 - that is for financial exploitation of care dependent or older adults

04:13 - under the theft section.

04:15 - So we can now investigate those claims of over $20,000 in financial exploitation.

04:20 - So it gives our office

04:21 - that initial jurisdiction on those matters, as well as partnering

04:25 - with the county, district attorney's and local police on cases of that nature.

04:29 - And then our Bureau of Consumer Protection office last year alone received over

04:33 - $42.5 million in financial fraud cases through consumers.

04:38 - And those complaints, were over 3500 and numbers.

04:42 - Well, on the average day.

04:43 - But as far as an individual is concerned, can you give me a range in dollars

04:47 - about how much money has an individual lost to some kind of a scam?

04:54 - You know, it varies greatly,

04:55 - depends on the type of scam and the person's, availability to funds.

04:59 - Right.

04:59 - But on average, we do see that it's over $1,000 in loss per individual.

05:05 - And that's a lot of money for folks.

05:06 - You know,

05:07 - when people are in the older ages and they're retired,

05:10 - they're not working overtime to make that back.

05:12 - Larry, the money's gone.

05:13 - That's an impact on their livelihood.

05:15 - That can cause them to skip prescriptions, skip meals.

05:19 - I've seen terrible cases where that amount of money was just enough

05:23 - to really set off a whole domino effect of terrible things in that person's life.

05:28 - So, you know, it doesn't sound like a lot of money

05:30 - to some people, but to others, it's everything.

05:32 - So it's very important

05:33 - that we take every complaint and review it as closely as we can,

05:37 - and do everything that we can to provide resources and assistance in these matters.

05:41 - Mary, how often are seniors a target for scammers?

05:45 - Well, actually, it's young people in the category of 20

05:50 - to 29 that are scammed the most often.

05:54 - But the numbers or the amounts of money that are lost

05:58 - are just minuscule compared to the scams against seniors.

06:03 - Simply because seniors may own their own home,

06:07 - they may have a nest egg, they may have a pension.

06:11 - Veterans may have some defined benefits that they are receiving,

06:15 - and the scammers know where the money is.

06:18 - And that's why often seniors are targeted

06:22 - now because it's a season forgiving at this point.

06:26 - Are people less vigilant and more likely to let their guard down?

06:30 - Mary, I think that's typical.

06:32 - I think people get rushed.

06:34 - They are busy with all kinds of activities.

06:38 - People who still have jobs are doing their job,

06:42 - as well as taking care of their families and preparing for the holidays.

06:45 - And so as a result, people just do seem to be less

06:51 - cognizant of the scams because of their busy schedules.

06:55 - Oh, what about you, David?

06:56 - Does your office notice a spike in activity at this time of year?

07:00 - And maybe more decisions are being made emotionally instead of with larger?

07:04 - You know, Larry, that's the key word.

07:06 - Emotions and scammers are successful with three major factors.

07:09 - They use timing, psychology and emotional triggers.

07:13 - And of course, the holidays and emotional time.

07:16 - It means a lot to be with family.

07:17 - It means a lot for their religious beliefs, for a lot of folks.

07:20 - And those holidays you get caught up, like Mary said, in all the activities,

07:24 - the scheduling, trying to get your shopping and gift

07:26 - wrapping done, your focus isn't where it needs to be.

07:29 - So situational awareness that you're aware of what's happening around you,

07:33 - not just in the real world, but online, on social media.

07:37 - Everything that you're engaged in, there's an opening there for a scammer

07:40 - to strike, and during the holidays, the scammer doesn't take vacation.

07:44 - They work overtime.

07:46 - They're the Grinch. In this story.

07:48 - David, I'm interested in your use of the phrase emotional triggers.

07:52 - So give me some examples.

07:53 - And you do, Mary.

07:54 - Well, you know, think about what's emotional. Grandma.

07:56 - I'm I'm in so much trouble.

07:58 - You receive a phone call, an email or some type of messaging.

08:01 - That's an emotional moment. It's you.

08:02 - It's a family member. You think they're in some danger.

08:05 - You're going to take emotions over clear thinking.

08:09 - Imagine.

08:09 - Yet you've told you just won a great sweepstakes prize.

08:12 - A lot of money is coming. Joy is an emotion.

08:16 - It gets you out of that focused mindset that you would normally maybe pause

08:20 - and think about. Because now you're excited.

08:23 - You're fearful.

08:24 - This is the jury duty commissioner and you failed to show up for jury duty.

08:28 - We're having the sheriff come out and arrest you,

08:30 - or send us some payments by gift cards or crypto or some format.

08:34 - And right away, people, oh my gosh, I'm going to be arrested.

08:38 - That fear.

08:39 - These are the emotional triggers that the scammer has set up in the storyline,

08:43 - what I call the wrapper of the scam to get you not thinking clearly.

08:47 - And I'm sure, Mary is going to tell you about the term

08:50 - that AARP uses for that mindset.

08:53 - We always say that if you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.

08:57 - And the worst scams when you talk about emotions are the romance scams.

09:03 - And it's very sad for me to say that approximately 83%

09:07 - of the victims of romance scams are women, because I like to think

09:11 - women are smarter than that, but women get so caught up

09:15 - in the love interest, the emotion they trust, what they're being told

09:19 - by this person who has reached out to them

09:23 - always on social media, and they are

09:27 - the victim is lured in and they really think

09:32 - they have a companion or certainly a love interest.

09:35 - And as a result, they

09:39 - lose track of

09:41 - their own common sense sometimes, and maybe at holiday time.

09:45 - Romance scam.

09:47 - What it promises might even seem that much more alluring.

09:50 - Absolutely.

09:50 - Because the love interest is saying, I want to meet you.

09:54 - I would love to spend the holidays with you,

09:57 - and that just causes your heart to beat even faster.

10:00 - Then eventually the touch is put on to get money, right?

10:02 - It's always about money, there's just no doubt about that.

10:06 - And that's true of all the scams that we're talking about.

10:08 - They are all about money in one form

10:11 - or another, and sometimes it simply starts with trying to get information,

10:17 - but ultimately it's the bottom line is money.

10:21 - Before we go any farther, I want to make sure

10:23 - my nomenclature for scams is up to date.

10:26 - In other words, is the word I just learned about.

10:28 - It is smishing.

10:30 - I'm going to spell it. Smile.

10:31 - I s h I n g, and that'll be relevant to the rest of our program.

10:37 - So let's define it right now. David.

10:39 - Well, that's

10:40 - when you're approached by a text message and what I call the phantom friend.

10:44 - You might get a text message randomly on your phone and your device,

10:47 - and it just simply says, hey, are we still meeting for coffee on Friday?

10:51 - And you go, oh my gosh, was I, was I supposed to meet someone?

10:54 - And then you look and you're like, I don't recognize the number.

10:56 - So what is the common thing that most people are going to do?

10:59 - Hey, who is this?

11:00 - I'm sorry, I didn't recognize your number.

11:02 - Are we supposed to meet?

11:04 - Well, that's your first mistake.

11:05 - Is responding

11:07 - because it's an activity where they're sending out mass numbers

11:10 - of that same message to all numbers that they can find

11:14 - in a computer program at scanning phone numbers until it reaches.

11:17 - So that be hundreds, thousands and thousands at a time, Larry.

11:21 - And it's and it's constant. It's all day long.

11:23 - It's on an automatic machine.

11:25 - It's a robo call or a dialer, and that's going to text you.

11:29 - And if you respond, they flag you as an active participant,

11:32 - someone they can continue to strike upon with new scams.

11:36 - Another example, because you've engaged exactly.

11:39 - Once you've shown that you are actively on that number,

11:42 - that number's value increases on the dark web.

11:44 - For other scammers, it will be shared.

11:47 - So maybe the first one was, hey, are we having coffee?

11:49 - The next one could be something a little more personal.

11:51 - You have a doctor's appointment, and it's very important

11:54 - that you contact the office right away.

11:56 - To verify people simply type in the word.

11:58 - Yes, that's a verification.

12:01 - Sometimes those text messages can be more like the E-ZPass alert.

12:05 - You have a violation with E-ZPass, and there's going to be fines imposed.

12:10 - Click here to rectify the situation.

12:12 - Do not click a link received in a mystery text, because that, again,

12:18 - could then cause you to have spyware, malware, viruses loaded into your device.

12:23 - And these are all trickle down, trickle down effects

12:26 - that can cause you many problems in the future.

12:29 - And that number one that's out there, you can't pull it back.

12:32 - And not only do you not want to click on a link in one of those type texts,

12:37 - you also don't want to call the toll free number that you're been given

12:42 - in one of those texts, because all that does is take you directly to the criminal.

12:47 - And let's refer

12:48 - to these people as criminals, because that's actually what they are.

12:52 - Absolutely.

12:52 - I agree, this time of year, we're going to end up

12:56 - getting packages expected and unexpected on our front doorstep.

13:01 - And we know there are text messages that are really they amount

13:05 - to being a fake package delivery message.

13:08 - How does that play out?

13:10 - And what harm can it do, Mary?

13:13 - Well, first of all, if you're not expecting a package, delete,

13:16 - delete, delete, because that is your best friend and

13:20 - you really do need to contact the company directly

13:26 - if you think you've missed a package because they're going to leave some type

13:30 - of notification on your front porch or at your home, or,

13:35 - you know, let you know if in fact you have missed

13:40 - the delivery is that the policy for all the major delivery?

13:43 - Typically it is.

13:44 - And certainly as a customer, you actually should have

13:49 - a signature required on the delivery.

13:53 - That way you know that the package is going to be delivered directly to you,

13:58 - and they're not going to leave it

14:02 - for willy nilly the porch pirates to pick up.

14:05 - And so you won't have to worry about it if you make sure that there's a signature

14:10 - required, we suggest that of anybody who's having packages delivered.

14:15 - If you can't have a friend or a neighbor, look out for your packages

14:20 - to remove them from your premises when they are delivered.

14:24 - You could also,

14:26 - have a separate store front.

14:30 - Take your packages.

14:31 - There are a lot of these stores where you can get

14:35 - post office boxes, or you can mail, mail or have copies made.

14:39 - Those types of stores, office supply stores,

14:42 - and they will actually hold your package

14:45 - for you if you have it delivered to their store front.

14:49 - Now, there may be a fee involved, but that's also an an alternative

14:53 - for you with your deliveries.

14:57 - And, David, these scammers can put on a pretty,

15:00 - convincing representation of a major delivery company.

15:04 - Right?

15:04 - They can pose as, the post office ups, Federal Express, and maybe they'll

15:10 - bring out the actual official logos to help with the masquerade.

15:14 - They do exactly that, Larry, and they're very good at it.

15:17 - You know, they're able to impersonate many different businesses and agencies.

15:22 - And when it comes to that package delivery,

15:24 - that text message may look exactly like what you would expect

15:27 - from the United States Postal Service, the UPS, Fedex, even the Amazon carriers.

15:32 - But like Mary said, go to the source.

15:34 - I always say verify before you comply through a trusted source.

15:38 - So if you have an account with one of those carriers, simply log

15:41 - in to your account separately on another device in a new clean browser

15:45 - window and check the status it will be displayed there.

15:49 - And the other problem with these text messaging,

15:52 - you know, a lot of times it's, hey,

15:53 - we were not able to deliver the package due to some, problem.

15:57 - And there's going to be a link that says, click here to reschedule

16:00 - or deny the package if you have not expected one.

16:03 - So the scammer is covering both bases.

16:05 - For the folks that are expecting a package,

16:07 - they may be tempted to reschedule an engagement either way.

16:11 - And if you're not, you're going to say, well, this is a scam.

16:13 - I'm not getting a package, and boom, they got you anyhow because they've rigged

16:17 - both numbers to then load those spyware programs into your device.

16:22 - And the other thing that we are seeing,

16:23 - too, is not just a package delivery warning,

16:26 - but you might get a message saying, we would like to process your delivery.

16:30 - However, your credit card failed to process.

16:33 - Click below to enter the credit card number again,

16:36 - and it might have nothing to do with that business.

16:38 - It's a scammer who's now Smishing.

16:41 - You do use that term again to get you to provide that credit card

16:45 - number to that third party.

16:46 - Who is this criminal as Mary put it?

16:48 - And they're just collecting and harvesting account numbers that way as well.

16:52 - Again, what's the trusted source?

16:54 - How do I verify before I comply?

16:56 - Don't just react to these messages.

16:58 - And when you order something, you really should make sure

17:01 - that there's tracking information on that order.

17:05 - Almost all of the big companies now will give you a specific tracking number,

17:09 - which you need to make sure that you know what that number is

17:14 - so that you can then look for your package based on that number,

17:18 - which the company would have, but certainly the scammer would not have.

17:23 - And in between October

17:26 - and December of 2024, there were some

17:31 - $2 billion worth of packages that were actually stolen,

17:36 - which is a staggering amount of merchandise.

17:40 - So let's let's explore that then.

17:41 - Mary, I mean, what you're referring to is what they call, porch pirating.

17:46 - And, with technology, sometimes the,

17:50 - the, person who steals the package can be in effect, in disguise,

17:55 - even if there's a doorbell camera and, is this problem getting worse?

17:59 - We've been hearing about this for several years now.

18:01 - Mary, is there an uptick in activity here?

18:03 - There really does seem to be.

18:06 - And I think it's probably because many of these criminals

18:10 - are very low level, if we might refer to them as that,

18:14 - and they really don't think they're going to get caught.

18:18 - Although now with some people having the various types of doorbell cameras,

18:23 - if enough people in a neighborhood

18:26 - can put that information together for the police, the police

18:30 - sometimes are able to track down and catch the porch pirate.

18:35 - But they're still.

18:37 - These are prolific crimes,

18:39 - and these packages arrangements should be made.

18:42 - If you're afraid something's going to be taken off your porch,

18:44 - you should make alternative arrangements to have the package go someplace else.

18:47 - That's exactly right.

18:48 - Whether it's a trusted friend, a neighbor, or, again, one of these, storefronts

18:54 - where you can have your package delivered there

18:56 - and it'll be kept safe, some sanctioned place.

18:58 - That's exactly right.

19:00 - Or if if no other opportunity arises.

19:03 - For your package delivery, you could tell the package

19:08 - or the company that you want it put at a special place

19:11 - in your home or at your, you know, doorstep.

19:15 - If you've got some bushes and it can be hidden somewhere, understood.

19:19 - Or but behind furniture that's on the porch as opposed to just

19:23 - being left out in the open where it's quite visible from a street level.

19:27 - I didn't realize you could make such fine, detailed arrangements. Yes.

19:31 - And, Larry, to follow up on

19:33 - what Mary was saying, there's also systems where you can do a garage drop.

19:37 - If you happen to have a garage attached to your home.

19:40 - There's the locks that are now remote controlled

19:42 - locks on your garage door that can have a code.

19:46 - That's a one time code.

19:48 - If you put that in the notes of your delivery request,

19:51 - the driver could actually use the access code, put the package within the garage,

19:56 - close the door, and then that code expires after one use immediately

20:00 - so no one else could come back and then go into your garage.

20:02 - But when you arrive home, your package is safely secured in that location.

20:06 - Very interesting.

20:07 - I'd never heard of that arrangement before.

20:09 - Just how common is that becoming, I wonder?

20:11 - It's rather new, but it is something that's being promoted that, you know,

20:14 - companies are saying if you purchase this type of lock at the hardware stores

20:18 - and have it installed in your garage, that is another option today.

20:22 - Well, go ahead, Mary.

20:23 - I was just going to say none of the companies

20:26 - want any of their merchandise diverted in any way.

20:29 - They want their their customers to be perfectly satisfied and happy.

20:33 - So the companies are trying to do anything they possibly can

20:37 - to make sure that the merchandise is delivered to the right person

20:42 - at the right time, and the criminals are not involved.

20:47 - For a minute, let's go back to fake package

20:50 - delivery messages received in the form of a text.

20:53 - I understand sometimes the text can urge the person

20:57 - to pay a read delivery fee.

21:00 - And there was one specific case

21:02 - where it was $0.99 and someone thought that was reasonable.

21:05 - But the reality was it was 400 bucks.

21:10 - You know, often it's the bait and switch.

21:13 - Once they get your credit card number,

21:14 - you're not in control of what they charge you.

21:16 - Just because the text message implied it was a small fee, it was reasonable.

21:20 - And that is the psychology that tempts the person to click on it.

21:24 - Well, it's only $0.99. It's a dollar.

21:27 - I can do that.

21:29 - That seems fair. And that's the psychology.

21:31 - If you recall I said timing, psychology and emotional triggers.

21:35 - There it is plain as day attempts the person to then click on that link.

21:40 - And once that card number is exposed, you have no control over

21:44 - what is being charged against your account.

21:46 - Luckily, if it's an actual credit card under federal protection,

21:50 - you're only responsible for the first $50 of fraud and the risk of

21:53 - then be deferred and you'll be made whole.

21:56 - This time of year will be giving or receiving gift cards.

22:00 - How can a scammer may use a gift card against you?

22:05 - Well, these days, it's a shame that it's almost too easy.

22:10 - They can go into a store

22:13 - and they can take the information off the gift card.

22:16 - And then when we.

22:18 - And they put it back on the rack, and then when we buy that gift card,

22:24 - they can immediately take the funds off of it because it's been activated.

22:30 - They've got all of the numbers, all of the information,

22:33 - and they can actually use technology to track the activation of that gift card.

22:39 - They know when we bought it and when we are actually, paying for it.

22:44 - So they have it and they can take all of the money off of it,

22:47 - and you give it then as a gift to someone or try to use it yourself.

22:52 - And it's empty.

22:53 - It has no money.

22:54 - Mary, take a couple steps back in that process and consider

22:57 - when the criminal goes to the store,

22:59 - gets the card, and intercepts that information on the card,

23:02 - he's got to remove

23:03 - something that covers up that number, something you rub off with a coin.

23:06 - Is that how they still do it?

23:07 - I haven't looked at one, and he can certainly tamper with it.

23:10 - And that's a real red flag.

23:12 - If you look at a gift card and it appears to have been tampered with

23:17 - in any way, you actually should take it to the customer service office

23:21 - in that, particular store and, and turn it in

23:26 - or alert them to the fact that there may be a problem.

23:30 - Let's go ahead, David.

23:32 - And to avoid this, my recommendation is not to purchase

23:36 - gift cards that are on a large display rack buried deep in a store.

23:40 - You want to get your cards when they're behind the counter

23:43 - or in front of the cashier's view or customer service desk.

23:47 - That way, they're less likely to be tampered with

23:49 - because the criminal doesn't want to be caught.

23:52 - They want to find that rackets buried deep in the store, and that way

23:56 - they can pull those 70, 80, 100 cards off

23:59 - leave without having to confront the cashier.

24:02 - Correct.

24:02 - Open it up in their leisure, in their own place.

24:05 - They can use heat guns

24:06 - to transfer the glue to get it soft and open up the cardboard packaging.

24:10 - They could transfer the information off by scraping off the codes

24:13 - and repainting it, and then they place it back in that package

24:16 - like Mary said, and waiting for you to come in and make the purchase.

24:19 - But if you avoid those big racks

24:21 - that are deep in the store and look for something near the counter,

24:24 - something under guidance of the employees, the customer service desk,

24:28 - and if it's a restaurant gift card, I always go to a restaurant

24:32 - because usually they're in the hostess stand or locked up in the manager's office

24:36 - and they're not on display.

24:37 - So that eliminates that opportunity for tampering.

24:40 - And when an unsuspecting person buys this compromised card,

24:44 - at that moment, all the money is drained, drained off of it,

24:47 - and somehow the scammer gets it

24:48 - as soon as it's activated by the person who's actually purchasing it,

24:53 - the grandmother who's buying it to give us a Christmas present.

24:56 - And the scammers then are aware of the activation,

25:00 - and they immediately drain the money off of that card.

25:04 - And there have actually been

25:07 - large groups of

25:08 - criminals that have been caught,

25:11 - particularly on the West Coast, where they would travel

25:16 - from store to store to store, removing large amounts of gift cards.

25:21 - They would then take all of the numbers.

25:24 - They were so meticulous they knew exactly which cards

25:29 - they took from which stores

25:32 - they then would take all the numbers,

25:36 - and they would go back to those same stores,

25:39 - and they would replace those cards on the exact,

25:44 - kiosks where they had been removed.

25:47 - And they were just really getting

25:50 - just lots and lots of money stripped from gift cards.

25:55 - So maybe a good way to avoid a compromised gift card is

25:58 - is simply by the thing online. How about that?

26:01 - Absolutely.

26:02 - Again, make sure that you're going to a legitimate site

26:05 - that you have good security software in your computer or device,

26:08 - and that you have a good firewall

26:10 - that's up to date with the proper updates from legitimate sources.

26:13 - And then online is fine.

26:15 - But again, knowing who you're dealing with

26:17 - and how you're getting to it is very important.

26:20 - You don't want to do an online search engine

26:22 - such as to Google that, Bing, the Yahoo search engines.

26:26 - If you're looking for a store, go up to the URL.

26:28 - The small bar at the very top of the window,

26:30 - the screen, and type in the exact full address yourself.

26:34 - Because when you used a search engine in the center of the screen,

26:37 - that's going to bring you up 10 or 12 different options.

26:41 - And if you look closely,

26:42 - some of those may say sponsored or ad right next to those links.

26:46 - And if you click on one of those links and it was sponsored

26:49 - or paid ad by a criminal, you're being redirected

26:53 - to an artificially created website, what we call a web clone AI.

26:58 - Artificial intelligence can reproduce the entire website

27:01 - of any store, any business, any organization.

27:05 - I've had people tell me in complaints that they actually shopped

27:08 - and put in women's sneakers size six and it came up,

27:11 - put it in their cart, made the order, never got the merchandise, and find out

27:15 - their credit card was compromised.

27:18 - Because the scammers are so very good at what they do.

27:21 - And with some of these, websites

27:24 - where they use all of the proper logos from the legitimate business,

27:30 - they may just change one dot,

27:33 - or they may put in an extra dash into the web address.

27:38 - And you actually, if you're following a pop up

27:42 - that you just get routinely and you think, oh, well,

27:45 - that sounds like a good deal, I'm going to click onto that.

27:50 - You're actually going to the criminal website,

27:52 - not the legitimate stores website.

27:54 - And if you're looking at a smartphone that's a small screen anyway,

27:57 - and you're more likely to miss these subtle variations.

28:00 - Exactly right.

28:01 - And that's all it takes is something so minuscule that they know

28:05 - the vast majority of us are not paying close attention and would overlook it.

28:11 - They'll also create false ads on these pop ups.

28:14 - And if it's, you know, the old saying, if it sounds too good to be true, Larry,

28:17 - it is.

28:18 - But we're in that heightened state of emotions.

28:21 - It's the holiday, the spirit of giving.

28:24 - And you're looking for that one item that your grandson just has to have.

28:27 - And there it is.

28:28 - It's the hottest item.

28:29 - You can't get it in any of the local stores.

28:31 - It's sold out.

28:32 - It pops up and it's a fantastic deal.

28:35 - It's probably a scam.

28:37 - I again like Mary, also mentioned about well reproduced.

28:41 - The logos were reproduced the exact ad with one

28:44 - minor change and that just triggers you into it.

28:47 - And then you think you're buying the item that you're expecting.

28:49 - I had a gentleman who shared with me, a couple months back

28:53 - that he thought he was getting a great deal on a new lawnmower.

28:56 - He was online.

28:58 - An ad popped up for a well-known hardware and supply store.

29:02 - It was in his neighborhood.

29:04 - And I said, well, did just stop in the store and verify the price.

29:08 - He said, well, no, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get one.

29:11 - It said limited available

29:15 - FOMO.

29:16 - Fear of missing out is a limited chance.

29:18 - You have to act now.

29:20 - He clicked on it.

29:21 - He thought he was getting a Cub cadet riding lawnmower,

29:24 - which is normally around $5,000, and it was under $200.

29:28 - And I said to him, I said, I'm so sorry, but actually there was

29:32 - there was just no indication that that was going to be a reasonable deal.

29:37 - And I wish you would have checked with the story goes.

29:39 - Yeah, I wish I had to.

29:40 - You go say they hit my credit card.

29:42 - Luckily, he went through the credit card customer service people

29:45 - with the number on the back of his card, and they made good on it.

29:48 - Now, it's interesting that the scammer took full advantage of

29:52 - a trusted local store.

29:55 - Well, you know the scammer is going to be smart.

29:57 - The criminal is, looking for how do I draw you in again?

30:01 - We go back to the three factors, Timing, limited opportunity psychology.

30:06 - Here's a name that you know and trust, and it's local to you.

30:09 - And the emotional trigger a great, great deal.

30:12 - You're going to miss out on it.

30:14 - All three of those factors were in that case,

30:16 - you know, and if I'm a scammer or you know, you're

30:19 - a scammer, you're going to be looking at how do I get the most out of my effort?

30:23 - And that's what they do.

30:24 - So they'll use the largest brands.

30:26 - If I was trying to track someone to get a credit card

30:29 - number, I'm not going to say this is Diner's Club.

30:32 - I don't think hardly anyone has a Diner's Club card anymore.

30:35 - But I'm going to say I'm Visa, one of the largest credit card

30:39 - companies in the world, and I'm going to have more possible victims

30:43 - with less effort.

30:45 - So that's the phishing. That's how they're doing that.

30:47 - They're looking to get your attention with the name of a well-known popular

30:51 - brand that most people are going to react to.

30:54 - And if something is more than 50% off

30:57 - in an ad, you really should let your inner red flag kick in

31:01 - and be really careful and investigate that particular price.

31:06 - Because again, there's a reason why they're saying

31:10 - if it sounds too good to be true really is unimportant.

31:14 - Saying you can't get a $5,500 lawn tractor for $200.

31:18 - That's exactly not that I'm aware of.

31:20 - And also in mentioning about credit cards,

31:24 - it's so important to use a credit card

31:28 - in so many of these transactions because of the protections.

31:32 - With credit cards, we won't be very careful about using a debit card.

31:38 - And also some of these kinds of,

31:41 - app payment plans that you can use.

31:46 - You just should be so careful.

31:48 - Many of those have been put out

31:51 - for people to use among acquaintances or good friends

31:55 - not to be doing business transactions

32:00 - because the scammers know and they can again

32:04 - get your money and you just don't have the same protections

32:08 - with many of those kinds of payment app situations

32:12 - as you do with a standard old fashioned credit card.

32:17 - Go ahead debit and with the credit card.

32:19 - Another option is to have one specific dedicated card

32:23 - only for your online shopping.

32:25 - That way, if it is compromised and you have to close that card,

32:28 - you're not interfering with any other

32:30 - direct payments or other purposes that you have your other cards handy for.

32:34 - So if you have one dedicated card and you see any type

32:37 - of billing for something that you know you weren't online for,

32:40 - you can identify that right away as something you did not authorize

32:44 - and put that in dispute.

32:45 - And particularly if it's a credit card that you purposely have a low limit on,

32:50 - and you can target that limit and you will have more protections,

32:56 - you have a chance of losing less money, putting your purchases in separate silos.

33:01 - I read

33:02 - a Mary.

33:03 - Let's go back to a point and explore a point you made a minute ago.

33:06 - You were talking about

33:07 - the protections are superior on credit cards, as they're weaker on debit cards.

33:11 - Why is that, anyway?

33:13 - That's just the way the banks run the operation.

33:15 - But we have to be so careful because if somebody gets your debit

33:19 - card number and if they have the the account information

33:24 - and they have your Pin or your access to that money,

33:28 - they can empty your account right away with it.

33:31 - All it takes is one stroke and your money's gone.

33:35 - And again, the protections are simply less in fact,

33:40 - there have been examples in the news recently of scammers

33:45 - who are taking the debit card numbers

33:49 - when people don't have their debit card protected

33:53 - in some type of RFID sleeve, or one of these special wallets

33:58 - that people are carrying to protect their cards, including now their debit card.

34:03 - So we have to do anything we can to protect

34:06 - our own personal information, to protect our bank accounts.

34:11 - We've

34:11 - been talking about emotional triggers this time of year.

34:14 - And certainly that phrase comes to mind when I think about scams

34:18 - that involve pets.

34:19 - And we're accustomed to seeing, pets,

34:22 - especially on TV and in deplorable conditions.

34:26 - And, there are some bad actors,

34:30 - as far as some, appeals to taking care of pets is concerned.

34:34 - Any experience, or reports in your office?

34:36 - David.

34:37 - Yes, we actually have a brochure.

34:39 - It goes out and says, have you been scammed?

34:41 - And it's about purchasing pets and puppies

34:43 - at this time of year or any time of year, really.

34:45 - But, your pet is an extension of your family.

34:48 - It's a family member.

34:49 - So what's more emotional than that?

34:51 - And when you are looking to purchase a pet or have a pet that is in need

34:55 - of some type of services or a prize or a, purchase of any type of thing,

35:00 - your heart's drawn to it because you want to please your animal.

35:03 - You want to make sure the animals healthy.

35:05 - And if you're looking to shop for the holidays to give someone a pet,

35:09 - that's another trigger that the scammers are using the pets images.

35:12 - They'll get the online photos of pets.

35:15 - They will use them from all sorts of sources to entice you to then

35:18 - click on something to make a purchase of an animal.

35:21 - I heard one case where a gentleman said that his

35:25 - their family dog had just passed away two months prior.

35:29 - It was getting near the holiday,

35:30 - and he thought he'd surprise his family with a new puppy.

35:34 - Sadly, the online site that he found was fake.

35:38 - It was a scam.

35:40 - He sent $700 initially.

35:43 - Then they came back and said, well, unfortunately that's the price

35:46 - for the pet, but there's a delivery and transfer fee,

35:50 - so he had to pay you another thousand dollars.

35:52 - Now he's up to 1700.

35:55 - And then they came back and said, we also have to vaccinate

35:58 - prior to shipping because it's going across state lines.

36:01 - And they had him for another 400.

36:03 - He must have had reservations at this point.

36:05 - At that point he gave up on it, but he realized his money was gone.

36:08 - There was no pet coming, but he was so depressed that afterwards,

36:13 - because the loss of his family pet, the hopes of putting joy

36:17 - on the face of his family with a new puppy coming in and then finding out

36:21 - not only is he not getting a new puppy, but he's lost that kind of money.

36:25 - And sadly, he was using a debit card

36:28 - and he was in an especially vulnerable condition.

36:31 - Absolutely.

36:31 - And and that's a situation that is so sad

36:35 - because when your money is gone, it's gone.

36:39 - And that's the trouble.

36:40 - Now, as good as our law enforcement is,

36:44 - as hard as they work,

36:46 - one of the problems is they just do not have the resources,

36:50 - the manpower, the availability to chase criminals

36:55 - who may be across the country or around the world even these days.

37:00 - And so that's why at AARP, we particularly

37:03 - say education is so very important.

37:06 - People need to understand what to watch for.

37:10 - They need to understand how to protect themselves, how to protect their money,

37:15 - to watch for the red flags and to use their common sense

37:20 - to let their inner red flag

37:23 - take over and not get so caught up

37:27 - in the emotion of the situation.

37:30 - And certainly buying a pet is a very emotional situation.

37:33 - Yeah, David, let's try to learn from, this particular situation.

37:37 - In other words, what can any of us do once we see an image online

37:41 - and someone promises us a pet?

37:43 - How do we go about vetting that organization, making sure it's

37:46 - for real before we give them a dime, you know, excellent.

37:49 - And it goes right down to a very simple saying if you did not initiate

37:54 - the contact, you must investigate that contact.

37:57 - Right?

37:57 - So if you're on social media and something pops up on your screen,

38:01 - the very first thing I do, I see an item I might be very interested in.

38:05 - I'm like, oh, I'd really like to buy one of those.

38:06 - I am not clicking on anything.

38:08 - I am not calling the toll free number on the screen.

38:11 - I'm going to take the name of that item, that product, it's brand,

38:15 - and I'm going to open a new window in my browser,

38:18 - and I'm going to go directly to other sites that I know

38:21 - and trust and see if they carry the same item.

38:25 - And that way I'm ordering from someone I know, someone I've trusted.

38:29 - Same with pets, if you're interested.

38:31 - All of a sudden that jarred your idea to say, well, you know what?

38:33 - I really should get a new pet.

38:34 - Maybe that would be nice for the family.

38:36 - Don't buy it on that site.

38:38 - Go to a trusted local pet dealer that you know has been vetted,

38:43 - has been in the community for many, many years, and has a good reputation.

38:48 - Check with Better Business Bureau, check with the American Veterinary Association,

38:53 - see if your local veterinarian can make a recommendation of a breeder or a dealer.

38:57 - We don't want to end up buying from puppy mills.

39:00 - We don't want to end up

39:01 - getting scammed on fake websites where there are no pets at all.

39:04 - So we really just need to take a deep breath and think before we act.

39:11 - Here at PCN, we've done a lot of programs lately

39:13 - that mention, data centers coming to Pennsylvania.

39:17 - These are these computer campuses that are supposed to,

39:20 - help with the development and expansion of artificial intelligence.

39:25 - So, how has artificial intelligence

39:28 - been used for nefarious purposes in the last year or so?

39:32 - And how might that grow?

39:35 - Or what do you see in the future?

39:36 - Mary?

39:36 - Well, at AARP, we were very concerned, particularly when it comes to things

39:41 - like the grandparent scam, because we know that our family members,

39:46 - our grandchildren, particularly post photographs of everything they do.

39:52 - They make various videos when they're out with their friends.

39:55 - And so there's a lot of information that they put on about themselves,

40:01 - which if they have a public page, is very accessible

40:04 - to anybody who can view it, including the criminals.

40:08 - And so they take information off

40:11 - of some type of social media page,

40:14 - including a voice or photographs,

40:18 - and they can then call the grandparent and say, I'm in trouble,

40:23 - I've had an emergency, I've been arrested,

40:26 - or I've been in an accident and I need money.

40:28 - And again, money is always the bottom line with these scams.

40:33 - And the grandmother who gets the call says, oh my goodness.

40:38 - And it really is her grandson's voice.

40:41 - And so she's even lured in even more than she might be in

40:44 - another circumstance because of artificial intelligence.

40:48 - Now can't believe what you see in here. It's amazing. That's right.

40:51 - Who do you trust?

40:52 - And not very many things anymore.

40:56 - And, here's a situation.

40:57 - Now this actually happened, Mary, this has to do with the grandparent scam.

41:01 - It was in Franklin County.

41:02 - It was this year.

41:03 - And the caller, claimed to be a grandson in trouble.

41:06 - And then a car picked up the grandparents to go to the bank and withdraw $18,000.

41:11 - This really happens.

41:13 - And it's such a sad situation.

41:15 - And in this case, you say a car came, they had a courier

41:19 - who was ready to pick the people up

41:23 - because they knew that the grandparents had that kind of money in the bank.

41:28 - Possibly the grandparents had said,

41:31 - you know, yes, we can pay the fine or the fee or whatever it is.

41:36 - And so the car came, the criminal actually picked them up

41:40 - and then kept the grandparents under wrap, basically telling them what to do

41:45 - and say as they entered the bank facility in order to get their money.

41:51 - And the grandparents then

41:54 - are taking guidance from the criminal, and they're too scared

41:57 - to actually do anything against what the criminal is telling them to do or say.

42:03 - It's a very sad situation.

42:06 - Charity scams are a big problem this time of year.

42:09 - Just how big a problem, David?

42:11 - Well, think of it. It's the time of giving.

42:14 - So what better time

42:15 - if you're a criminal to strike out with the charity imposter scheme?

42:20 - You know, we all know the Red kettle.

42:22 - Own the bell.

42:23 - But that person is usually in a uniform of some type.

42:26 - They have official signage and that official red kettle.

42:30 - You recognize that as a known charity.

42:32 - But over the phone, through text, through email, social media,

42:37 - how do you recognize is it the true charity or not?

42:42 - Scammers love to be imposters, and at this time of year,

42:45 - when people are looking to give a little back, to be generous,

42:48 - to support their communities, they're ripe for the picking.

42:51 - So the scammers will often approach you in some format.

42:55 - They'll contact you with phone calls, letters, emails and text messaging.

43:00 - And there's social media post again.

43:02 - How do you verify the charity a trusted source?

43:05 - Well, we're lucky here in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of State

43:10 - Bureau of Charities says that any professional

43:13 - soliciting for a charity must register in their office.

43:16 - So first thing I recommend is don't give because you're asked.

43:20 - Let that motivate you to look into giving.

43:23 - And how do we look into giving?

43:25 - We contact the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Charities,

43:29 - obtain their actual contact information, and reach out to that charity

43:33 - directly and ask, is there a donation form?

43:36 - How would I give directly to the charity?

43:39 - Then you know your money's going to where you believe it should be,

43:42 - because these scammers will imitate the delivery on the phone.

43:45 - They'll act as if maybe you've given in the past, I've heard

43:48 - one line say, can we count on you again this year, Larry?

43:52 - Well, that implies

43:53 - that you've given in the past and, well, maybe I've already checked them out.

43:57 - Check them out every time.

43:59 - Don't trust that,

44:00 - because the scammers are going to trigger you at this time of year with you.

44:04 - You said it yourself.

44:05 - The sad photo of the pets in need, the people in need.

44:10 - You know, we all want to help and we all should help.

44:13 - Charity does wonderful work for great people,

44:15 - but if it's going to a scammer, you're not helping anyone.

44:18 - So let's make sure the people in need are getting the funds

44:21 - that you're willing to part with.

44:22 - So you're doing it safely and you're doing it smartly.

44:26 - And charities are allowed to call under the Do Not Call list.

44:31 - They are one of the three legal exemptions.

44:34 - So if you do get a call from a charity

44:38 - it may be actually legitimate, but they still need to be checked out.

44:43 - And you need to really trust your inner red flag

44:47 - and look for the name of the charity

44:51 - and search the information about how they use their money.

44:54 - There are two really good websites.

44:57 - Charity navigator.org is one

45:00 - and the other is the Wise Giving Alliance through the Better Business Bureau.

45:05 - And that website is the word give.org.

45:10 - And those two websites will tell you about a particular charity.

45:15 - In addition to the Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Charities,

45:20 - all of those

45:21 - you should look at to figure out whether your money is going to be used

45:26 - by the charity in the manner in which you want it used,

45:30 - because sometimes a charity will say,

45:33 - we use our money for education

45:36 - and the word education, the way they define

45:39 - it is not the way we think of education, and they mean it

45:43 - as sending out more solicitations to more of our friends and neighbors.

45:49 - And it's not the word education that we want it to be.

45:54 - So you have to understand what they mean

45:57 - in terms of the way they define the expenses.

46:02 - And especially when it comes to a situation like this involving charities.

46:05 - Again, as we pointed out a few times during this program, the act of giving is

46:09 - just maybe it's really hyper driven

46:11 - by emotion in this situation and it's got impair your judgment.

46:15 - So slow down for a minute.

46:17 - That's what I'm getting out of this.

46:18 - Don't be pressured.

46:20 - Under no circumstances should you give because you're told

46:24 - that this is the one time shot at giving.

46:27 - You can only give right now.

46:28 - Any legitimate charity is going

46:31 - to accept your money, your charitable donation,

46:35 - any time of the year when you feel that it's appropriate to give.

46:40 - Although most charities do get anywhere from a third

46:45 - to a half of their charitable donations

46:48 - during the holiday gift giving season.

46:52 - So then whenever I sense

46:54 - pressure from a charity to donate, I should borrow Mary's red flag.

46:58 - That's exactly right.

46:59 - And another factor just to add on to that real quick

47:02 - is the people that are contacting you, doing the mailings, doing the phone calls.

47:07 - They're often paid solicitors.

47:09 - They're a marketing company.

47:10 - It's not a volunteer of the charity in a lot of cases.

47:14 - And if it's a paid marketing firm, they're taking a

47:17 - good portion of that contribution for their own funds.

47:21 - So you could be giving away half or even 70% of that amount

47:26 - going to the solicitor rather than the charitable cause.

47:29 - So again, you have the right to ask the caller,

47:32 - are you a volunteer or are you a paid marketing person?

47:36 - And again, that's why I always start with the Department of State.

47:39 - And the organizations Mary mentioned are also very valid to give you

47:43 - a letter grade, they'll often chart the organization with an, A,

47:47 - B, C, D, or F, like a report card you want to give to A and B charities.

47:53 - And no charity is going to ask you to give money via

47:58 - gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.

48:03 - Any time somebody says that's the way

48:06 - you have to donate, then you know it's a scam.

48:11 - That makes me think more about gift cards.

48:13 - Mary. Does anybody accept them as payment?

48:15 - I mean, in my mind I just use them for merchandise,

48:18 - but who accepts them for payment in reality?

48:21 - Well, in my mind, no one.

48:23 - Gift cards are for gifts, right?

48:25 - They are not for fines or fees or payment of a bill.

48:30 - I do not know a single prison in the United States

48:33 - or elsewhere that accepts gift cards for bail either.

48:37 - So your grandchild.

48:38 - Good to know I'm in jail and in Tijuana, Mexico.

48:41 - And they need gift cards for bail money.

48:43 - There's something wrong. Okay. Yeah.

48:46 - And how do scammers take advantage of, putting a twist on a trusted,

48:52 - for lack of a better word, a trusted brand name, in this case, posing

48:56 - as an established and trusted charity.

48:59 - They got to be ingenious, don't they?

49:02 - Will they know that many of us

49:05 - do want to give to charities?

49:08 - We are very concerned about our fellow man,

49:13 - and we know that there are so many charities that do such wonderful,

49:18 - wonderful and important work these days,

49:21 - and so they tug at your heartstrings.

49:24 - They will tell you whatever they think they need to tell you.

49:28 - And again, these issues can be quite emotional.

49:31 - If, if it's a charity that helps, children

49:36 - and you're a grandparent with a grandchildren,

49:40 - you know, you can sympathize and you want to help in any way you can.

49:45 - And so again, they get us caught up in the emotion of the moment.

49:50 - They will try to get us to open our purse

49:53 - strings as possibly as wide as possible.

49:56 - And it's just like any of the other scams,

50:00 - when you lose your common sense,

50:04 - when you are pressured or intimidated in some cases,

50:08 - because some of these telemarketers can actually be fairly intimidating.

50:14 - In terms of the language that they use.

50:17 - So we just have to step back away from it.

50:20 - We have to investigate before we give.

50:24 - I'm sure some of our viewers are watching this program right

50:27 - now, probably smartphone in hand,

50:29 - and they're surfing the internet because they want to make those,

50:33 - purchases just before, the holiday season.

50:35 - So let's talk about what the shopper should look for as far as evaluating

50:41 - a website and making sure that they're getting value for their money.

50:45 - David.

50:46 - Well, the very first thing you want to do, and I think I kind of lead into it

50:50 - from earlier, you want to make sure you're typing in the full address yourself.

50:54 - You don't want to use that search engine, right?

50:56 - You want to go up to the URL.

50:57 - If you know you're looking for a particular store, type in Http.

51:02 - You know every website begins with h t t p.

51:07 - But once you're in the website and they ask you for a login, a password,

51:12 - or a credit card number, pause and look back up at that window.

51:16 - Now Http should add the letter S at the end for secure,

51:21 - with a little padlock icon that tells you that the page you are on

51:26 - has been certified through a security measure with the online server.

51:31 - That means that your number that you're putting in is going directly

51:34 - to that particular site.

51:36 - I've seen that's and I had no idea it stood for secure.

51:38 - That's exactly what it's for, Larry.

51:40 - So again, if you pause and look back up before you start entering those numbers,

51:44 - you're going to have a better chance of being on a legitimate site than you are

51:47 - on a false copycat, or what we call a clone website.

51:52 - And I make some again.

51:53 - So perfect AI is fantastic.

51:56 - It does great things.

51:57 - It's used in health care.

51:59 - It's used in science, technology.

52:01 - It can do wonderful things, but it can also be used against you.

52:04 - And that's where we have this problem.

52:06 - If they're cloning a website, creating a false ad, creating

52:10 - voice and video deep fakes using someone's image without their permission,

52:15 - it can be very difficult to detect and discover that

52:19 - you're not seeing what you think you are almost impossible

52:22 - because it keeps getting better and better.

52:23 - It does. It corrects grammar spelling errors.

52:26 - It will make any document look much more official and real.

52:30 - And of course, it can make mistakes.

52:32 - So if you carefully read everything, you may come across a portion of it

52:36 - that just says, well, wait, everything look perfect?

52:38 - But now this doesn't quite sound right here.

52:41 - That could be a giveaway, but you really have to do your homework

52:43 - and look closely at it.

52:44 - And again, the bottom line I always preaches verify

52:48 - from a trusted source before you act on anything you hear

52:52 - or see today, or read and to repeat,

52:55 - putting in typing in the website accurately with the exact

53:01 - letters and numbers you're supposed to be using, and

53:05 - just being so very careful in that regard,

53:08 - and never clicking on a link in a pop up

53:12 - for that particular, company, or calling back

53:17 - a toll free number in the pop up,

53:20 - of that particular company.

53:23 - You just don't want to trust either

53:27 - the links or the toll free numbers.

53:30 - Larry, I always say think before you link.

53:35 - And let's, David, let's

53:37 - go back to a point you made a minute ago about artificial intelligence.

53:40 - I think you said artificial intelligence can go in and correct

53:44 - or smooth out spelling and grammar.

53:46 - And that's kind of too bad, because if that's a red flag for us,

53:50 - all of a sudden it looks even more legitimate.

53:52 - So AI is working against us.

53:53 - It sure does.

53:54 - You know, and again, I produces all sorts of creative factors.

54:00 - It can write music, it can create art, logos, images.

54:04 - It's when the person that's utilizing that wonderful tool

54:07 - is doing nefarious things and looking to rip you off and scam you,

54:12 - and then they're using that same quality tool, but against us.

54:15 - So I always again, have to just stress to factor that.

54:19 - Just because you see it doesn't mean it's real.

54:21 - You know, these are situations that I hear about every single day when I'm out and

54:25 - about representing the attorney general, you know, we're in the communities.

54:29 - We're giving education and free resources and programing on avoiding fraud,

54:33 - scams and identity theft every single day across this great commonwealth.

54:38 - And the stories I hear are sometimes very disheartening when I know someone

54:43 - has really lost a large amount of money they can't afford to lose.

54:46 - So the more education we can do, opportunities to partner

54:50 - with the great organization of AARP and PCN.

54:53 - These are the value moments.

54:55 - This is when we get to put the word out even larger to more audiences

54:59 - and get more people to think before they act.

55:03 - Think before they click on something.

55:04 - Think before they react to a video, a message, anything.

55:09 - Today, because artificial intelligence is here and we're all living with it.

55:13 - So we need to be very cautious

55:16 - and look for any sign that something just might not be right.

55:19 - And again, the best tool is simply to verify it

55:23 - at a trusted source before you act upon it.

55:25 - And if you're on a major website of a really popular,

55:29 - well known company, if there is

55:33 - any type of grammar error, anything that's the least bit out of kilter.

55:38 - You know, it's a scam because any of these major companies

55:43 - spends lots of money and have entire departments

55:47 - making sure that everything on their website is absolutely perfect.

55:54 - Here's another kind of scam.

55:55 - Our viewers should be aware, and it has to do with collecting an inheritance.

56:00 - And, the catch usually is the scammer expects you

56:03 - to pay money in order to collect, a fortune.

56:08 - Have you heard, other real life reports,

56:10 - Mary or David, that you've heard.

56:14 - I've not heard stories, necessarily connected with inheritances.

56:18 - But in in terms of winning a sweepstakes

56:23 - or a lottery, they always tell you that you have to send money.

56:27 - You. Same idea, same exactly the same thing

56:30 - in order to get the claim your prize out, etc.

56:34 - or whatever the prize might be.

56:36 - And so again, all of these things are just red flag moments.

56:41 - And with that, you know, not so much inheritance, but we often see,

56:45 - what I call unnecessary service providers.

56:48 - Right.

56:49 - So you can follow your own taxes for the IRS yourself,

56:53 - but there are services there that will do it for you.

56:56 - If you'd rather pay a professional to do your taxes,

57:00 - well, there's groups that go out and look for the found

57:03 - lost money that the Pennsylvania Department of Treasury has,

57:08 - and Treasury does a great job there at many of the senior expos and events

57:12 - that are across the Commonwealth for free, searching for any funds

57:15 - that might be collected and held by the Treasury in your name.

57:19 - There's organizations that are searching that database

57:21 - and then contacting you and asking for a finder's fee.

57:25 - That's unnecessary.

57:27 - You can collect that, donate that, amount.

57:30 - That's do you if it's honestly there for you

57:33 - directly from the Pennsylvania Department of Treasury at no cost.

57:37 - So watch out for the service providers.

57:39 - They may not be criminals.

57:40 - They may just be someone who's an entrepreneur

57:42 - who decided this is an opportunity to make some money as a business.

57:46 - They may be legit, however it's unnecessary.

57:49 - We just have a couple minutes left in our program.

57:51 - Mary, tell us about the resources at AARP

57:55 - that can protect seniors from scams.

57:58 - In other words, the AARP Fraud Watch Network.

58:00 - Tell us about that briefly, please.

58:03 - Yes, you can go to AARP mortgage Fraud Watch and find

58:08 - lots and lots of wonderful tools and tips about all types of frauds and scams.

58:14 - You don't have to be a member of AARP in order to utilize it.

58:18 - You don't even have to be a senior to use.

58:20 - It is for anyone of any age who is interested in the subject matter.

58:25 - We also have a wonderful helpline for anyone

58:28 - who wants to talk about frauds or scams, or if they think

58:31 - that they are a family member or a friend has been victimized

58:35 - and wants to talk to someone about those kinds of scams.

58:39 - And the toll free telephone number is (877) 908-3360,

58:46 - and we urge people to use that number.

58:49 - We also have a new item,

58:52 - and it's actually for your smartphone text messages.

58:57 - And you can get bi weekly updates

59:00 - about the latest frauds and scams

59:03 - by simply texting the letters F,

59:07 - w N, which stands for Fraud Watch Network f

59:11 - n to the number 50757.

59:16 - You'll get a message back.

59:18 - Do you want the weekly bi weekly alerts and all you have to say is yes.

59:23 - And then every other week you're going to get a text message

59:27 - about the latest iteration of whatever fraud is current a day.

59:32 - We have less than two minutes left on our show.

59:34 - If you feel you've been taken advantage of that you feel you've been scammed.

59:37 - What should you do first?

59:39 - Immediately break connections with whoever that person or agency

59:43 - that you believe you were dealing with. Number one.

59:45 - Number two, you want to reach out to our bureau of Consumer Protection.

59:49 - Our number is 1-800-441-2555.

59:55 - You can email us at scams at Attorney general.gov.

01:00 - 00.897 And our website.

01:00 - 04.200 Larry is dot attorney general.gov.

01:00 - 06.903 And you click on submit a complaint on the homepage.

01:00 - 09.872 So these information is available to you.

01:00 - 11.007 I'm going to leave this year of it.

01:00 - 12.742 You can offer it to your viewers.

01:00 - 14.811 Contact us immediately

01:00 - 18.381 and file a scam complaint with the Office of Attorney General.

01:00 - 20.416 And on behalf of Attorney General Dave Sunday,

01:00 - 22.552 we thank you for having us on the show today.

01:00 - 25.288 Our guests have been David Shallcross, director of

01:00 - 28.324 senior protection at the Attorney General's office,

01:00 - 32.128 and Mary Bok, chair of the Consumer Issues

01:00 - 35.298 Task Force at AARP Pennsylvania.

01:00 - 36.799 Thank you both very much.

01:00 - 40.703 That's it for a focus on aging adults.

01:00 - 42.038 I'm Larry Casper.

01:00 - 45.041 Thanks for watching.

01:01 - 12.735 And. Focus on aging

01:01 - 16.039 adults is sponsored in part by AARP.