Many assume that scammers just target the more mature in age, but they go after everyone. Younger people who may have been manipulated may not have the same amount of money to lose, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t being targeted. 

Today’s guest is Kathy Stokes. Kathy is the Director of Fraud Prevention Programs with AARP. She leads the AARP social mission work to educate older adults on the risks that fraud represents to their financial security. She currently serves on the advisory council to the Board of International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators and on the advisory council to the Senior Issues Committee of the North American Securities Administrators Association.

Show Notes:

• [1:02] - Kathy shares her background, what she does at AARP, and what AARP actually is.
• [3:50] - AARP has had a Fraud Watch Network for a while, but its current form is different from years past.
• [5:29] - There is a concerted effort to bring the generations together to educate others in the community.
• [7:26] - It is a common misconception that older people are targeted more often than other age groups.
• [10:38] - The biggest barrier is something that is beginning to break down. It’s the shame and victim blaming. We are at a turning point.
• [12:50] - Unfortunately, police officers are not able to do much for financial crimes, but it is still important to report them.
• [16:01] - Most scams are considered “low ticket” items, even if it is several thousand dollars and that’s all you have.
• [18:08] - AARP has a resource for how to talk about scams with family members who have been a victim of a scam. https://www.aarp.org/saythis 
• [20:50] - Rewording how we talk to and about victims of scams is changing.
• [24:23] - You have to have a strong and unique password for literally everything.
• [25:27] - Even just one extra layer of protection in the form of two-factor authentication is helpful.
• [28:10] - No one will ever ask you for an authentication code over the phone.
• [30:20] - There’s got to be something we can do as a society to help victims with the money they’ve lost.
• [32:48] - We cannot trust incoming communication, including calls, emails, and texts.
• [36:45] - Education and continuing to talk about this will help keep the trend of less victim shaming going.
• [39:30] - Victims can change the verbiage as well. Report the scam and file a police report.
• [41:29] - You can and should also report scams you know about even if you did not experience a loss.
• [43:10] - A number to use to reach the Fraud Watch Network is 877-908-3360.
• [48:09] - If someone you know has been a victim of a scam, don’t get mad at them for “falling for it,” get mad that this was done to them.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review. 

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