Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian met with more than 40 seniors in Waltham Thursday to discuss fraud prevention.
Thursday’s event was held at the William F. Stanley Senior Center on Main Street and hosted by the Waltham Council on Aging.
“We want all residents – especially seniors – to be able to protect themselves from those who seek to take advantage of them via phone and email scams and other types of fraud,” said Koutoujian. “I am thankful to the Waltham Council on Aging for inviting me to speak with seniors about the types of ongoing scams authorities are seeing and ways they can defend themselves from the criminals responsible.”
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According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) there were 29,469 fraud and other consumer complaints in Massachusetts alone in 2012 and 4,879 complaints of identity theft.
Sheriff Koutoujian spoke with those in attendance about a variety of scams including so-called “grandparent” or “emergency” scams. In these “grandparent” and “emergency” scams a caller will pose as a younger relative and explain they have found themselves in a situation in which they need an immediate wire transfer to get their car repaired, make rent, or get out of a jail or hospital, either here or abroad.
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“The calls will sound urgent – and they might even know a detail about you or your relative – but you should always take the time to make sure they are legitimate. There are a few ways you can do this, including by asking for a telephone number to call back and then checking with other relatives to see if they know anything about the situation,” said Koutoujian, who also encouraged seniors to immediately report any suspected scam calls to local police and the FTC.
