[Lwvcnmtopics] Wednesday November 10th Monthly Meeting - Corona Virus Scams and Frauds Targeting the Senior Community

Tue Nov 2 13:13:34 MDT 2021

* NOTE MEETING IS ON WEDNESDAY NOV 10th  *

Please join us on *Wednesday, November 10th* for this timely program.  *Please
Note: *this program, which is usually held on the 2nd Thursday of the
month, will be held this month on the 2nd Wednesday.

*Corona Virus Scams and Frauds Targeting the Senior Community*

In an article for AARP, entitled “Top 10 Frauds Hitting adults 60 and Older
in 2020” (updated on September 27, 2021), author Marie Rohde reports
that: “Older
adults lost $600 million to fraud in 2020, when the pandemic fueled spikes
in almost all top categories of fraud, federal officials say.

The figures are from the Federal Trade Commission, which noted that losses
in many top categories of frauds spiked in 2020 compared to a year earlier.
According to the FTC, online shopping scams rose 129 percent; business
impostor frauds, 88 percent; investment frauds, 84 percent; romance scams,
66 percent; tech-support scams, 55 percent; sweepstakes and related frauds,
35 percent and family and friend impostors, 20 percent.

Losses in two categories — timeshare sales and timeshare resales — inched
upward by 3 percent year-over-year, and in one top category, government
impostor frauds, losses declined by 5 percent.

There is no mistaking the pandemic’s impact on frauds impacting adults ages
60-plus, with losses of $104 million arising from some 26,518 complaints.
The problems included undelivered protective gear, false claims about
COVID-19 treatments and cures, and scams involving government relief
programs, among others.

The findings were presented last week during a hearing
<https://www.aging.senate.gov/hearings/frauds-scams-and-covid-19-how-con-artists-have-targeted-older-americans-during-the-pandemic>
 held by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. Sen. Bob Casey
(D-Penn.), committee chairman, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), said in a joint
statement that the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated risks for older people
and made them ‘even more vulnerable to scammers and schemes.’”

The LWVCNM presentation will focus on information that will support our
elderly community on ways to keep safe from scams and frauds commonly
targeting Seniors.  Our speaker will be Katherine Trujillo who is the
special projects coordinator and educational consultant at the NM office of
the Attorney General. Her background is in education and she holds a
teachers license as well as an Administrator license in New Mexico.

[image: Ktrujillo July 2020.jpg]

Zoom Invitation

LWVCNM Zoom is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Corona Virus Scams and Frauds Targeting the Senior Community
Time: Nov 10, 2021 Noon Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89738533472?pwd=L3QzYWRZZXlvMnE0NG50TCtpYms5QT09

Meeting ID: 897 3853 3472
Passcode: 791081
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