Stand Up for Yourself and Your Community: How to Avoid Scams
By MaryAnne Beatty
ALEXANDRIA,VA-Knowing how to fight fraud and not be scammed starts with prevention—learning how scams work and how you can keep them from happening to you and your loved ones. Scammers target all age groups, especially older adults. It is never too early to learn the warning signs, ways to safeguard your personal and financial information, and how to spot a con artist.
On June 22, Senior Services of Alexandria and the Alexandria Bar Associationwill present the eighth annual Senior Law Day to give older adults tools to address this ever-growing problem. This year’s theme is “Stand Up for Yourself and Your Community: How to Avoid Scams,” The event will feature estate planners, financial experts, and law enforcement representatives who will share their knowledge about how everyone can more effectively respond to this type of threat.
The keynote speaker will be Christine Keiffer, Senior Director of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA is an independent, not-for-profit organization with a mission to protect the public by ensuring that the financial industry operates fairly and honestly. Ms. Keiffer will talk about the need to develop a financial readiness program, the pros and cons of reverse mortgages, and why scams are proliferating.
SSA and the ABA have recruited two panels comprised of local estate planning attorneys, financial experts, the Alexandria Police Department, and Fairfax County’s “Silver Shield” anti-scam office that will identify the latest scams, tools to avoid them, and how to recognize when others are being scammed. There will be discussion about which legal instruments and documents everyone should have in place and what can happen if you are not prepared.
The event takes place on Saturday, June 22, at T.C. Williams High School, 3330 King Street from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public, with light refreshments and plenty of parking. AARP’s free “Shred Truck” will be onsite, so bring any documents that you need to destroy.
You won’t want to miss this important, informative community event to learn how to protect yourself and others from the many fraudulent schemes that target not only older adults, but people of all ages. To RSVP online, go to www.seniorservicesalex.org or call 703-836-4414, ext. 110.
MaryAnne Beatty is the Director of Community Outreach for Senior Services of Alexandria.
