The Vista Council Chamber at Vista Civic Center was filled on Thursday with people interested in hearing from various speakers discuss the growing problem of fraud and scams. Many of the attendees had stories to share about being approached by unscrupulous individuals trying to lure them into obvious scam situations. The Senior Scam Stopper Summit, sponsored by Assemblywoman Laurie Davies – 74th District, is becoming an annual event, held in various locations, with the intent of informing people on what to look out for in the rising problem of scams occurring via phone or computer contact.
Several prominent speakers were in attendance at this year’s summit. Those taking part included Vista Mayor John Franklin, 74th District Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/Clerk Jordan Marks, Aide to Oceanside District 2 Councilmember Rick Robinson, and San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez, along with members of the Elder Abuse Unit. Each speaker addressed the issues involving scams, their methodology, and the specific scams currently under investigation or in operation. There were also tents outside of the Council Chambers with handouts available from a variety of agencies dealing with Scam Prevention, Elder and Veteran Abuse and other issues pertinent to Seniors.
The event began with a welcome from Vista Mayor John Franklin, who spoke about the importance of the day’s presentations, who would be speaking and how people should be diligent in learning how to avoid being caught in a scam. Mayor Franklin then introduced Assemblywoman Laurie Davies. The Assemblywoman said this is the 4th year her office has presented this program dealing with fraud and scams. She said an FBI report pointed out that over $4.8 billion dollars has been lost to scammers, and this is a 43% increase from last year. The Assemblywoman also said the average amount of money lost by individuals to a scam is $830,000. In San Diego County alone over $100 million dollars was lost to scammers. She said her office is currently working on legislation to make punishment more severe for individuals caught in working scams. A number of pamphlets were available at her tent dealing with safety tips for Seniors in dealing with scams on the phone, at home and in public. This also included ways to determine if something is a scam, and information on Health Insurance Scams and Financial Fraud and Scams. Much of this information is available at www.asmrc.org/Davies or through the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov.
Read the full article: https://northcountydailystar.com/large-crowd-attends-senior-scam-stopper-summit-at-vista-civic-center/