The Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police lodge was filled with senior citizens Wednesday eager to learn about crimes and scams designed to take advantage of them.

The senior citizens were there for a crime college offered by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and Bowling Green/Warren County TRIAD. TRIAD is a combined effort of the Bowling Green Police Department and Warren County Sheriff’s Department, AARP, Community Action of Southcentral Kentucky and the Barren River Area Agency on Aging to help seniors.

The key is for seniors to take actions to prevent them from being easy targets, said Officer Barry Pruitt, crime analyst officer for the police department.

&#8220Criminals are basically lazy. They’re going to go for the easy hit,” he said.

Senior women should carry as little as possible in their purse and keep it close to them, Pruitt said. They should also avoid showing large amounts of cash.

Another way to avoid vulnerable situations is to find your keys prior to getting out of a vehicle or leaving a building, he said. That way, they won’t have to stand outside searching for their keys.

&#8220You don’t need to advertise that you live at home alone or when you’re going on vacation,” Pruitt said.

Lori Ferris of the attorney general’s office talked about the enormous number of lottery scams.

Some groups are sending cashier’s checks that look good enough to fool banks, Ferris said.

The group will then ask the person to wire them part of the money to receive the prize, Ferris said. The check them comes back as fraudulent and the person who cashed the check is responsible to repay the money to the bank.

&#8220The banks are unforgiving,” she said.

A Glasgow woman in her 70s had to declare bankruptcy after falling for one of these scams and wiring money to a foreign group, Ferris said.

&#8220If you get a check from a foreign sweepstakes or lottery – it’s no good, it’s counterfeit,” she said. &#8220It’s illegal for a lottery to ask for money to get your prize, and foreign lotteries are illegal.”

In another scam, groups claiming to be hiring secret shoppers, sending checks that are to be cashed but require wiring some of the money to another location, Ferris said.

&#8220The checks are again counterfeit and leave the person scammed holding the bag,” she said.

Seniors should also be careful of groups who call to solicit donations, Ferris said.

Typically, a small percentage of the funds go toward the group being solicited for, she said. The person is better off donating directly to the group – cutting out the solicitor, who keeps the majority of the money.

&#8220Donate locally,” Ferris said. &#8220We want you to give, but we want you to give wisely.”

All people should be stingy about providing personal information, said James Johnson of the attorney general’s office. They should also check their financial records frequently, maintain personal information in a safe place and ask periodically for a copy of their credit report.

&#8220Most thefts are by family or friends, someone who has access to your house,” Johnson said.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Todd Holder also talked to the group about the benefits of wearing seat belts and answered questions about law enforcement.

&#8220In my 20 years, I’ve only dealt with one person who’s been ejected from a vehicle and lived,” he said. &#8220A lot of people believe it’s better to be thrown from the vehicle, but that’s an old wives’ tale that just doesn’t hold water.”

So far this year, deaths from traffic accidents are down 70 from 771 last year to 701 this year, he said, thanks in part to an impending stricter seat belt law in Kentucky, which has more people buckling up.

Thelma Baker of Bowling Green said she came to the event to learn how senior citizens can defend themselves against scams.

Senior citizen Rachel Butts of Bowling Green said she had been reading of various scams that target seniors.

&#8220I learned a lot,” she said.