the aged in Kentucky

By RACHEL ADAMS, The Daily News, radams@bgdailynews.com/783-3256

Lori Farris held a red handkerchief over her head as she addressed the crowd of several dozen at Wednesday’s Senior Crime College.

“Folks, there are new scams going around, and guess who the easiest and best targets are?” she asked, to a murmur of voices. “Yes – you are.”

Farris, the mediation/senior protection branch manager for the Office of the Attorney General, was one of many speakers at the crime college on Wednesday morning at the Knights of Columbus building on Searcy Way. The annual event was presented by Bowling Green/Warren County Triad and the attorney general’s office.

Still waving the “red flag,” Farris warned the seniors present of several new telephone scams designed to dupe people into giving out their bank account numbers. In one such scam, the caller announces you’re eligible for an $8,000 grant because you’ve paid all your taxes on time, Farris said. The grant can be used for anything you want – all they need is your bank account number. She’s heard from several victims in Kentucky already, she said.

Another scam promises a $500 Wal-Mart gift card, Farris said. The caller says there’s a $4.95 processing fee, which will be charged to your bank account. Not surprisingly, a lot more than $4.95 is taken from the account, and the gift card never arrives.

“It’s so scary that people are able to talk us into giving personal information,” Farris said. “… I am begging you, I am asking you – make sure you remember that red flag that goes up in your mind.”

With everyone’s heating bills expected to rise this winter, another timely scam has surfaced in Glasgow, she continued – the caller promises a 50 percent reduction in your energy bill. Farris didn’t have many other details on this particular scam because the person who reported it hung up on the caller after he asked for her bank account number, she said, but she wanted to warn local residents, should the scam hit Bowling Green.

“This is a heyday for the scam artists,” she said. “… The best prevention you have for these sweepstakes and lotteries is just to ignore them.”

Farris also urged the seniors to be careful with their donations, and to always donate to local, reputable charities by check. If someone donates cash, it’s easy to use that for something else, she explained, but a check written to that specific agency may only be cashed by that entity.

Following Farris’ presentation, James Johnson, an administrator/ombudsman for attorney general’s office, spoke about identity theft, “the fastest-growing crime” in the nation, he said.

It’s important to remember the acronym SCAM, Johnson said: be Stingy with your personal information, Check your credit card statements, Always look at your credit report, and Manage and maintain your financial information for at least a year. And since a fair amount of identity theft among the elderly comes at the hands of their families, it’s a good idea to never leave personal information where it can be easily seen, he added.

For the most part, transactions made at ATMs are safe, he said. However, ATM users should be aware of people looking over their shoulders, especially with the advent of cell phones with cameras built in. Seniors should never write information, such as personal identification numbers, on items that can be easily lost or misplaced, he said, and all sensitive information should be disposed of carefully, because someone looking to steal your identity isn’t above digging through the trash can for information.

The seniors also heard presentations on methamphetamine from Bowling Green Police Department Detective Shane West; elder abuse from Elder Abuse Council member and attorney Ben Crocker; and Medicare Part D from Daniel Curry with Kentucky Legal Aid.

Eight members of the Scottsville Senior Center attended the crime college.

Member Eurie Brown enjoyed the presentations, she said.

“We wanted to hear what the crime was because that helps us be alert to what’s going on,” she said.

Fellow member Joanna Losey enjoyed Farris’ presentation, saying “It’s never too old to learn” more about how to protect yourself.

The women from Scottsville also appreciated the slide show about methamphetamine, especially the pictures, which helped them recognize the drug and see the devastation it can cause, Brown said. She has children and grandchildren, and it makes her feel better to be able to identify the symptoms and side effects of meth use, she said.

But above all, there was one thing that stuck in Brown’s mind, and will remain there for years to come: the red handkerchief.

“When I pick up the phone and it’s one of (the scammers), I’m going to think of that red flag,” she said.