"Mr. Gluckman, why didn't you show up for jury duty? You didn't answer your summons. We're going to have to charge you a fine."

Yikes. Sounds pretty real, doesn't it?

Ken starts off this episode with a story of how his phone rang recently, he picked it up, and that's what he heard. His response?

Hang up immediately. Don't even entertain the notion that it might be real.

If your loved one, the police, or anyone posing as an authority figure is trying to get your attention, it's just that: posing.

Nora Duncan is with us for part one of our two-part conversation on helping seniors identify and protect themselves from scams, something that is just so ubiquitous these days. Online, digital and AI scams target and affect everyone, but seniors can be particularly easy targets, as we learn about today.

Nora is the State Director of the AARP in Connecticut, and as such, stories like Ken's come across her desk all the time. The AARP plays a very active role in fraud prevention, working with the genuine authorities to understand and track what's happening, and working with legislatures to develop laws that help counteract what the bad guys are doing.

But as we all know, the best person to look out for us is ourself. So pay close attention in this and the next episode, where we clarify what to look for, and how to be prepared.

It's scary, but knowledge is power, and remember: if you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.

In part one, learn about:

• how to recognize an attempt at a scam, it's easier than you think
• how often you should change passwords
• how your Facebook page is likely a sieve of personal information
• how to deal with 'false imposters' - the people posing as authority figures
• how to emotionally react to red flags: don't panic
• why emotional manipulation makes it so easy for scammers to trick people

And lots more.

Our thanks to Nora for her time and expertise in keeping us informed and ready!

Important resources to save:

AARP Fraud Watch Network - https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/

FTC Consumer Sentinel - https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/consumer-sentinel-network

identitytheft.gov - https://www.identitytheft.gov/

IC3.gov (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center) - https://www.ic3.gov/

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