LITTLE
FALLS – With an email or postcard,
a scammer tells a senior citizen that he
or she has won a prize but needs to send
in money to pay processing fees or local
taxes.
Using
personal information gathered from a social
networking website, someone calls a grandmother
and pretends to be her grandchild, claiming
to be in trouble while on vacation in Canada
and in desperate need to have the grandparent
send money via Western Union.
An
unregistered contractor shows up at a house
and offers a special deal because he is
supposedly working in the neighborhood and
has extra materials to do a job.
Approximately
100 senior citizens learned to protect themselves
against these and other forms of fraud today,
at a “FedUp – Senior Fraud Education
& Protection Program” presentation
held by the State Division of Consumer Affairs
and Little Falls municipal officials. The
two-hour presentation took place at the
Little Falls Civic Center.
“FedUp
helps seniors empower themselves against
those who seek to victimize them, devalue
their standard of living, and swindle them
out of hard-earned money. The Division of
Consumer Affairs is here to help seniors
fight back. With basic awareness, detailed
information, and easy-to-follow tips, we
are helping New Jersey’s seniors become
smart, self-protected consumers,”
Thomas R. Calcagni, Acting Director of the
State Division of Consumer Affairs, said.
The
Division of Consumer Affairs developed FedUp
and holds seminars across New Jersey for
senior citizens groups. The program includes
a formal video presentation, and an extensive
question and answer period for attendees
with State consumer protection experts.
Attendees are given a 70-page booklet with
useful tips for quick future reference.
Topics
addressed in the FedUp program include:
-
How to select and hire a home improvement
contractor;
-
How to avoid telemarketing and mail fraud;
-
How to research a charity before giving;
-
How to avoid identity theft, and steps
to take if someone has become a victim
of identity theft; and
-
How to avoid investment fraud.
The
speakers at today’s event included
Acting Director Calcagni; Little Falls Mayor
Michael DeFrancisci; Margaret “Peggy”
Anastos of the State Division of Consumer
Affairs; Little Falls Chief of Police John
Dmuchowski; and Little Falls Police Sergeant
James A. Minnella.
More
information about FedUp is available at
the Division of Consumer Affairs website,
www.nj.gov/oag/ca/fedup/
. Groups interested in requesting a FedUp
presentation can call Margaret “Peggy”
Anastos of the State Division of Consumer
Affairs at 973-504-6241.
The
State Division of Consumer Affairs can be
contacted through its web site, www.njconsumeraffairs.gov
or by calling 1-800-242-5846
(toll-free within N.J.) or 973-504-6200.
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