Creative Aging’s November 30th meeting at Eastern New Mexico University – Ruidoso
was a discussion of how to avoid being scammed. Information was presented by
Karen Rounds, Edward Jones financial adviser, and Darren Hooker, Ruidoso Chief
of Police. This serious problem was detailed with frightening statistics: 145 million
Americans have their identities stolen each year, either personally or through a data
breach according to the Federal Trade Commission; fraud and financial abuse targeting
the elderly have cost victims at least $2.9 billion annually according to the Department
of Justice; approximately 1 elder in 20 is victimized although only 1 in 44 is reported
according to the National Center on Elder Abuse.
With these numbers in hand, the presenters outlined specific types of fraud. The telephone
calls demanding money for a variety of reasons are meant to scare the person called. The
IRS will never demand money for unpaid taxes over the phone. Your family member who
needs money wired for an immediate emergency may be a smart scammer – call another family member or call the real family member to see if the money is actually
needed. Don’t send money to that girl/boyfriend met on an online dating service. Never send
money to a supposed lottery/sweepstakes organization in order to collect your winnings. A
local bank tells the story of an elderly customer who wanted to withdraw a large amount of
money from his account. The tellers became suspicious when he told them he had received
a call from the IRS demanding back taxes. A call to the man’s daughter brought her to the bank
quickly and this fraud was adverted.
It is now possible to make scam calls look as if they are coming from local numbers or from
people you know. This is called spoofing. Let calls go to your voice mail, then answer if it is
someone from whom you expect a call or from someone whose voice you recognize or simply
return the call after the message is recorded.
Computer scammers are now attempting to access computers by flashing messages that your
computer has been attacked and you need to click on a link on the screen to repair it. Do not
click on the link as it can allow your computer to be hacked and may give personal information
to the scammer. Simply turn your computer off and wait a few minutes before turning it back
on. Keep an up-to-date anti-virus on your computer and use hard to recreate passwords.
Change passwords if a compromised account is suspected.
Credit card hacks are also common. Banks will work with customers to set up accounts that
will alert the holder of the card if suspicious activity occurs. Customers also need to check their
accounts frequently to check for fraudulent charges. Purses and wallets are now being created
that block electronic access to cards.
Chief Hooker reported that very few scams originate locally, but many come in from outside
the Ruidoso area. If there is ever a doubt about whether a scam is occurring, contact the
police department and it will investigate.
The major message participants left the meeting with was to be skeptical and diligent.
The next two meetings of Creative Aging will take place at ENMU-Ruidoso.
The topic of the January 18th meeting will be social isolation and it will take place
at 10:00 a.m. The topic of the second meeting on January 25th will be care giving and
guardianship. It will take place at 3:00 p.m.
including this super nice desk for the studious person with highly developed intellectual powers, especially one whose profession involves intellectual activity. Or, could be the perfect desk for someone going into business (you know -- like accounting or some such)
Dalà Ballet Company of Ruidoso presents three live performances featuring company dancers and guest artists in the classic holiday favorite, Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” at the Spencer Theatre for the Performing Arts in Alto on Saturday, December 22 at 2 PM and 7 PM and Sunday, December 23 at 2 PM. For ticket information: www.spencertheater.com, 575-336-4800 or 
