SING-WF – which stands for Senior Information & Networking Group – intends to fight the scammers who target the elderly with their phone calls – the grandparent scam, the sweetheart, the lottery, the sweepstakes scams.
On Friday, Jan. 27, SING-WF will host a meeting titled Outsmart the Scammers in the downstairs community room in the new Wake Electric building on South Franklin Street. It begins at 8:45 a.m. with a breakfast sponsored by Edward Jones and Fidelity Bank and will end about 10 a.m.
Two speakers, Seth Asbill with Edward Jones and Tara Mistretta, a Fidelity Bank vice president, will share how to spot the red flags for frauds, the resources available for people who are targeted and how to protect yourself and others.
The grandparent scam, for instance, begins with a phone call and a hesitant, youthful voice that says, “Grandpa?” If you immediately see Tommy or Jason in your minds eye, block that out. Do not say, “Tommy?” because that person will say yes and then tell you how he has had an auto accident or is stranded in a distant city and needs money for repairs/gas to get home. And he will warn against telling his parents.
What a sweetie! Of course you will help. But he is not your grandson. When you wire the money to Aruba or Antigua, it will be gone. You can either hang up after that first hesitant “Grandpa.” Or you can ask, “Who are you?” and go on from there if the answer is wrong.
SING-WF is also holding a new session of the Dementia @ Work Training Program on Feb. 7. Find out more about that at info@sing-wf.com. The goal is to make all the businesses in town dementia friendly.
