Enter First Presbyterian Church of Columbiana, which has stepped out to fill the need even it is on a much smaller scale.

Located at 28 E. Park St., the church hosts monthly luncheon events for the community from noon to 2 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month as part of their Celebrating Seniors’ program.

On Thursday, more than 50 guests (age 55+) gathered at the church, where Columbiana police Det. Mark Edwards educated them on some of the more popular scams they may encounter and how to avoid being victimized.

Due to the holidays, Pastor Fritz Nelson announced there will be no event in November, while the December meeting instead will be held on Dec. 5 as a holiday-themed gathering.

Attendees listen to a presentation on popular scams and ways to avoid falling victim.

After starting the program with a couple dinners before COVID, Celebrating Seniors was interrupted with soup drops as a no-contact option during the pandemic, explained one of the program’s volunteers, Susan Stoy. However in a post-pandemic, encouraging social interaction was paramount.

So the church reinitiated the gathering with the help of the Columbiana Community Foundation, which provided a grant to offset meal costs for the luncheons.

“This is much bigger than just a church thing; we have always envisioned as a community project,” explained Fritz Nelson, who has pastored at the First Presbyterian Church for more than a decade now. He credits the decision to bring arti Locke, who oversees the county’s RSVP senior volunteer program, on board to coordinate this program as baby steps to a more lofty dream of an actual dedicated senior center.

While many churches do tend to organize activities for their church families, Pastor Nelson explained that the First Presbyterian Church always has concentrated heavily on its community outreach –the Celebrating Seniors program is a way for them to do that. “We are an older congregation too, so it does fill that need too,” Nelson added.

Lunch and presentation is always free.

Attendees listen to a presentation on popular scams and ways to avoid falling victim.

During Thursday’s presentation on scams, members of the Crestview High School volleyball team volunteered as servers for the Swedish meatball luncheon.

Following the meal, Edwards’ presentation followed.

He educated attendees about the current scams he has been encountering in the community, such as Publishers Clearing House, health insurance and Medicare.

Scammers take advantage

of victims’ lack of information about the subject as well as lure information out of their victims by acting like they already know. “We give out a lot of information that we don’t realize we give out,” he said.

Sometimes they may have a snippet of information they found on the Dark Web and are able to convert it into more because the victim trusts they are legit.

Pastor Fritz Nelson (left) and Marti Leake, coordinator of the Celebrating Seniors luncheons at First Presbyterian Church of Columbiana listen to a scam presentation by city police officer Thursday. (Photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)

Edwards also talked about now that scammers have a new technique of reaching out via texts or emails and pretending to be someone they aren’t to get access to your bank account. For example, sending a text link asking you to verify information for that delivery package that you don’t remember ordering.

“If you have any questions about its legitimacy, it usually isn’t, so don’t click it,” Det. Edwards added.

He talked about one recent victim who received the Publishers Clearing House ruse and gave them the requested information and they wiped out her bank accounts.

That lack of knowledge and desperation make seniors especially vulnerable — and often loved ones are drawn in and impacted.

“They use things to entice you that is going to be close to your heart,” the detective explained, citing one of the most popular family emergency (aka grandparent) scams, where an alleged nurse, EMT or police officer calls from a faraway jurisdiction asking you to forward money or even gift cards to bail out your grandson who is either severely hurt or in jail.

In 2024, scammers have been using artificial intelligence (AI) to make their calls more convincing.

Scammers usually demand immediate action to avoid giving the victim time to reach out to the grandchild, family or even authorities, which is the course of action recommended by the police detective.

Be bold. Remember you cannot trust the phone system anymore, Edwards said. In addition to AI, it is routine for scammers to cloak your number, so you may recognize a caller as someone you know and it isn’t.

If you have to pause and question its authenticity, it is highly likely not legit, he concluded.

Regularly scheduled Celebrating Seniors’ meetings are expected to resume in January 2025.

sujhelyi@mojonews.com