Dave Long said that single senior citizens are the most vulnerable to scammers as they often are looking for companionship.

A dozen seniors turned out to learn more about possible scams, why they often are easy prey and resources to utilize if you have fallen victim.

Seniors are not technologically savvy but very trusting of others, so they seem like the perfect target for opportunists.

According to Long, Americans age 60 and older possess 70 percent of the wealth. Thieves looking to separate people from their money can take the form of stealing outgoing mail from red-flagged mailboxes to calling grandma to bail out her grandson from jail with Amazon gift cards.

Dave Long, a retired scam prevention and outreach worker from Poland, shows a gift card that is commonly used as currency by scammers targeting senior citizens during a informational session held Wednesday at Bucci Insurance. To sign up your group for one of Long’s free presentations, call 484-857-1876. (Photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)

Knowing how to recognize the signs of a scam are imperative. They generally are “out of the blue,” requiring quick action by the victim and often involves a gift card or wire transfer.

Legitimate companies and agencies never need to confirm your personal information especially if you hadn’t initiated the initial communication with a bank, delivery service or even the government.

In fact, whenever there is a question, potential victims are encouraged to double check by directly calling out the alleged entity using its usual phone number or mode of communication.

Long, a Poland resident, reminded that most communities have a policy requiring temporary permits be issued to door-to-door salespeople to assure their residents’ safety,

For example, in the case of Columbiana, door-to-door solicitors can find a copy to the permit application at www.columbianaohio.gov.

Cost is $10 with the permit being valid for one year. While it lists no background check of the applicant, officials can revoke the permit in the case of misrepresenting information on the application or a conviction of moral turpitude.

International lotteries or sweepstakes are a popular scam. However, as Long points out, “Remember if you didn’t enter (a Nigerian lottery), you didn’t win,” Long said. It is illegal for American citizens to collect any prizes for lotteries and sweepstakes outside the U.S.

Turnpike toll text scams also are gaining in popularity. EZ-Pass, however, doesn’t have a driver’s phone number and only communicates by sending you notices through postal mail

“The FBI says the best defense against scams is knowledge and information, so educate yourself,” he added.

Long discouraged attendees from engaging scammers after they initially make contact.

“Your best protection against scammers making unsolicited contact with you is to hang up and not respond to their attempts to steal your money or good name. He concluded.

Long is a retired spam prevention consultant who now offers free presentations in the northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania when he isn’t writing a monthly scam prevention column for our sister publications of the Tribune Chronicle and Vindicator.

For more information about keeping seniors safe from fraudsters, visit www.aarp.org and type in “scam”

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Bucci Insurance LLC will offer the final segment of its senior information series at 1 p.m Wednesday, Oct. 1, at its Columbiana office located in the plaza behind the Das Dutch Haus Restaurant.

For more information about the information series, call 330-509-7229.

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American residents can freeze (and unfreeze) their credit bureau files as often as they wish to prevent unauthorized attempts to gain access in order to open new accounts in their names.

Equifax- www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze

TransUnion – www.transunion.com/credit-freeze

Experian – www.experian.com/freeze/center.html