Town hall meeting highlights importance of fraud-prevention tactics for seniors

A town hall meeting sponsored by 70th District Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell and 8th District Long Beach Councilmember Al Austin at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls on Aug. 1 focused on fraud prevention by providing information to local senior citizens.
The two-hour meeting featured multiple legal and law-enforcement guest speakers who each shared their individual knowledge and experiences with various forms of fraud. The event was held in an effort to educate elderly members of the community on how to prevent from falling victim to common scams and fraud.
“Oftentimes, our senior communities are most vulnerable to these types of crimes, and there are a lot of people out there that are looking to take advantage of them,” Austin said. “I just want to make sure that our seniors are prepared as much as possible and educated on what those scams are.”
The panel of experts was assembled to discuss topics ranging from identity theft, how to protect money, legal scams and scams targeting seniors.
“Fraud and identity theft are serious problems affecting many residents, and seniors are often targeted,” O’Donnell said. “We have a great panel of experts to provide seniors with helpful tips and tools to avoid becoming a victim.”
The meeting began with a recorded video message from Congressmember Alan Lowenthal, who was slated to be present at the meeting but was unable to attend because of a family engagement. In his message, Lowenthal stressed the importance of sharing preventative measures with the senior community as well as thanking those who attended and sponsored the event.
The informative part of the meeting got underway when Kenneth Ehrman, vice president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association, began discussing the dangers and ramifications of identity theft as well as ways to protect personal information. He explained how easy it is for fraudsters to obtain important information through phone calls and how simple facts like one’s mother’s maiden name can grant criminals extensive access to bank accounts, personal documents, legal documents and more.

He also cautioned attendees to be careful of suspicious phone calls from unknown relatives and jails, while also remaining vigilant about bank accounts and statements. Ehrman suggested that to counter these attempts to steal identifying information, senior citizens should always secure their mailboxes, completely destroy documents rather than just shredding them or throwing them away, be wary of strangers and question those who ask for personal information without valid reasons.
The second portion of the meeting featured Antonia Villasenor from the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO), who discussed how to protect money in financial transactions and loans. She centered her entire presentation on the idea that “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” Villasenor encouraged the audience to check the licenses of any and all persons who offer their business services, as well as to call or check the website of the DBO to inquire if people are licensed or if complaints have ever been filed. She also ensured that the DBO will treat every inquiry seriously and, if necessary, will refer it to a more appropriate department better suited to address the question.
The third topic that was addressed was about common scams and rip-offs that plague seniors. This topic was presented by Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna as well as Detective Darlene Wigmore of the Long Beach Police Department. Luna began the presentation with an anecdote about how his mother was conned into hiring several men who agreed to do some work on her house for thousands of dollars. He went on to insist that all contractor work must be licensed and that if the contractor is not licensed the owner of the home or property is not required to pay for the work that was done. Detective Wigmore also warned about the dangers of scams in the form of sweepstakes, disasters, relatives in distress, imposters and transient criminals— gypsies— while she provided other anecdotes from her time with the LBPD that showcased how easily seniors can be scammed out of thousands of dollars and even their homes and other property.
Lastly, Carina Franck of the State Bar of California provided information about how seniors can avoid legal scams. She explained how the State Bar of California regulates thousands of licensed lawyers and investigates and prosecutes unethical attorneys. She also explained the services that are provided through the State Bar, such as researching an attorney and viewing complaints and recent history. Franck stressed the importance of researching to make sure an attorney is actually licensed in California.
Following the meeting Austin further explained his hopes for the event and its potential effect on the community.
“I think our seniors, our community will be better prepared [after this meeting],” Austin said. “I have residents from across my district here!and they can come here and understand what resources are available to them. We have many nonprofits and state agencies and local agencies that are here to assist them, but I think most importantly they’re networking with other seniors that live in this community.”
Retired State Senator and town hall attendee Betty Karnette explained how she was grateful that a meeting was held to address such a serious topic, and she echoed Austin’s sentiments by stating she hopes fellow attendees will spread and share the information they learned with others who were not able to attend.
“I’m interested in, as we get older particularly, what affects older people!I want to know what the problems for seniors are. Homes are the one things that many seniors own, and I just wanted to find out general information,” Karnette said. “These are my neighbors, these are my friends, this is my community, and I want to know what the problems are. I haven’t changed, I’ve just gotten older.”