Summit County prosecutor, sheriff offer tips, events to protect older residents
Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh's Office is teaming up with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office with billboards and bus ads throughout Summit County as part Senior Safety Awareness Month throughout September.
These ads provide the 24-hour Sheriff’s Office hotline (330-643-2181) for people to call to report elder abuse. Ads on the interior of Summit County Metro buses will also provide information on some of the more popular scams which target seniors, as well as tips to avoid becoming a victim.
The ads urge citizens to call the Summit County Adult Protective Services’ emergency hotline at 330-643-7217 to report any signs of abuse on our community’s seniors.
“Each year I set September as Senior Safety Awareness month as a way to remind our communities of safety issues and scams targeting seniors. My hope is that this will help minimize a person’s chance of becoming a victim of crime,” Walsh said in a news release.
Last year, Walsh established a Senior Protection Unit within the Prosecutor’s Office geared toward protecting and fighting for the rights of residents 60 and older.
The Senior Protection Unit will also collaborate with local leaders and organizations to provide safety information, trainings, and self-defense classes for the community.
Throughout September, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office will educate as many senior citizens as possible about scams, criminal activity, and how to protect their home. If you would like to have a prosecutor speak with your group about those topics, contact Elliot Kolkovich, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office community outreach prosecutor, at ekolkovich@prosecutor.summitoh.net
Beware of these common scams against seniors
Recently, new scams have popped up, attempting to steal money and identities from unsuspecting victims. The more seniors and their families know, the better prepared they are to not become a victim.
Some common scams include:
The Publisher’s Clearinghouse scam. In this phone call scam, the caller will tell you that you’ve been selected as the backup winner because the main winner did not satisfy all the requirements. The caller says because of specific tax laws, you would have to pay tens of thousands of dollars upfront to get the winnings. It is illegal to be required to pay anything upfront, even if someone claims its for taxes, to receive your winnings. Taxes are paid after you receive your prize.
New scams also target people who try to sell items online in places like Facebook Marketplace. A potential buyer will contact the seller about the item, then take the conversation onto a non-monitored platform like WhatsApp. There they ask the seller to authenticate themselves with a verification code. If approved, the code allows the fraudster to create an account using the seller’s phone number, which can be used in other scams.
Jury Duty scam. The scam, which has been around for years, is once again targeting Summit County residents. The jury duty scam works like many other phone scams. The caller claims that there is a warrant out for your arrest because you missed jury duty. The caller says you can get rid of the warrant by paying a fine with a gift card. You cannot pay fines or outstanding bills with store gift cards. Scammers hope to catch unsuspecting victims off guard with the threat of an arrest.
The “Grandparent Scam” is a common scam that targets older residents. A person receives a call from someone claiming to be their grandchild. The caller says they’re in trouble — either they were arrested or in a car crash — and need cash quick. They will usually ask to have the money sent by purchasing gift cards. The caller also asks to not tell “mom and dad”.
Another common scam is the IRS Scam. In this scam, a caller claims the person owes taxes and will be arrested if they don’t pay immediately. Again, the caller will ask to make the payment by purchasing gift cards. The IRS never calls to demand an immediate payment.
Many scams involve victims purchasing store gift cards. Utilities and companies will not accept payment with store gift cards. If someone calls demanding the purchase of a store gift card to pay a bill, it is a scam.
Tips to avoid scams
Talk to family and friends or call your lawyer, accountant or banker and get their advice before you make any large purchases or investment over the phone with a stranger.
Check out unfamiliar companies with your local consumer protection agency, Better Business Bureau, the National Fraud Information Center, or other watchdog groups.
If you aren’t sure about something, ask a trusted friend or family member.
Don’t forget you have the power to simply hang up the phone when strangers call and try to sell you something you don’t want.
Watch for letters or emails which have misspellings or a return address which does not match where the letter was mailed from.
Never send money or give out personal information such as your credit card numbers, bank account numbers, date of birth or Social Social number to unfamiliar companies or unknown people.
Betty's Best Tips: Here are links to popular topics such as top scams, how to block robocalls, free credit freezes
Free safety information events
Summit County Prosecutor’s Office employees will be at the following upcoming events, providing safety information to the community:
Sept. 7: Green Senior EXPO, Raintree Golf & Event Center, 4350 Mayfair Road, Green, 10 a.m. to noon
Sept. 9: Nordonia Kids & Family Health & Safety Fair, Nordonia High School, 8006 S. Bedford Road, Macedonia, noon to 4 p.m.
Sept. 25: Senior Safety Fair, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 340 N. Main St., Hudson, 11:30 a.m.
Sept. 27: Senior Safety Speech, Nordonia Hills Senior Center inside Macedonia City Hall, 9691 Valley View Road, Macedonia, 11 a.m.
Sept. 29 - Eighth Annual Responding to the Needs of Victims Conference, Hilton Akron/Fairlawn, 3180 W. Market St., Fairlawn, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Oct. 3: Senior Day at the Akron Art Museum, 1 S. High St., 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Prosecutor’s Office's Senior Safety Awareness Calendar is also back. If you would like a 204 Senior Safety Awareness Calendar, contact Elliot Kolkovich, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office Community Outreach Prosecutor, at ekolkovich@prosecutor.summitoh.net.
Consumer reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County prosecutor, sheriff offer tips to protect older residents
