Last Saturday morning, nearly 50 mostly seniors, some coming from as far away as Charlotte, assembled in the event space at the Rowan Community Center to receive information and education on how to recognize and protect themselves from scam and fraud attempts.
The event was organized and sponsored by the Veterans Social Center and was hosted by its founder, Kenny Hardin. Hardin welcomed the attendees first by providing an overview of his veterans facility and his personal health journey of searching for a kidney donor match. He then moved into the reason for the event by sharing an audio of a 2020 interview conducted by retired WBTV reporter, David Whisenant. In the recording, Hardin intervened in a scam attempt from a person claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House attempting to steal money from his then 87-year-old mother in law, promising her luxury vehicles and cash for life.
After the audio, he introduced Sheriff-elect Jody Burleyson, who shared that in his 28-year law enforcement career as a detective and fraud investigator, “One of the biggest and most intricate cases we dealt with was fraud investigation. They’re complicated and messy and they don’t always end well.”
He stated that as the incoming sheriff, he plans to make fraud investigation a priority and said he was happy that technology has improved to assist him in doing so. Hardin next introduced Lt. Jennifer Moreau, organizational development leader with the Salisbury Police Department. She shared that she regularly assists numbers of people who come into the police headquarters with fraud complaints. She said that she is aligned with the incoming sheriff in efforts to combat this pervasive and growing problem. Also in attendance was Deputy Police Chief Audria Bridges. She allowed Moreau to speak on behalf of the department while she moved throughout the room talking with attendees and addressing concerns.
Hardin next introduced the panel of experts and called each one up to the podium and relinquished the microphone. First up was Jordan Long, help desk technician with the City of Salisbury’s IT Department. Long told the crowd that his first job after graduating college was working at a senior retirement facility where the average age was 80 years old. He acknowledged that the primary request he received daily was from seniors wanting to know how to protect themselves from being scammed. He warned the attendees to never click on attachments from senders they don’t know, never respond to those who ask you to convert money into gift cards or pressure you with a sense of urgency to respond. Long advised that seniors should involve “other “sets of eyes” such as family members if they have concerns about emails they’re not sure about. Next up was Andy Downs, incoming chief deputy under Burleyson.
“If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is,” Downs said. He broke down what identity theft is and stated that the Federal Trade Commission wrote that 1 out of every 3 Americans will become an identity theft victim. Downs gave recent examples of data breaches where personal information was compromised. He noted that in one of his investigations, tellers were being paid $200 for every account number they would turn over to fraudsters. Downs shared insight into skimming devices and warned against throwing away credit card offers received in the mail without cross cut shredding them first.
Before introducing the next expert, Hardin acknowledged being a member of the State Employees Credit Union and shared a story of how he was contacted by a credit union representative who noticed unusual activity on his account. He said someone had attempted to purchase $300 worth of ski equipment at a sporting goods store in Connecticut but was unsuccessful because the credit union’s fraud department halted the sale.
Hardin then introduced Meredith Eller, who serves as a lending officer and assistant branch manager at the credit union. Eller advised the attendees of her nearly 30 years in banking with the majority being 21 years at the Salisbury location. She began by telling the seniors not to take it personally or feel isolated if they become scam victims, “it happens if you are old or young, rich or poor, male or female. We’ve seen them all. It’s not a New York or Los Angeles thing. It’s common right here in Salisbury, too.”
Eller gave practical tips and advice on freezing your credit, not to carry your social security card in your wallet or purse, and not to put your driver’s license number, social security number and birthdate on your checks. Eller said that the less information you have floating around out there, the better off you are.
Eller touched on sweepstakes, warning the crowd that you will never win a contest you never entered and you should never have to pay to receive a prize. She brought levity and laughter to the room as she discussed the work from home scam and urged attendees to disregard the rule learned as a child and gave them the OK to rudely hang up on telephone solicitors.
Hardin introduced the last speaker as his “personal insurance lady” as he heaped praise on Kathy Herring aka the NC Insurance Lady.
He told the crowd she has served him and his family’s Medicare needs as well as Veterans who use his facility. Herring polled the crowd asking how many people had received an unsolicited call about their Medicare in the last 24 hours and many hands were raised. She instructed them to never answer the calls nor give any information out over the phone. Herring said the current scam is for fraudsters to call to say that your insurance will be terminated in 30 days and then ask for personal information. She advised the crowd to hang up immediately and call their personal representative. Herring explained that neither Medicare, the IRS nor other legitimate agencies will call you so never provide personal information to anyone over the phone. Herring informed the attendees of a recent massive data breach affecting Medicare recipients from Aetna and UnitedHealth. She told everyone to be on the lookout for new Medicare cards in the mail as a result. Herring advised that if anyone knocks on your door unannounced and attempts to sign you up for Medicare or sell you insurance, take their business card, close the door and call law enforcement. She said legitimate representatives will not go door to door. She closed out her remarks by advising seniors to carefully review the explanation of benefits letters you receive from your insurance company. Herring explained that companies are fraudulently posting equipment and services they may not have performed and charging it to your insurance company.
As he received the mic from Herring, Hardin told the crowd of his work in various healthcare leadership and consulting roles at large academic medical centers and small community based hospitals. He said through his work in the areas of quality, risk, patient experience improvement and patient advocacy, he urged attendees to carefully review their hospital bills for errors before paying. He shared that in his career, he has helped patients navigate costly accounting errors or being charged for services they never received. He then reassured the crowd that although they had heard a great deal of troubling information, to not be afraid, intimidated or feel as if they should shoulder the blame if they are victimized. He added to not be afraid to ask for help from younger family members.
Hardin shared a personal example of how he encountered a computer problem and had to reach out to his adult sons. Hardin said he felt bad because they drove two hours from their home to assist him with an issue that took less than 10 minutes to fix but he was glad they were there and willing to assist. The mic was then transported around the room where a number of attendees asked the panel both general and specific questions personal to them. As the event concluded the panelists remained to ask the panelists more questions. Handouts were also provided and some of the guests asked if another session could be offered in the future.
