Weekly series of scam prevention talks kicks off today in Modesto

A series of lectures on “senior scam prevention” begins today at 4 p.m. at Standiford Place Independent Retirement Living. Among the topics that will be addressed on Tuesday afternoons in September are identity theft, imposter scams (someone pretends to be, say, a grandchild in financial need), charity fraud, health care scams and phony sweepstakes.

Kicking off the series will be Modesto Police Department Crime Prevention Officer Stephany Valadez. She’ll give a general overview on the various scams being perpetrated these days, how to recognize them and protect against them, she said.

It’s information that can help anyone, not only seniors. “There’s a big misconception that it’s mostly seniors who get scammed,” Valadez said. “I’ve seen all different ages, from teens getting scammed on Craigslist to people in their 40s and 50s. With seniors, I think it’s because they’re goodhearted, trusting people who don’t think someone’s going to scam them.”

Being behind the curve technologically also can be a factor. One common scam involves the caller pretending to be with Microsoft, alerting the victim to a purported computer problem and saying the victim must provide a password so Microsoft can fix it. That password then is used to get into the computer to steal confidential information and get into financial accounts.

Some scams also aim to scare seniors, especially women, out of their money, Valadez said. These include callers claiming to be with the IRS and threatening to send police if a payment toward back taxes isn’t made.

“Those phone calls can be quite intimidating,” Valadez said. “They can get very nasty. I’ve heard stories where people say, ‘They were swearing at me, yelling at me.’ ”

Valadez said the Modesto Police Department will be back at Standiford Place for the Sept. 22 senior scam prevention presentation. Also speaking that day will be Reva Damir of CareMore.

Joyce Gandelman of the Senior Advocacy Network/Senior Law Project will speak Sept. 8 and 29. And Ted Laskowski of Standiford Place, who organized the series, will speak Sept. 15.

The lectures are free and open to the public. No reservations are needed, and light refreshments and raffle prizes will be provided.

Standiford Place is at 3420 Shawnee Drive, Modesto. Call 209-521-7000 for more information.

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Weekly series of scam prevention talks kicks off today in Modesto."