"If it seems too good to be true, it's too good to be legal," said Megan Fulara, community outreach liaison for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office.
Fulara joined local lawmakers Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, and Sen. Frank Watson, R-Greenville, in presenting the discussion about consumer fraud issues.
The date of the seminar was incorrectly reported in an A3 article in the Herald & Review on Monday.
During the seminar, Fulara urged attendees to be wary of giving out personal information and to not be afraid of asking questions when confronted with uncertainty.
"It's a new consciousness we're bringing to people," Fulara said.
For example, she said people need to realize the only time they have to give out their Social Security number is when initiating a financial transaction or when the government seeks the information.
But she noted seniors have a special burden in protecting their Social Security numbers, however, because their Medicare client numbers are their Social Security numbers. Fulara said one step seniors can take to protect that information is by only keeping their Medicare cards with them when going to the doctor's office, if possible.
Although many consumer fraud scams result from computer hacking, she said some still result from petty crimes such as purse-snatching so it is important to only keep essential credit cards or IDs with you on a daily basis. A paper shredder can also be handy to prevent a thief from securing information when dumpster diving.
In addition, scam artists may target people by phone or through the mail, Fulara warned.
She said one scheme that has hit Decatur recently is where a scam artist sends a check for a large sum of money to an individual through the mail with the stipulation that the individual pay taxes and fees on the proceeds.
Victims may then wire the sender that money, but when they go to cash the large fraudulent check they are unwittingly committing fraud themselves and will be required to pay the money back.
Fulara said even if people perhaps should know better, in some instances they are at risk of falling for fraud because the struggling economy and soaring gas, food and prescription drug prices make them desperately want to believe in these get-rich-quick schemes.
"It's hard times," she said. "People are vulnerable."
One way seniors can protect their financial identities is by taking advantage of an Illinois law that lets people age 65 and older place security freezes on their credit reports for free even though credit bureaus typically charge a $10 fee.
By placing the freeze, individuals can prevent new credit card accounts being opened or loans secured under their names even if identity thieves obtain their personal information.
"If everybody froze their credit, we would wipe out identity theft," Fulara said.
Donna Young said she had not been a victim of identity theft, but she attended the seminar to better educate herself about how to avoid it.
"You hear so much about it," Young said.
Teresa Smith, money management advisor with the Macon County Health Department, said she felt the discussion armed her with information she could use to help the low-income seniors the department's money management program serves.
While Fulara's talk on Monday was geared toward seniors, she emphasized consumer crime can happen to anyone.
"Across the board, no matter how rich or poor you are, no matter what age you are, we're all susceptible," she said.
INFORMATION
For information on consumer fraud:
- Visit the attorney general's Web site at www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov
- Call the state's identity theft hot line at 1-866-999-5630
- Call the senior fraud help line at 1-800-243-5377
- Call the general consumer fraud hot line in Springfield at 1-800-243-0618
Mary Tallon can be reached at mtallon@herald-review.com or 421-7984.
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