Alabamians are vulnerable to fraud and scams. According to one financial report, Alabama ranks 11th highest in the country in frauds and fraud related reports.
The American Association of Retired Persons hosted an event in Huntsville to help people learn how to avoid being victims of fraud. Frank Abagnale—the famous and former confidence man turned adviser for financial institutions and government agencies from the bestselling book and film called Catch Me if You Can—gave the presentation at the Jackson Center.
Kathy Stokes is the director of fraud prevention programs with AARP. She talked with Abagnale at the event. She mentioned that fraud could happen to anyone, especially with younger people and phone call scams. It is the older populations though that are at risk for losing more when talking about amounts of money.
“When we were growing up,” Stokes said, “our parents told us to be skeptical and not to talk to strangers. And now it’s time for our parents to, for us, to tell our parents that. Engage your inner skeptic. If someone calls you out of the blue and says you owe a debt you ow nothing about, be suspicious about that.”
Besides tonight’s event, AARP runs a fraud watch network that is dedicated to protecting individuals from fraud and other related crimes.