Fraud expert aims to educate community in Pāhoa this Thursday

As criminals continue to take advantage of widespread security vulnerabilities, concern of fraud grows for American consumers.

A new report from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Fraud Watch Network examine emerging fraud trends and outline essential protective measures consumers can adopt in the digital landscape.

Overall, the research stresses the importance of taking small actions to stay protected from major losses. 

According to the report, more than 276 million adults were exposed to cyber threats by downloading unverified apps or taking online quizzes on social media from unreliable sources. Additionally, an estimated 203 million adults have not enabled multi-factor authentication across all their online accounts, leaving them more susceptible to hacking and identity theft.

To make information more accessible to concerned community members, AARP elder fraud expert Paul Greenwood, a former deputy district attorney, will be hosting a free “Fight Fraud Together” presentation beginning at 10 a.m. at the Pāhoa Neighborhood Facility on Thursday.

“We all have a responsibility to share information with friends, family and neighbors about how we can better protect ourselves from becoming victims of all types of fraud; and we must make reporting of such crimes more accessible to everyone,” Greenwood said. 

The AARP Fraud Watch Network offers free, facilitated peer discussion groups that seek to provide emotional support for those experiencing fraud; and advocates at the federal, state, and local levels to enact policy changes that protect consumers and enforce laws. 

In its report, Fraud Watch provided additional insight into how people feel about scam attempts and fraud while diving into different protective measures. They include:

• 90% of respondents recognize that anyone can fall victim to fraud
  • This marks a continued shift away from the misconception that scams primarily target older adults
•  More than half of consumers are somewhat, or very confident they could detect a fraud attempt involving AI
  • By its nature, AI is capable of making fraud attempts imperceptible
• 64% adults do not use distinctively unique passwords for all their online accounts
  • This can make a person easier targets for cybercriminals
• 35% of respondents use their social media account to log in to other platforms
  • 48% of adults 18 to 49-year-olds are much more likely to do this compared to older adults 50-plus at 20%
  • This practice is risky because if one account is compromised, others can easily be hacked as well 
• 64% of adults, both younger and older, don’t use a VPN when utilizing public internet
  • VPNs are critical to protecting online data when using public Wi-Fi.

According to AARP, victims have been blamed for these crimes, rather than the criminals who commit them, which has served to deprioritize fraud as a crime and has played a role in fraud’s exponential growth. To learn more about shifting focus from the victim to the criminals committing fraud, visit the AARP website.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network is a free resource that equips consumers with up-to-date knowledge to spot and avoid scams, and connects those targeted by scams with fraud helpline specialists. Anyone can call the helpline at 877-908-3360.

To register for “Fight Fraud Together” with Greenwood, or to see all of the events AARP is offering, visit the AARP website or Facebook page.