WINSLOW — Attorney General Janet Mills, along with central Maine lawmakers, is hosting a forum on scams and fraud at the Winslow Public Library at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
According to the American Psychological Association, more than 30 million Americans are victims of financial fraud and an estimated $40 to $50 billion are lost to fraud annually.
This is an opportunity for Mills to educate the public about common scams that are reported to the office, said Tim Feeley, spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General. A list of popular scams can be found on the attorney general’s website. Mills also will speak about the resources her office provides, as well as what she does as attorney general.
Scams and fraud are a “constituent service issue,” said Ann Kim, communications director of the Maine State House Majority Office. “All representatives are concerned, for example, for people taking advantage of the elderly.”
Reps. Henry Beck, D-Waterville, Catherine Nadeau, D-Winslow, and Stanley Short Jr., D-Pittsfield, are helping to host the forum, which is free and open to the public.
Beck said his office gets a number of calls from constituents about scams.
“You’d be surprised at who’s targeted,” Beck said. “Anyone can be a victim.”
Beck said that Mills also will discuss what someone should do if he or she is the victim of a data breach.
The most important thing people should know, he said, is that “if they get a phone call and it sounds too good to be true, it is.”
“These forums are really to warn people … to be suspicious,” Feeley said. Mills and other people in the office hold these events periodically around the state, he said.
It’s not uncommon to see a number of scam complaints reported in police logs across central Maine. In August, the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office warned residents of a scam where the caller poses as a Central Maine Power employee and threatens to cut off power if the homeowner doesn’t pay a bill over the phone.
Another in June asked a Benton woman to pay her taxes via iTunes cards or there would be a warrant out for her arrest. Officials and police say to not give out personal information over the phone, especially if the supposed business made the call.
Feeley said that people who pick up the phone do tend to be demographically older, so they can be more at risk for phone scams, but that anybody is vulnerable to people who use scams to make a living.
“Any person, any age group, any socioeconomic demographic can fall victim to a scam,” Feeley said. “They are very clever … They can be very convincing.”
Madeline St. Amour – 861-9239
mstamour@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @madelinestamour
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