MSO, Woburn PD & Council on Aging co-host presentation on scam awareness

WOBURN - Middlesex Sheriff Peter J Koutoujian and Woburn Police met with seniors at the Woburn Council on Aging on Wednesday, September 23, to discuss new and emerging scams targeting residents of all ages.

The event, hosted by the Woburn Council on Aging, was part of the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office L.E.A.R.N. (Law Enforcement And Residents Networking) Program.  The L.E.A.R.N. Program focuses on educating and informing the public through collaboration, and engaging community members in dialogue around public safety matters.

“Those who would steal our hard-earned money are becoming more advanced in their methods,” warned Sheriff Koutoujian, “It used to be scams focused on false promises of riches.  Now they focus on intimidation and threats.  No one, most especially our seniors, should be subject to this type of harassment.”

“I greatly appreciate the Sheriff coming to speak to our seniors,” said Woburn Police Chief Robert Ferullo.  “Effective public safety requires collaboration and leadership, and that’s what this presentation was all about. I hope by creating awareness and working in collaboration to educate the public we can prevent residents from being victimized by these scams.”

Judy Tanner from the Woburn Council on Aging said this presentation can start a conversation. “It’s important that we share this information among ourselves to keep everyone in our community safe including our families, friends and neighbors.”

Intimidation-based scams are on the rise in Middlesex County and throughout the country.  The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 269,422 complaints in 2014, with victims reporting over $800 million dollars in losses.  In Massachusetts - according to IC3 - exactly 1,000 seniors filed scam complaints in 2014. Their reported losses totaled over $1.5 million dollars, or $1,500 per senior.

“This is an area where we must all be vigilant,” said Sheriff Koutoujian, “Unfortunately, a scammer can make 100 calls a day and only needs to be successful once to make his payday.  Citizens have to be successful every single time in order to avoid a significant loss.”

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