Fraud & Scams: What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You
You’re reading about it. You’re hearing about it. Scams and fraud are in the news every day and the methods that scammers employ are evolving and becoming more sophisticated. For these criminals, creating new ways to steal your money is their full-time job.
On Jan. 21, 2025 at Denver’s historic Eisenhower Chapel, Lowry United Neighborhoods hosted two experts in spotting and avoiding fraud:
Lynn Lowe, a Senior Resource Navigator for the City and County of Denver’s City Attorney’s Office, where she works with people 60 years and older who are victims of abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and financial exploitation; and
Steven Wilbanks, a Special Agent on the financial crimes squad of the FBI’s Denver field office. The financial crimes squad handles investigations into fraud, embezzlement, intellectual property rights matters, money laundering, and more.
Their joint presentation covered:
– How to recognize a scam and protect yourself
– Who are most frequently targeted and the psychology behind scamming
– Resources for victims of scams
The lighting isn’t great, but the information is vital.
Resources mentioned include…
Credit freeze links:
Experian: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
Equifax: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/
Transunion: https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
Other:
Elder Watch: 1-800-222-4444, option 2
Federal Trade Commission online reporting: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed
FBI: https://complaint.ic3.gov
Denver District Attorney’s Office fraud line: 720-913-9179
Note: AI transcript by Otter.ai.
0:00 Start
0:07 Introduction by Kathy Head
2:27 Speak introduction and bios by Todd Neff
3:42 Steven Wilbanks, FBI
30:18 Lynn Lowe, City and County of Denver
4:44 Do’s & Dont’s wallet card
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