At the April meeting of Black Forest AARP Chapter 1100 Mark Fedderhoff from AARP Foundation/ElderWatch provided an informative program exposing the top scams facing older adults.†Mark discussed the common approaches and pitches made by scam artists trying to steal money and identities. Among them are persons claiming to be prize or lottery officials;†grandchildren in desperate need of money; home repair opportunities; travel bargain offers; and imposters allegedly from government†agencies, including, most recently, the Internal Revenue Service. The basic advice to everyone includes immediately hanging up on these types of phone calls, tossing correspondence in the recycle bin, and deleting emails — donít open the emails before deleting.Remember to ìrecognize, refuse and reportî any unsolicited approaches from individuals you do not personally†know and trust.†Persons receiving unexpected encounters should call the toll free AARP call center at 1-800-222-4444, or the local Better†Business Bureau and make them aware of the situation. Make those calls, too, if you think you have been a victim of a scam or identity theft.† † † † †The monthly meeting also featured the usual potluck lunch and a short business meeting, including a†report on Colorado Senate Bill 16-183 that deals with 9-1-1 outages. †Chapter members were also reminded of the upcoming volunteer†opportunities at the Salvation Army Senior Expo, the Senior Resource Council Annual Aging Expo partnership with The Gazette, and the†Free Shredding opportunity in Black Forest.† † † † †The Black Forest AARP Chapter meets the second Wednesday of each month at Black Forest Lutheran Church, 12455 Black Forest†Road. The chapter motto is ìTo Serve not to be Served.î†Dues are $10 per year. †For more information, contact Chuck at 719-749-9227 or†visit the http://aarpchapter1100blackforest.weebly.com.
