On Wednesday 19th February 2020, eighty seniors gathered at Scarborough Community Centre Gildercliffe St Scarborough for a free SCAMS information session.
Try to maintain a healthy level of scepticism!
The free information session conducted by Seniors Recreation Council of WA Inc in partnership with NBN, Consumer Protection and The City of Stirling, provided a forum for seniors to learn latest trends, ask questions about the prevalence of scams and how they can take steps to protect themselves. Presenters on the day were Ashley Merrett Community Ambassador, nbn™ local, Martin Yates SRCWA Tech Savvy Seniors Project Manager and Merinda Willis from Community Education Team Consumer Protection Division.
There were the usual questions about nuisance phone calls, people knocking on doors and banking / credit card security. The recommended course of action with unsolicited calls is to hang up on the caller, should there be some threat or course of action required please refer to a legitimate source of truth eg. If someone calls from the tax office take their name, then look the number up independently from the number they give you and ask to be put through to them. There are strict laws around door to door selling which can lead to prosecution if the sales person doesn’t leave the property when asked to do so. Internet banking and financial transactions can be safe as long as you follow rules and remember to look for HTTPS and the padlock in the website address.
The main message from these sessions is maintain a healthy level of scepticism and keep at the forefront of your thoughts “if it’s too good to be true then it definitely is”. Think before you click is another top hint, read the message or the link before you click on any links in web pages, emails or pop ups.
Great food and information.
After the presentation a there was a magnificent afternoon tea sponsored by NBN and provided by the SRCWA State Branch. Thank you SRCWA Executive Officer Dawn Yates, Volunteers Mary and Marylyn who worked so hard to make this event possible. Thank you to Carol Kerten from the City of Stirling for your support and hard work on the day. Special mention to Peter who signed ( Auslan ) for 2 hours translating for the hearing impaired on the day.
What should you do?
Should you believe you or someone you know has been implicated in a scam STOP.. call Consumer Protection WA on 1300 304 054 for advice.
You can also visit Scamnet for further information and updates on the latest SCAMS. There is also some great resources online one in particular is the Federal Government, Stay Smart Online – Protect Yourself in 8 steps.
If you would like a free SCAMS Awareness session at your club or group please contact Martin Yates on 9492 9774.