Become a Consumer Warrior and Guard Yourself Against Money Scams

AARP, FINRA, Investor Education Foundation, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),  the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, and other advocacy and enforcement agencies recently joined forces in Philadelphia to encourage seniors to be on the guard against fraud and scams.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane addressed AARP members as the keynote speaker at the event where she shared important tips on the best ways to safeguard financial information and the goals of her new office during first term as Pennsylvania's Attorney General.   She spoke on how people could become “consumer warriors” to advocate on their own behalf, and how they can help detect and report fraudsters and scam artists.

Held at the prestigious Federal Reserve Bank, over 150 attendees also heard from one of their favorite consumer reporters, Jim Donovan of CBS 3 television.  Donovan warned on the top scams most consumers face which include contractor fraud, sweepstakes and lottery scams, investment schemes and internet fraud.  Participants for the free event learned first-hand how to protect themselves against scams in the new age of technology and received an opportunity to get their questions answered by consumer protection experts.

In 2006, the AARP Foundation and the Investor Protection Trust teamed up to create The Campaign for Wise and Safe Investing™ (CWSI), a national and state-level partnership between AARP state offices and their local State Securities Regulators in 35 states.  The primary goal of the Campaign is to impact older investors and potential investors with research based investor education and protection.

In Pennsylvania, AARP and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities have trained AARP volunteers to become senior “Fraud Fighters” who work with their peers to prevent and avoid investment fraud.  Volunteers and staff have educated consumers on how to be wise and safe investors through a number of programs including the popular Money Matters program and Consumer University.