Get To Know: Fraud Blogger Alan Marx

Get to Know: Alan Marx (AARP TN Fraud Blogger)

During the past year, you’ve probably read our special column on frauds and scams, Consumer Corner. If not, check out a few recent posts here, here and here. But, who writes these informative posts? We thought you should know, so we sat down with our fraud blogger, Alan Marx.

So, tell us, what got you interested in fraud prevention?

I am an attorney at King & Ballow, a law firm in Nashville. I previously worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and taught at Vanderbilt Law School. My area of practice is anti-trust law. To stay current I read trade publications that cover both anti-trust and consumer protection matters, including articles on frauds and scams. For me, it’s fairly easy to keep up with the latest news related to fraudulent activity. I consider myself an advocate for consumer welfare and writing a monthly blog post for AARP Tennessee is a great way to share the information I’ve learned about preventing frauds and avoiding scams.

What do you think is the number one mistake people make related to frauds?

I think the top mistake is not using readily available resources to check things out. There is an amazing amount of information out there you can use to protect yourself from becoming a victim of a con artist. I’m speaking mostly of information on the Internet, though you can also find plenty of good material at your local library. Librarians are well equipped to assist you. Older adults tend to be a little more trusting and polite, which is almost always a good thing. But, it can open the door for a scammer to take advantage of you.

As you keep up with fraud news, what trends are you seeing?

I think more than ever, there is a network of people who go online and research what scams are working in different parts of the country and the world. Before long, they are putting those ideas to work in your community. These criminals use the Internet for inspiration – unfortunately they get inspired to defraud innocent people like you and me.

What is your top fraud prevention tip we can all use to protect ourselves?

Well, I’d have to say that first and foremost, do your homework. This is especially important when hiring someone to do work around your home or dealing with unsolicited offers. Just because a company is in the phone book doesn’t mean they’re honest. Whether you need a roofer, a dentist or another type of service provider, I strongly suggest you ask your friends, neighbors, and relatives for word-of-mouth referrals. What was their experience, and were they satisfied? Ask around – odds are your friends, neighbors or family members can recommend someone with a good track record for whatever work you need done.

The more I learn about people who live by scamming others, the more amazed I am at how much energy they put into this life of illegal activity. If those people put that much work into an honest profession, they’d be wealthy!

Look for Alan’s Consumer Corner blog posts each month on the AARP TN webpage at www.aarp.org/tn