AARP Vermont

In 2019, Vermonters filed 5,447 scam reports with the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP). As old scams persisted, new scams emerged. According to the Attorney General’s list of top 10 most commonly reported scams of the year, the Social Security number phishing scam surpassed the IRS scam, knocking it out of the top spot as the most common scam. This phone scam involves calls claiming that your Social Security number has been compromised, suspended, and/or linked to criminal activity. The phony grandchild is also still popular.

Want to help combat scammers? AARP Vermont is looking for more fraud fighting volunteers to staff tables and give talks.

AARP Vermont State Director Greg Marchildon released the following statement on Dec. 18 upon the passage of FY 2020 appropriations bills H.R. 1158 and H.R. 1865:

Over 4 million Americans at risk of surprise tax increase if medical expense deduction not extended.

Bill Would Improve Weaknesses in Caller ID Cited in Recent AARP Survey

AARP Vermont and partners developed the Better Places: Place-Based Crowdgranting Program to explore more collaborative funding for community projects.

Retail prices for 267 brand-name drugs commonly used by older adults surged by an average of 5.8% in 2018, more than twice the general inflation rate of 2.4%, according to new AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) data released today. The annual average cost of therapy for one brand-name drug ballooned to more than $7,200 in 2018, up from nearly $1,900 in 2006.

AARP Vermont is recruiting volunteers for the 2020 tax season.

With scam artists hard at work all year, taxpayers should watch for new versions of tax-related scams. One such scam involves fake property liens. It threatens taxpayers with a tax bill from a fictional government agency.

Do you know ways to help keep your aging loved ones from losing money to scams and fraud? We’ll share important information that could help you keep them safe during our free webinar.