AARP Virginia

Equipping the Vulnerable to Protect Themselves

Community members ages 60 and up: the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) invites you to take an important survey.

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month – a great time to remind ourselves just how much of our lives happen online and what threats exist there. Any device that stores information or is connected to the internet can be a way for cybercriminals to gain access to your information systems – or, in some cases, use your devices to attack someone else.

AARP Virginia State Director Jim Dau announced that Jared Calfee has joined the organization as Associate State Director for Advocacy and Outreach to lead its state advocacy and financial security programming.

Virginia’s Jamestown Settlement was established in 1607 by an initial group of 104 English men and boys. It is often believed that the first group of women arrived at the colony in 1619, but, as participants learned in a recent presentation, this isn’t exactly true. Mark Summers, public historian for the Jamestown Rediscovery Archaeology Project, shared the fascinating history of women in early Jamestown in an edition of AARP Virginia’s Virginia Treasures Series.

This year, October 12th is National Savings Day. This day serves as an important reminder to plan for your financial future.

The week of October 3 is World Investor Week, a great time to remember that the too-good-to- be-true investment opportunity often is exactly that. Investment scams are among the oldest out there. With lots of people looking for a way to make money on investing, there are at least as many looking to take it away. One area where investment scams have thrived as of late is in cryptocurrency, which has taken a quantum leap recently.

Do you know where to cast a ballot on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8?

Staying a step ahead of the scammers is like playing a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. Research shows that people who know about a specific scam are 80% less likely to engage with it, but how can you stay up to speed on all the different threats? One great tool is the AARP Fraud Watch Network’s Watchdog Alert.

No matter the season, plenty of us are looking to slim down, and scammers hope to pack their pocketbooks while we all try to unpack the pounds. In 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission, bogus diet products and programs accounted for nearly 30% of all complaints in the category of health care scams.