'Better safe than sorry': AG Dana Nessel teaches Monroe seniors to avoid scams

FRENCHTOWN TWP. — “Better safe than sorry” was Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s message Tuesday at the Frenchtown Center for Active Adults.

Accompanied by Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough, she spoke to a group gathered in the center's dining room about scams affecting Michigan seniors.

Nessel talked about a variety of ways scammers will target seniors to gather personal and private information.

“Scams change all the time,” she said. “They come in a variety of different ways with the same basic ingredients — urgent or secret requests, believable stories or connections, financial requests and unusual payment types, like asking for payment in the form of a gift card.”

Throughout the presentation, Nessel used short video clips to reinforce her consumer protection message.

She said information posted on Facebook and other social media websites are viable ways scammers collect personal information.

“Set your privacy settings high and limit the amount of private information you are sharing,” she said.

Nessel also spoke about spoofing, a term used when scammers disguise their identity through the use of artificial intelligence technology. The technology is used to impersonate friends or family members by manipulating videos and recordings found on social media. That information is then used to create realistic sounding voice recordings.

On average, there is a new identity theft victim in the U.S. every two seconds.

In an effort to stay safe from scammers, Nessel suggested frequently changing passwords, using two-factor authenticators, making purchases using credit cards rather than debit cards, and reporting illegal robo calls and text messages.

“Don’t walk around being scared,” Nessel said. “Be informed and be aware. When someone calls you asking for personal information, that is a red flag. Ask questions the scammer would not know. The IRS and Social Security will never call you asking for information. They will only contact you by mail.”

In addition to phone calls, text messages and emails, Nessel said check fraud has been on the rise since the height of COVID-19. She talked about Positive Pay, a service used by state and local governments to prevent and monitor check fraud such as duplicated checks, altered check amounts and counterfeit checks.

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Before closing the session, Nessel provided information on Michigan Identity Theft Support, the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act and Licensing and Regulatory Affairs when trying to locate or verify a licensed professional or business. Information cards were made available with a list of resources and how to contact the state’s consumer protection team.

The attorney general urged those in attendance to sign up for consumer protection alerts on the state of Michigan website to stay informed of unfair, misleading and deceptive business practices.

Goodnough said Nessel wanted to visit Monroe on Tuesday to meet with several different agencies on a variety of topics.

“Today’s presentation was fantastic. She’s a great presenter and she’s passionate about taking care of the citizens of Michigan and, more importantly, seniors,” Goodnough said. “You heard in her presentation, they are very vulnerable.”

Theresa Radu of Monroe attended the presentation because she was interested in learning more about scams and consumer protection.

“There were some areas I had not heard of and I pride myself in being as safe as I can. For instance, I don’t have Facebook,” Theresa Radu said. “I knew using a credit card was safer to use over a debit card and I’m careful when I write checks. I do not place them in my mailbox anymore. I hate that we’ve gotten to this point.”

Program coordinator Lisa Ghigliazza said she was pleased at the response of those who attended and plans to have more events highlighting consumer protection. Information provided at the meeting will be posted on the Frenchtown Center for Active Adults' Facebook page and website.

— Contact reporter Lisa Vidaurri-Bowling at lvidaurribowling@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Attorney General Dana Nessel teaches Monroe seniors to avoid scams