skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Fraud Expert: Become Smarter, Wiser to Avoid Scams

play audio
Play

Monday, November 11, 2019   

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The holiday season provides ample opportunities for con artists to prowl for unsuspecting victims, and a world-renowned expert on identity theft has crucial advice to help Minnesotans avoid becoming prey.

Frank Abagnale is a reformed con artist who was depicted by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2002 movie "Catch Me if You Can." His number-one tip to avoid a scam is to get educated.

"I tell people every day, you can't rely on the bank, you can't rely on the police, you can't rely on the government. This is not 25 years ago,” Abagnale said. “You have to be a little smarter today. You have to be a little wiser and learn to protect yourself.'"

Abagnale has advised the FBI and businesses on how to outsmart con artists for more than four decades, and now shares his unique expertise as an AARP Fraud Watch Network Ambassador. At an event in Rochester last week, he highlighted the two biggest red flags to identify a scam: if the person asks for money and demands it immediately; or if someone requests personal information such as a Social Security number or bank account number.

Consumers can take preventive steps to avoid becoming a fraud victim. Abagnale suggests putting a freeze on your credit, and using a credit card for purchases instead of a debit card.

"So if someone were to get my card, charge a million dollars on it, by federal law I am not liable for one dime,” he explained. “When you use a debit card, every time you reach for it you're exposing the money in your account. So when they steal the money, they're stealing your money."

Abagnale said every day he hears stories of people who become victimized, and lose tens of thousands of dollars - sometimes even their pensions or their homes. And, he added, fraudsters have no qualms about what they do.

"Years ago, the scam artists had to meet you personally; they had to build a relationship,” he said. “The scam artists today are sitting in their pajamas with a cup of coffee in their kitchen with their laptop thousands of miles away. They're never going to see you, you're never going to see them. They have no compassion and they will steal every dime you have."

Some of the biggest scams right now involve imposters who impersonate the Social Security Administration and threaten to stop benefit payments unless personal information is provided, or someone claims to be from the IRS and threatens legal action unless there is immediate payment. Learn more and get fraud alerts and tips online at AARP.org/fraudwatchnetwork.

Disclosure: AARP Minnesota contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Consumer Issues, Health Issues, Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021