Last month, Generations for America launched the Slam the Scam program at the Berkeley County Library System (BCLS). The room was filled for one hour from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Goose Creek Library, located at 325 Old Moncks Corner Road, Goose Creek. Ingrid Centurion, Founder/President of Generations for America, conducted the program to educate seniors about dangerous scammers, consequences of revealing sensitive personal information, authorization of funds, and victim prevention.
"Cyberterrorism is the greatest danger facing America. Criminals use information to inculcate fear in individuals and then force them to make bad decisions. These bad decisions resulted in individuals losing their life savings."
-Ingrid Centurion, Founder/President of Generations for America
This month Carrie Pasquarello will be conducting the program on May 19th from 11 a.m. - 12 pm. Carrie Pasquarello is the CEO & Co-Founder of Global Secure Resources Inc. Carrie manages the development of security standards, emergency action plans, safety protocols, and crisis intervention strategies for use by businesses, non-profit organizations, and individual consumers and directs the analytical preparation of the Individual Threat Assessment Plan (ITAP) and Safe Student Abroad Assessments (SSA). Using all the strategies she learned and refined from working with the U.S. Department of State, she shares real-life lessons from abroad and stories to illustrate the importance of being proactive in keeping safe. Carrie is the Author of Study Abroad Safety, A Parent’s Guide to Sending Your Child Abroad.
Everyday there is a new scam and you must be prepared to avoid being a victim. The elderly are targets, and we must warn everyone especially our grandparents. A married elderly couple, an 83-year-old man and a 78-year-old woman, were contacted by a scammer claiming to be from PayPal. The scammer told them that their bank account was compromised and PayPal had set up a new account to help keep the couple's money safe.
The couple withdrew $15,000 from their bank account and deposited $14,000 through an account at a Holiday gas station. Some gas stations have kiosks to buy and sell Bitcoin. Withdrawing large amounts of money is a red flag that is might be a scam. Stop and think, “Am I being scammed?” before you make bad decisions.
Never fall for the Google Lottery Scam. You receive an email claiming that you've won a Google Lottery and are asked for personal details. In some cases the scammers also impersonate customs or tax officials and will ask you to provide additional information or pay a fee to release the funds (such as a money release fee, currency exchange, courier or shipping fees, tax fees, etc.). “No reputable person or agency will ever demand payment or your personal information on the spot.” a Google representative said.
Google does not run lotteries, and your email address has not been selected to win a prize. Do not reply back with your personal details.
Scams also occur on your smart TV. Watch out for fake you tube activation links. Smart televisions are great for accessing content from numerous sources without the need for a streaming device. The TV itself can stream content from Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, live events, and other services while also accessing your social media, web browser and smart home services.
When you install an app on your smart TV, you are sometimes required to visit an activation page online to get it running. This usually syncs up your account with your television so you can bring over your settings, subscriptions and history.
These are just a fews scams to watch for but our monthly program at the Goose Creek Library will prepare you from being scammed. Join us on 19 May 2023, 11AM at the Goose Creek Library.