Free Programs to Educate the Public About Technology Scams

Quinnipiac University occupational therapy students to host free programs
to educate the public about technology scams on June 23 and June 26

HAMDEN – A group of Quinnipiac University occupational therapy students will present, “Inside the Mind of a Criminal: Fraud Prevention Session,” from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, June 23, at the Rocky Top Student Center, Room 311, on the York Hill Campus at Quinnipiac University, 305 Sherman Ave. The program also will be offered from 6-7 p.m. on Monday, June 26, in Echlin 101 on Quinnipiac’s Mount Carmel Campus, 275 Mount Carmel Ave.

These programs are free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Samantha D’Amicantonio, Morgan Miller, Molly Sawyer, Paige Velie and Migdalia Wood will lead a discussion about the latest ways people are getting scammed through technology and how to prevent it. AARP, the Hamden Public Library and the Hamden Police Department are co-sponsors of the program, which is part of the Hamden Public Library’s “Digital Navigator” series.
Technology scams are often perpetrated by large-scale criminal gangs that target older adults, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which has made these fraudulent acts a priority of its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. Tech support scams reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2021 cost victims $347 million, a 137% increase from the previous year, with two-thirds of those losses borne by people ages 60 and older, according to the AARP.

Here are some warning signs of a technology scam to be aware of:

• You receive an unsolicited phone call or email from someone claiming to work for a brand-name tech company such as Microsoft or Apple. Those companies say they do not contact customers unless the customer initiates communication.

• A pop-up or blue screen appears on your computer, phone or tablet with a warning that a virus or other malicious program has infected your device.

• The message urges you to immediately call a toll-free number or click a link to get technical help or security software.

• The message contains bad grammar or misspelled words.

• You are asked to pay for tech support or other services with a gift card, cash-reload card or wire transfer. The Federal Trade Commission says no legitimate company will ask for payment that way.

Tracy Van Oss, professor of occupational therapy at Quinnipiac, commended the students for their advocacy.

"The occupational therapy students have done a tremendous amount of work to get this partnership established,” Van Oss said. “We look forward to offering these types of programs at QU on a continual basis to keep community members one step ahead of scammers.”

For more information about these programs, call 203-582-8652.