Courtney, FTC Touting System Designed To Help Seniors Identify Scams

NORTH CENTRAL CT — U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (CT - 2nd District) has teamed up with the Federal Trade Commission to tout a system designed to help seniors identify and report fraudulent activity.

Last year, Connecticut residents reported more than 19,000 cases of fraud and lost nearly $60 million to them, Courtney said. The losses, Courtney said, were primarily through imposter scams, like car warranty offers and online shopping scams.

There were also more than 8,000 reported cases of identity theft in the state in 2022—which is significantly higher than most states, he said.

"Unfortunately, residents over 60 years old experienced the greatest financial loss," Courtney said, while adding seniors in their 70s lost a "median amount" of $700 in 2022.

To help "address the prevalence of fraudulent activity," Courtney has teamed up with the FTC's Karen O'Connell to share tips on how to identify common scams and report them.

The said to avoid a scam, residents should:

• Block unwanted calls and text messages;
• Keep personal or financial information private;
• Resist the pressure to act immediately;
• Stop and talk to someone you trust; and
• Report any suspicious activity to the FTC.

"Fraud and scams are all too common and hitting our seniors the hardest," Courtney said. "Fortunately, there are tactics to identify scams, prevent losses, and report fraud and I am committed to spreading the word to help protect residents from bad actors. The resources we shared at Rose City Senior Center are now available at senior centers across eastern Connecticut. I encourage seniors to visit a local senior center or visit ftc.gov/scams to learn more and report any suspicious activity to reportfraud.ftc.gov."

Courtney offered other tips:

• To learn how to identify scams, click here.
• To learn how to protect your devices from hackers, click here.
• To report identify theft, click here.
• To report fraudulent activity, click here.