Palos Park Offers Pizza, Scams, Schemes And Exploitation Seminar

PALOS PARK, IL — Join the Palos Park Police Department for pizza and a scams seminar this Friday, April 29, and learn how to avoid becoming a victim of emerging crime trends, fraudulent tax schemes and identity theft. The seminar starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Kaptur Center, 8999 W. 123rd St. The pizza is on Palos Park PD.

The seminar will be facilitated by Elder Services Officer Danelle Scaccia, Chief Joe Miller and other Palos Park police officers, will review the latest “Scams, Schemes and Exploitation.” Older adults, especially, have been swindled out of millions of dollars due to various types of scams.

Officer Scaccia will show residents how to minimize their chances of becoming a victim of these crimes, especially older adults. Attendees will learn about the tactics fraudsters use to collect personal information, solicit funds, and compromise security.

The FBI recently published its first "Elder Fraud Report," with information and statistics compiled from its Internet Crime Complaint Center. In 2020, the FBI received 791,790 complaints from fraud and scam victims of all ages. About 28 percent of the frauds were reported by victims older than 60, reporting losses of $1 billion. This amounted to an increase of $300 million, compared to losses reported by seniors over 60 in 2019. Older adults reported an average loss of $9,175, though 1,921 victims reported losing more than $100,000 in a scam or fraud.