“Over the last three years, we’ve held 18 Iowa Fraud Fighters forums throughout Iowa,” said Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart. “This lunch and learn series brings our important fraud-prevention message to more Iowa communities.”

According to Gerhart, con artists are targeting Americans age 60 and older, swindling more than 7 million Americans out of almost $3 billion each year.  Unfortunately, many smart Iowans have fallen victim to these very slick and sophisticated investment scammers, and some have lost their entire life savings.

“Our goal in holding a Creston lunch and learn program is to help educate Iowans on common scams and arm them with tools and tips to prevent and report fraud,” said Craig Goettsch, IID director of investment education and community outreach, as well as a Creston program presenter and panelist. “Whenever there is a possibility to make changes – such as open enrollment for both Medicare and the ACA plans, it is prime time for scammers to call and misrepresent themselves as a government agency, ask for personal information or account numbers, and try to steal your identity. Medicare will never call you and ask you for personal information, such as your Medicare number, which most likely is your Social Security number.”Registration for the lunch and learn begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch is served at noon and the program concludes at 1:30 p.m. Informational booths staffed by the Iowa Insurance Division and Iowa Attorney General’s office will be open prior to the lunch for attendees to pick up important materials on how to prevent and report fraud, as well as Medicare-related materials from the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), which is a part of the Iowa Insurance Division.

To RSVP for the complimentary lunch and learn program, call toll-free at 866-559-7114, or fill out the online form at www.IowaFraudFighters.gov  by Nov. 10. This free event is limited to the first 100 respondents and is funded partly from fines and settlements collected from scammers. Caretakers of senior parents and grandparents are also encouraged to attend the forum and learn more.