(Atlantic, Iowa) – The deadline is fast approaching to reserve your seat at the Iowa Insurance Division’s “Fraud fighters” forum. The forum – which includes a complimentary lunch – is set to take place June 14th from 11:30-a.m. until 2-p.m., at the Cass County Community Center, in Atlantic. There is No Charge to attend, but due to limited seating you must make your reservation by June 7th online, at IowaFraudFighters.gov. Your registration is being requested so organizers have enough meals on-hand to serve.

There are many different types of fraud perpetrated on Iowa’s citizens, especially older Iowans. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen says the Iowa Insurance Division, Iowa Attorney General’s Office and Senior Health Insurance Program (ShiP) have partnered together to bring to light the number and types of fraud that impact older Iowans.

The Fraud Fighters forums being held around the State, helps Iowans learn how to protect themselves and their loved ones from various scams. Some of those scams are weird and obvious, but the scammers that are often most successful, play on their victim’s emotions. That’s especially true when it comes to investment scams.

Ommen said people in the community are themselves, “Fraudfighters,” and helped to prevent potential victims of scams carryout the instructions they’ve been given, to pay for services and investments. One case here in Atlantic, involved an elderly woman who went to WalMart and attempted to wire someone she didn’t know, thousands of dollars to help out a person she thought was a younger relative. The clerk realized what was going on, and intervened by explaining the fraud, and asking the woman to call her relative to confirm the need for help. It turned out to be a scam. In some cases, victims are asked to purchase a large amount of green-dot or other types of gift cards.

Some of the scams start with a phone call, text message or e-mail, but more and more often they focus on cyber-scams and investment schemes. The scam are possible because just about everything you do on the web becomes an electronic trail, the information from which is sold as “Data mining.”

The Fraudfighters forum in Atlantic will take place at the Cass County Community Center, located at 805 W. 10th St. in Atlantic, on June 14th.

According to AARP, in 2021, Americans 50 and older lost nearly $3 billion in cybercrimes – a 62% increase from 2020. For people 60 and older, tech support scams, investment fraud, grandparent scams and romance scams were the major drivers of these losses. Ommen says “Seniors have long been the targets of scammers, and the isolation and separation of the past two years just put them at more risk,” said Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen. “Scammers are incredibly sophisticated and bold in their attempts. Anyone can become a victim. We want to help protect Iowa’s seniors from these scams.”

Iowans are encouraged to visit www.IowaFraudFighters.gov to learn about common scams and discover tips and tools to prevent fraud.