MEDIA ADVISORY: Mike Gatto to Host Senior Scam Stopper Event; Prevent Financial Abuse of Senior Citizens

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                    CONTACT: Justin Hager  818-558-3043
Thursday, May 29, 2014                                                                                       Mobile  415-889-9762

Mike Gatto to Host Senior Scam Stopper Event;

Prevent Financial Abuse of Senior Citizens

What:  Members of the public and local media are invited to attend a FREE Senior Scam Stopper seminar Thursday, June 5, 2014 at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center.  Organized by Assemblyman Gatto in conjunction with the Contractors State License Board and the Live Well Senior program at GAMC, the free seminar will teach senior citizens, their family members, and their caretakers how to protect themselves from fraud related to home repair, finances, identity theft, and Medicare, and will help seniors to identify scams before they become a victim. 

Less than two weeks ago, Glendale police issued a community alert, after residents were scammed out of thousands of dollars by people posing as law enforcement, federal agents, or city employees and pressuring them to pay up or risk being arrested or having their power shut off. 

In a separate incident in March, an 83-year old Glendale woman was scammed out of nearly $52,000 by a man posing as a lottery official.  The elderly woman was told that she had won seven-million dollars but that in order to claim the prize, she must pay fees certain fees and taxes.  The perpetrator was arrested last week and Glendale police have now identified victims of the scam in at least twelve other states.

To educate our community about these and other predatory behaviors, Assemblyman Mike Gatto will introduce a panel of experts from the Glendale Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Automotive Repair, and discuss legislative efforts to protect seniors from fraud and financial scams, including AB 1624 (2012), his legislation to protect senior citizens and others from having their bank accounts drained by a co-signatory.

This educational event is FREE and open to the public.  Photography will be permitted at the event; permission to record video or audio must be cleared in advance by contacting Justin Hager, Communications Director for Assemblyman Gatto.

Thursday June 5, 2014

4:00pm – 5:15pm

Glendale Adventist Medical Center

Community Gym

311 Vallejo Drive

Glendale, CA 91206

Parking is available behind the gym or in the main tower.  Street parking is also available.

Why:  According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, senior citizens are the most likely demographic to have developed solid financial resources, to live alone in homes they own, and to have excellent credit.  Each of these attributes make them prime targets for scam artists seeking to defraud them of money or personal information.   

Unfortunately, misinformation, shame, and fear often make seniors less likely to report when they are the victims of fraud.  Senior Scam Stoppers is a joint effort of Assemblyman Mike Gatto and the Contractors State License Board that seeks to lift the veil of misinformation and equip seniors with the tools they need to protect themselves from fraudulent scams.

Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the California State Assembly.  He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake.  www.asm.ca.gov/gatto 

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