As America’s population continues to age, criminals and con men look more and more toward the senior citizen population for easy pickings.

On Monday evening, several crime-preventing and regulatory professionals gave a presentation to more than a dozen of the valley’s seniors about avoiding being victims of fraud.

These “Fraud Fighters” spoke for several hours at the Museum at Central School about the ways to spot fraudulent activity and how to avoid it in the first place.

Alex Ward, a trainer in the Montana Crime Prevention Association and former police officer, had ample experience in finding and stopping fraud. Even so, he still had horror stories to tell.

“This one man was tantalized by ‘phantom riches’ and sent over $200,000 that was just gone,” he said. “This same guy received a call from someone claiming to be the FBI that wanted to help him get his money back. They said they needed a portion of the lost funds to be able to help him, though. He sent another $20,000. Gone.”

While that was a rare example, Ward contends that simple phone fraud happens often. The con men on the phone are talented and fast talkers, he said.

“Sometimes I think they’d make the best counselors,” he said, “because they can figure you out just like that.”

His presentation, punctuated with humorous educational videos, told seniors to be wary of any sales or people asking for donations over the phone. Ask for a confirmation number and then check with friends, family or even law enforcement to see if the call is legitimate.

Chris Romano talked about fraud in the world of banking.

Romano, the examination manager for Montana’s Division of Banking and Financial Institutions, helps regulate banks in the state. Criminals will take the trust some people have in their institutions to take advantage of them.

“We see about 150 complaints each year,” he said. “And it’s trending up. Most of the complaints are from payday loans, mortgage refinancing and deposit disputes. If you ever have a question about a call from a bank, go into the local branch and ask them.”

Phishing is a major concern for all Internet users. 

The scam involves asking someone to “verify” information. Whether that involves typing in a credit-card number, Social Security number or other sensitive information, it can take people of all ages unawares.

Some of the seniors at the meeting told short stories about being called by people pretending to be police officers, bank employees or other people in power. This scam is called using source credibility.

Another prevalent scam is asking for money because a senior’s grandchild was in prison in a foreign country.

“Many people think these folks get scammed out of money because they are greedy,” Ward said. “But that’s not it. Most are looking for something nice they can give to their grandchildren.”

Simple ways to defeat common types of fraud are to get caller ID, ask for verification numbers and to speak to law enforcement if not sure.

One of the most important messages the Fraud Fighters wanted to leave the seniors with was to look out for friends. Not everyone is so wary about their money or identity and friends telling someone about a scam could help prevent some of these criminals from taking advantage of some more vulnerable people.