COEUR d'ALENE - For 40 years, "Nigerian Princes" have been preying on people by promising a king's ransom in exchange for a few hundred dollars and bank account information.

The infamous scam and many others were at the center of a consumer fraud forum hosted by the Idaho branch of the American Association of Retired Persons on Tuesday. More than 100 people were at the free event at the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Coeur d'Alene, to learn about tools they can use to prevent themselves from becoming a victim.

"If these scammers get one bite out of 1,000 emails they've already made a profit," said Tom Trail, volunteer AARP state president. "And there's always someone who seems to fall for it."

Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, was the first of five speakers at the half-day forum. He told the crowd that there is a large group of opportunists in the world who will not think twice about taking everything from unsuspecting victims.

"Fraud can touch anyone and the experience can be both violating and humiliating," Malek said.

As an attorney, Malek said, he has seen fraud cases in the courtroom and often fields questions from friends and family if they encounter something that feels like it could be fraud. Similar to the advice he often gives to family members, Malek encouraged attendees to increase their knowledge of existing scams and to take advantage of available resources in the event they are victimized.

"Let me assure you, the state of Idaho is working hard to prevent these threats," Malek said. "But some of it falls on you as well. You need to stay involved and keep us aware of what you're encountering."

After Malek answered several questions from audience members, Karen Richel gave a presentation featuring practical tips for attendees to use to protect their identities. Richel, who works with the University of Idaho, said remaining vigilant is the key to preventing identity theft.

"We have to be proactive about how we're using our information and be very aware of who we're giving our information to," Richel said.

For example, Richel said preventing identity theft can be as simple as shredding unneeded documents containing important information to prevent "Dumpster diving" con artists from taking the information. Looking for spelling and grammatical errors in emails, allegedly from reputable companies, is also a good way to determine their authenticity, she added.

"The most important thing about preventing identity theft is that you make yourself aware of what is out there and what can happen," Richel said.