Patelco Credit Union, a Bay Area-based credit union dedicated to the financial wellness of its members and communities, is on a mission to educate local senior centers on internet safety and fraud prevention. Financial scams and fraud perpetrators targeting older people are happening more and more. Patelco is getting actively involved in the community and hosting in-person and virtual seminars to educate people on fraud protection and prevention.
The first seminar was held virtually in the fall at the Dublin Senior Center. Led by Patelco’s financial wellness team, including its senior principal information security analyst, Sean Casey, and the manager of fraud prevention, Erin Morasch, seniors learned ways to recognize and avoid all types of scams - whether online, by phone, by mail or in-person. Most recently, Patelco held an in-person seminar at the Alcosta Senior & Community Center in San Ramon.
Fifteen seniors gathered and shared their stories of being scammed, including one sharing an email received while in the seminar. From the information shared in the presentation, the attendee was able to determine that the email was, in fact, a scam.
“Each year millions of consumers lose their money, privacy and in some cases, their safety to scammers,” said Patelco senior financial health educator, Veronica Dangerfield. “Our financial wellness mission is to set up our members and the communities we serve for success with the knowledge and tools they need to make smart financial decisions. Seminars like these are one of the many great ways we’re working to empower people to prevent and protect themselves and their families against fraud and scams.”
