East Ridge Parks and Recreation and East Ridge Police Department invite all citizens to an important presentation concerning a growing problem titled “Being Scam Aware.” On Friday, May 12, East Ridge Police Department’s Assistant Chief Josh Creel will be speaking on how to be scam smart, knowing when you are being scammed, and what to do if it happens to you.
The “Being Scam Aware” presentation is part of the East Ridge Community Conversation series which offers a variety of helpful topics to the community and surrounding areas. The presentation will be held at the East Ridge Community Center at 1515 Tombras Avenue and starts at 6 p.m.
Participants at the “Being Scam Aware” presentation will learn how to take basic steps that may well keep them from becoming a victim of an increasing number of scams. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center catalogs complaints, showing 3.26 million complaints and $27.6 billion in losses from 2018-2022. There was $10.3 billion in losses reported in 2022 alone. Unfortunately, this figure does not include complaints never reported.
Assistant Chief Creel will explain how to protect yourself and your loved ones from common scams that frequently happen in the area. The more popular scams include elder fraud schemes, “money mule” or repackaging fraud, romance scams, credit card skimming, and scam calls.
Creel said that most all victimization by scams can be prevented by education and awareness. At the “Being Scam Aware” session, he will explain how scammers gain personal information, such as social media and open-source intelligence gathering. Creel will also provide resources, such as the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) IC3.gov site, detailing tips and giving reporting information.
To learn more about the latest scams and get advice to help you avoid, report, and recover from them, plan on attending the East Ridge Community Conversation series “Being Scam Aware.” For more information, contact Hannah Spear with East Ridge Community Center at hspear@eastridgetn.gov or Assistant Chief Creel at jcreel@eastridgetn.gov or call 423-867-6406.
