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Be Scam Smart Workshops Seek To Raise Fraud Awareness

Matthew Bennett
/
Unsplash

One in five people over the age of 65 will fall victim to financial exploitation in Florida. 

The Department of Financial Services held the first of its Be Scam Smart workshops Wednesday to try and protect seniors from fraud. The series of Be Scam Smart workshops are designed to help inform people on how to avoid fraud. Denishia Sword—the Bureau Chief of the Division of Consumer Services—says fraud is especially prevalent in Florida.

“Florida is usually one of the hotbeds for fraud and that’s across all age groups. Florida is a paradise of a location for seniors to retire and scam artists know this. They also know that seniors have the nest egg retirement funds that can be beneficial to them financially,” said Sword.

Sword says information is the best defense against scam artists, especially with the technology available today.

Noah Hertz is a third year Political Science/International Affairs student at Florida State University. Noah is the Chief News Anchor and a DJ at WVFS and an executive contributing writer for Spire Magazine. When he isn't working, Noah likes board games, listening to music and biking.