CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Chicopee Senior Center hosted a Financial Elder Abuse workshop on Tuesday where guest speakers including police chief Patrick Major and Mayor John Vieau, spoke to local seniors about how to catch potential scams and what to do to avoid them.
Chicopee resident Marlene Purchase was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting, and spoke about how her personal information was hacked through her computer back in December, and how she continues to be a victim of fraud.
“They put things on my credit card. One month it was $800, and I called my bank when I discovered that,” said Marlene. “And of course I don’t have to pay it, but it’s a problem every month because I have to get a new credit card.”
Chicopee resident, Judy Bessette has also been targeted by scammers recently looking to get access to her medical records, and although she has not fallen victim to a hacker yet, she felt concerned for elderly residents who may not be prepared for modern day scam calls.
“Especially people who are alone, you know, they’re living by themselves now and they’re older,” Bessette said. “And like I said, they are not tech savvy and they don’t understand how a lot of the stuff works and people just mention the government or the IRS and they get frightened and just do whatever they want.”
Police Chief Patrick Major said billions of dollars have been lost to scams, but he hopes to educate seniors with the tools…
