By Kalin Krohe
Panhandle Post

Since Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson took office in January of 2015, one of his goals was to get around the state more to speak with citizens and introduce them to representatives of the consumer protection office.  Peterson along with his staff would make visits to community centers, senior centers, and more.

One of the biggest issues happening in the Panhandle and state wide is scams.

Unfortunately, senior citizens are being affected a lot. “It’s hard and it is one of the reasons why we try to do the education programs in the senior centers and community centers,” Peterson said.

“If you want to be as safe as possible, whether you’re a senior…whatever your age, look at the caller ID. If you recognize the number as a family member or a friend, I would use that as a screening process. If I don’t recognize the number and someone is calling, if it’s important they’ll leave me a voicemail. A scammer will not leave a voicemail most of the time,” Peterson added.

Scammers are very persuasive. Make sure that you don’t give them any financial information.

“Scams go all the way from…’Grandma I’m in jail, I need you to send money right away’. All those attempts are getting to people to give over financial information, charge card numbers, some type of information immediately.”

One of the best ways to help determine if it’s a scam call is to ask the person to mail you information, said Peterson.

Scam calls are on the rise because they work, stated Peterson. “Unfortunately, they’ve developed systems and they keep trying to stay in front of the law enforcement. They are using technology by being able to scramble numbers. They are more sophisticated than people realize as far as scam operations. I am certain they would not continue to do it if they did not find it profitable.”