Ideas

Prevent identity theft by shredding documents containing your personal and confidential information which you no longer need. Offer to take your shredder to a friend’s house and help them do the same or drop it by a secure document destruction site. 

Subscribe to AARPs bi-weekly scam alerts so you can stay on top of the latest frauds.

Report fraud in your neighborhood through the BBB scam tracker or the AARP scam tracker. 

Request your free credit report to make sure nobody has stolen your identity and created debt in your name. 

Listen to “The Perfect Scam,” weekly podcast with former con artist Frank Abagnale to learn more about the nation’s biggest scams from the cons and those who have been scammed. Look it up on your smart phone or visit this AARP link for more info. 

Freeze your credit (for free) if you don’t think you’ll be taking out any loans in the near future. This will prevent people from opening a line of credit in your name. If you have children or grandchildren, explore how to freeze their credit too. 

Report a scam if you or someone you know has been victimized.

Resources & Examples

The AARP Fraud Watch Network offers free podcasts, bi-weekly scam alerts, webinars, a fraud watch map for charting fraud in your community and more. www.aarp.org/fraud

Free Credit Reports: Get your free credit report to make sure nobody has stolen your identity and created debt in your name. www.annualcreditreport.com

FINRA’s Broker Check tool allows consumers to look up financial advisors before investing with them. Check before you invest. www.brokercheck.finra.org

The FBI is a great source of information on scams. You can help them make cases by reporting. 

Hawaii DCCA allows you to check out local businesses and report investment fraud. 

Report elder abuse to your local prosecutor’s office:

Honolulu

Maui

Kauai

Hawaii