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In the News : SAIF
Publication: The Record
By: Joe Goldeen
Date: October 30, 2002
Better SAIF Than Sorry: Seniors Against Investment Fraud Fight Back
Stockton retiree Richard Kinzey has a new way to spend his free time today.
So do Stockton seniors Ben and DarLynn Keller.
They and a handful of other area residents are heading out into the greater community to spread the word about investment fraud -- most importantly, how to avoid it.
Kinzey and the Kellers were among a dozen people who received training Tuesday from SAIF -- Seniors Against Investment Fraud -- a statewide outreach campaign sponsored by the California Department of Corporations and funded by the Governor's Office of Criminal Justice Planning.
The primary purpose of SAIF is to alert and educate Californians older than 50 about investment- and telemarketing-fraud crimes and how to avoid being victimized.
"I know a lot of people, and I love to help people," said DarLynn Keller, a fraud victim herself who plans on contacting everyone she knows about the simple steps to avoid being scammed. A member of Eastern Star and the Great-Grandmothers Club, she expects to reach 50 to 60 people who in turn can spread the message even further. Kinzey, a retired special agent with the IRS, intends to contact the association for former federal employees and see if they need a speaker.
"I will call up to see if they need me," he said.
Their basic message will start with explaining how to get off telemarketing and mailing lists.
SAIF trainer Alice Molina, an educator and gerontologist, advises seniors to no longer just hang up on unwanted telemarketing calls.
"Tell them, 'I don't take solicitation calls. Remove me from your list,' '' Molina said, explaining that if it's a "bad guy," he won't call you back because he knows you're too much trouble, and if it's a "good guy," he will honor your request as the law requires.
Molina and her associate, Dick Ryder, who's responsible for recruiting volunteer trainers, have reached a half-million seniors since May 1, when the SAIF program was kicked off in Northern California. Their job will be accomplished when they've reached the remaining 2.1 million seniors in their region's 46 counties.
In Molina's ideal world, "I'd have one trainer at each mobile-home park, senior center, assisted-living home, church -- wherever seniors congregate -- and they'd have a meeting quarterly to reach everybody."
So far, SAIF organizers have used Meals on Wheels and senior-center programs to get the word out.
Now, Molina said, "we're going back and focusing on training the trainers. It's not just a cause; it's been a real joy."
Molina continually emphasized with her volunteer trainers Tuesday at downtown Stockton's McFall Senior Center that they need to tell anyone who feels pressured to hand over any amount of money to stop and first call the Department of Corporations' toll-free hot line at (866) ASK-CORP and explain the situation.
Besides looting your wallet, fraud criminals want to steal your identity, and the trainers were given hints to pass along, such as never providing a stranger with any personal information over the phone.
Also, protect your Social Security number, which besides the government-issued card also shows up on Medicare and Medi-Cal cards, and many proof-of-insurance cards. Molina said people should never carry their Social Security cards. As for the other cards, make paper copies to carry in your wallet and black out the first four digits, only leaving the last five digits exposed.
The volunteer trainers, who filled out simple registration forms and received packets of information to disseminate to the community, were reminded "not to train people to become paranoid, train them to be careful," Molina said.
They also were given a videotape to share with others that features real fraud victims as well as criminals telling their stories.
"Scams happen because these guys are good. They are the experts. Our job is just to put the walls up."
SAIF's advisory committee includes representatives from state and local agencies, senior advocacy and consumer groups, and senior volunteers who work together to assist in the oversight and promotion of the program.
Get off the list
One of the first and easiest steps to avoiding fraud is to have your name removed from mailing and telemarketing lists. Send your name, complete address, telephone number with area code and signature to the following agencies to be removed from the major lists for five years:
- ADVO SYSTEMS INC.: Director of List Maintenance, 239 W. Service Road, Hartford, CT 06120-1280.
- DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION INC.: (telemarketing) Telephone Preference Service, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014; (mailing list) Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008.
- EQUIFAX: Options Division, Name Removal Department, P.O.
Box 4081, Atlanta, GA 30302-4081.
- EXPERIAN: Name Removal Department, Target Marketing,
600 City Parkway, West, Orange, CA 92666-2972.
- TRANS UNION CORPORATION: National Service Division, 111 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-1201
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