Monday, July 14, 2025
Nearly 25 residents of General Douglas MacArthur Village at 260 Clinton St. in Hempstead sharply diminished their chances of falling prey to a scam.
Through the auspices of the New Greater Hempstead Chamber of Commerce Committee on Aging, and courtesy of the Office of Nassau County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman, Nora Durand from the Office of Crime Victim Advocate presented a series of slides that explained how to recognize scams and avoid becoming a victim on June 9.
The training statistically reduces the likelihood of scam victimization by 80 percent studies have shown.
The Chamber’s Committee on Aging dedicates itself to connecting with county, village and town resources to serve Hempstead senior citizens. Committee members Lamont Johnson, Timothy Edwards and Regis Thompson-Inuwa answer questions and take suggestions from the seniors through the Chamber phone number (516) 292-3800.
“Our Senior Committee is very dedicated to the needs and the welfare of our seniors,” said Chamber president LaShawn Lukes.
Highlighting the two information tables at the back of the meeting room, Lukes encouraged her audience to pick up the packets that read, “Do not be scared to reach out in all directions for all the resources. You’re not alone in whatever you’re going through. You have people who care for you, but you have to reach out.”
Lukes handed out a Senior Discount Book, which opens up shopping opportunities to local seniors. The office of Country Comptroller Elaine Phillips generates it.
A representative from the county’s Office for the Aging gave a brief presentation of the office’s many services for seniors, noting that in addition to many direct services such as transportation and home care, the office can rapidly direct people age 60 and up to extensive associated resources.
Durand’s Senior Scam Awareness workshop took the attentive audience through a series of slides crammed with information. From deed theft to romance scams, from identity theft and financial fraud to “grandparent scams,” the imagination and cruelty of scammers seems limitless.
“Scammers introduce urgency into their messaging because people don’t think as clearly if they feel anxious or afraid,” Durand warned. “Bogus calls from ‘official’ organizations are very common. Don’t answer calls or texts from numbers you don’t know. Don’t click on unsolicited emails.”
The listening seniors nodded, indicating that many of them had been targeted by scam callers.
“If they ask me, ‘Is this Opal Hunt,’ I don’t give them my name,” said one resident. “I just say, ‘How can I help you?’ They hang up.”
Durand advised that, for every service or institution for which a password is needed to log on, each password should be completely unique. Using slight variations in a password to apply to different sites makes one vulnerable to victimization.
“Scammers use algorithms that run a hundred thousand websites at once,” Durand said. Rueful laughter rippled through the room when she advised changing passwords every 90 days.
“They call it phishing because scammers throw out their bait and see who they can catch,” Durand explained. “In April 2025 alone, there were 18 million phishing scam contacts a day.”
Durand concluded by reminding her listeners to pick up the information packets on the rear table and to spread the knowledge gained through the workshop to others.
The Chamber will host Senior Scam Awareness workshop again in September. Its date, time and location will be posted at HempsteadChamber.com.
