Prosecutor's Office Hosting Free Anti-Senior Scam Seminars

Editor's Note: The following information is a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan and Middlesex County
Freeholder H. James Polos, chair of the county’s Law and Public Safety
committee, have announced the opening of a series of seminars designed to
help senior citizens with a variety of legal issues, ranging from planning
their wills to protecting themselves from thefts by con artists.

The Elder Law Forum, presented by the Middlesex County
Prosecutor’s Outreach and Education, or MORE unit, will show senior
citizens how to recognize and avoid common thefts by scammers who want
to steal their hard-earned money over the telephone and internet.

The program also will offer seniors helpful information on
guardianships, the preparation of wills, estate planning and probate and
trusts. Attorneys from the Middlesex County Bar Association will discuss
those topics.

The Elder Law Forum begins on Sept. 5, 2012, at 1 p.m. with a
presentation at the Milltown Senior Center, 60 Violet Terrace, Milltown.

The presentation is the first of 11 that will be offered at various senior
citizen centers in the county through December, Prosecutor Kaplan said.

"These presentations are designed to teach our senior citizens
about the potential dangers presented by telephone and internet solicitors,
whose only goal is to convince them, in a friendly but deceitful manner, to
send money in return for promises of greater cash returns that will never
materialize,’’ Prosecutor Kaplan said.

"It is the goal of the MORE unit to alert our senior citizens to
numerous scams, so they will be able to recognize attempts to cheat them
and will know the difference between a legitimate charity and an attempt by
a scammer to rob them,’’ Prosecutor Kaplan said.

The program was organized by Reginald Johnson, the MORE unit
coordinator, and Luis M. Hernandez, ombudsman for the Middlesex County
vicinage. They contacted various senior citizen centers, scheduled the events
and will participate in the presentations.

Research by the National Consumers League, a Washington, D.C.
non-profit dedicated to consumer protection, has outlined various internet
and telemarketing scams that will be reviewed during the forums.

The MORE unit encourages consumers to be suspicious and to never
give out personal information over the phone or over the internet.

In addition to the September 5, 2012 presentation at the Milltown
Senior Center, Elder Law Forums will be held on:

-September 18 at the South River Office on Aging, 55 Reid Street,
South River at 11 a.m.

-October 2 at the Edison Senior Center, 2963 Woodbridge Avenue,
Edison, for the benefit of the Lindeneau Senior Club, at 12:30 p.m.

-October 12 at the North Brunswick Senior Center, 15 Linwood Place,
North Brunswick, at 12:30 p.m.

-October 13 at Helmetta Borough Hall, 56 Main Street, Helmetta, at
11 a.m.

-October 22 at the Highland Park Senior/Youth Center, 220 South
Sixth Avenue, Highland Park, at 12 p.m.

-October 29 at the Rossmoor Club House, Ballroom 2, Rossmoor
Drive, Monroe, at 2 p.m.

-November 5 at the Edison Senior Center, 2963 Woodbridge Avenue,
Edison, for the benefit of the Stelton Senior Club, at 12:30 p.m.

-November 16 at the Perth Amboy Office on Aging, 1 Olive Street,
Perth Amboy, at 10:45 p.m.

-December 3 at the Monroe Senior Center, 1 Municipal Plaza,
Monroe, at 1:30 p.m.

-December 20 at the Old Bridge Senior Center, 1 Old Bridge Plaza,
Old Bridge, at 10:30 a.m.

Senior citizen organizations interested in hosting an Elder Law Forum
may contact Reginald Johnson of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office
at (732) 745-3300.