LUMBERTON — The Wesley Pines Retirement Community is hosting its 2nd annual Scam Jam event on May 7.
The Scam Jam is free for all to attend. However, according to Lumber River Council Aging Specialist Kayla Lowry, it is mostly aimed at those 60+, as individuals in that age range are more likely to fall victim to one of a number of scams on the internet.
“It’s a good opportunity for people to learn about scams,” Lowry said. “There are a lot of crypto and romance scams that go on, and a lot of our individuals fall victim to people who are scamming them out of their money.”
According to a 2025 report from the National Council on Aging, individuals 60+ lost over $3 billion to fraud in 2023, affecting over 100,000 people and costing them their life savings.
“Right now, there’s a scam going on where [the scammers] are asking [the victims] to send them their Medicare cards so they can laminate them,” Lowry said. “People fall for it and send them their cards, or the scammer will ask them for their medicare numbers to receive a new, laminated card.”
To help attendees spot and avoid scams, the Scam Jam will feature speakers from the state credit union, the Social Security office, the police department, and several other organizations commonly used as cover for scams. A free shredder truck will be on-site for attendees who want to safely get rid of any personal documents they no longer need during the event.
“We want to bring light to our older adults,” Lowry said, “because there are so many of them who get all these phone calls. We want them to be cautious about who they’re sharing their information with.”
The Scam Jam will run from 9 a.m. to noon on May 7, and the shredder truck will be on site from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Contact Victoria Sanderson at [email protected].
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