District Attorney Kevin Hayden has announced the formation of Suffolk County Fraud Fighters, a multi-agency external effort designed to help Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop residents identify and avoid scams, schemes and other nefarious efforts to gain their trust—and their money.
“Scammers have been with us since there’s been money to scam. But today’s technology has opened up many more methods for these predators to reach unsuspecting members of our society, gain their trust and then fleece them out of every dollar they have. They’re constantly coming up with new frauds, and we need to stay current with them—or better, a step ahead—to keep our residents from getting drawn in,” Hayden said.
The first Fraud Fighters presentation will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, December 14 at the Kroc Center at 650 Dudley Street in Roxbury. The program will include a multi-media presentation and speakers from the various participating organizations.
Fraud Fighters presentations will be scheduled in other venues throughout Suffolk County, Hayden said.
“We’re going to reach as many people as possible as often as possible, because that’s exactly what the con artists are doing. They’re doing it by every means available, including emails, telephone calls, texts, physical contact and urgent, phony pop-up messages on computers. Our goal is to update our presentation whenever they update their scams,” Hayden said.
Several units in Hayden’s office are involved in Fraud Fighters, including the Civil Rights/High-Risk Victims Unit, the Special Prosecutions Unit and the Community Engagement Unit.
Also involved are the Boston, Chelsea, Winthrop and Revere police departments, the Boston Housing Authority, the Vine Street Community Center, Hebrew SeniorLife, Central Boston Elder Services, Metro Credit Union, Mystic Valley Elder Services and the US Secret Service.
Hayden said the effort is aimed at education and awareness regarding the methods and tactics of scams and scammers, such as the telephone scam earlier this year featuring callers claiming to be representatives of Hayden’s office, and the recent case of an elderly woman in Winthrop who paid out $35,000 to a bitcoin scam.
“We and our Fraud Fighters partners are committed to giving older adults and all other community members the information and awareness necessary to spot a scam before they fall victim to it. The people that conceive and execute these scams are cunning, convincing and ruthless. Education is the best weapon against getting fleeced by their ever-changing schemes,” Hayden said.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.