The state's U.S. attorney, Hannaford and others have started a new pilot initiative to better inform Mainers about elder fraud.
The partnership, which includes the state's U.S. attorney, AARP Maine, Hannaford and the Maine Council for Elder Abuse Prevention, has created informational materials that explain how to recognize and report elder fraud and online or phone scams.
Starting next month, the brochures will be attached to prescription bags and given to pharmacy customers at Hannaford stores across Maine.
The idea, said Maine's U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee, is to more widely spread information to Mainers about the scams they might encounter online.
"We're using the pharmacy as a conduit to reach older Mainers, because we know from our statistics that so many people in an entire family, and specifically older Mainers, have prescriptions, and they go to the pharmacy," she told reporters Thursday. "And if they don't go to the pharmacy their caregiver or loved one does."
The brochures describe red flags and risks of online and phone scams and include ways to report them. Most schemes have a few common denominators, said Jane Margesson with AARP Maine.
"By telling people they need to act really quickly, by isolating them and telling them they shouldn't tell anybody about what's going on," she said. "And little by little, they're making the person more and more isolated within the conversation with the scammer, and that's a very dangerous place to be."
Nearly 400 Mainers over the age of 60 filed fraud complaints last year and reported losses of roughly $7.1 million, according to the FBI. Many more incidents likely go unreported, though state officials hope the new program will help older Mainers more easily recognize and report fraud and take steps to protect themselves.
"Victims are often embarrassed and fear their competency will be questioned if they come forward," said Andrew McCormack, an assistant U.S. attorney and Maine's elder fraud coordinator. "Further, by the time the case comes across my desk, the money lost by the victim or victims is almost always gone."
And though reporting a scam doesn't necessarily mean that a victim will receive their money back in return, McElwee said it's important for law enforcement to have as much information as possible. These reports help law enforcement investigate the threats and identify the scammers, and McElwee said they could result in victims receiving their money back.
