Tag Archives: AARP

#StopAsianHate: Backing Up Our AAPI Elders With Data

On August 25, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) hosted a virtual panel – “AARP #StopAsianHate Panel: Backing Up Our AAPI Elders With Data” – which addressed anti-Asian hate from a data perspective. The event included a presentation by research experts on the latest survey findings surrounding AAPIs 50-Plus, followed by a panel discussion on topics including the mental and health effects of COVID-19 on older AAPIs, self-reporting of AAPI hate incidents, and the impact of hate incidents on AAPI women 50-Plus.

Guest panelists included Drishti Pillai, Research Manager, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF); Russell Jeung, Co-founder, Stop AAPI Hate; and Van Ta Park, Professor, UCSF Department of Community Health Systems. The panel was moderated by Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Asian American and Pacific Islander Audience Strategy.

Debra Whitman, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, shares, “Data is a powerful tool in telling impactful stories. But a persistent lack of data on AAPI communities prevents us from telling the full story,” said Whitman. “Disaggregated data is critical because it gives us insight beyond the general population and helps us understand what’s really happening in every community. AARP is – and has been – committed to including more data on AAPI communities in our research.”

COMPASS Survey

The panel began with Dr. Van Ta Park, professor of UCSF Department of Community Health Systems, who presented key findings from the nationwide online survey, COMPASS, which stands for “COVID-19 Effects on the Mental and Physical Health of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Survey Study.”

According to the COMPASS survey, where nearly half of participants from the study (47.1%) were 50 years and older, Park noted alarming findings around discrimination and COVID-19 related racial bias. For example:

  • In the discrimination findings: 3 in 5 (60%) of all COMPASS participants shared they experienced discrimination in the past 6 months, which coincided with the pandemic. Additionally, when asked how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed their life, 41% (34.1% of older AAPIs) said they have increased negative experience with racial discrimination (at mild to severe levels for change). 
  • In the COVID-19 related racial bias findings: 59% (44.7% who are 50 and older) believe that the country has become more dangerous for their ethnic group. 

Park clarified that discrimination refers to acts and mistreatments, while racial bias refers to beliefs and judgments that are often in form or associated with stereotypes or prejudices. 

Park also noted, “We have to interpret these [discrimination and racial bias] findings with caution because in some ways, in order to experience discrimination, you have to leave your house. And if you are fearful of leaving your house because of catching COVID or what you see in media or networks about anti-Asian hate, you are then limiting your opportunity for potential discrimination experiences and things that may affect what you think in terms of racial bias.”

Stop AAPI Hate National Survey 

Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and professor at San Francisco State University, began his presentation by sharing a sample of stories of Asian American elders 65-Plus who went online last year and reported their experiences with racism. Jeung wanted to encourage the audience to put themselves in the shoes of those who have reported because “They [AAPI elders] are recognizing the mistreatment when they experience it and they’re wanting it to stop … they want to develop a collective voice.”

What is “most disturbing” to Jeung in the Stop AAPI Hate national survey results is that the vulnerable populations are more likely to be attacked. These vulnerable populations include:

  • 9.9% are under 19 years of age
  • 7% are over 60 years old
  • Elders face twice the rate of physical assault (compared to the rest of the Asian American population)
  • Women are attacked twice as often as men
STOP AAPI HATE NATIONAL REPORT | MARCH 19, 2020 – JUNE 30, 2021

Additionally, the number of elderly AAPI reports in the Stop AAPI Hate national survey is significant. In Jeung’s words, “Nationally, 10% of the Asian American population is the elderly. But because the Asian elderly tend to underreport, the fact that we actually got 7% indicates that there’s probably a disproportionate targeting of our elders.”

Jeung drew upon Park’s previous point on the racial bias finding that the country has become more dangerous for their ethnic group, and stated that the impact of racism on AAPI elders has been deadly and traumatizing with implications to mental health and health. In fact, the fear of safety has led to greater isolation of AAPI elders, both physical and social isolation, which has led to more mental health issues (i.e., depression, loneliness). 

“So here’s my scary takeaway fact,” Jeung said. “Asian Americans are more concerned, more anxious and more fearful of other Americans and their hate than they are about a pandemic that has killed over 600,000 people. Initially, they were worried about the pandemic. Now, they’re more concerned about the violence. You can vaccinate yourself against the pandemic, against COVID-19, but you can’t put on a mask to protect yourself from racism. You can’t get vaccinated against racism. And that’s why our elderly are isolating and then have subsequent mental health impacts.” 

What is encouraging to Jeung, however, is that the Asian American community has stood up against racism. This has spurred change, including: the Senate passing the hate crime legislation; President Biden issuing executive orders to address anti-Asian racism; and the California legislature passing an equity budget of $157 million to address racism and the inequities that Asian Americans face. Jeung considers “denouncing racism and putting our money where our mouth is and actually addressing the racism in concrete ways” a model for the rest of the nation.

National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) Issue Brief on Women 50-Plus

Drishti Pillai, research manager with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), shared results from a larger study, Voting and Policy Priorities of Asian American and Pacific Islander Women 50 and Older (conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of NAPAWF), which looked at the voting patterns, policy priorities, the experiences with anti-Asian hate and discrimination, and the overall impact of COVID-19 on AAPI women who are 50 years of age and older. 

Supported by AARP, the wide-ranging study is the largest survey of AAPI women 50-plus ever conducted and shows 70% of the population have been impacted by anti-AAPI hate and racism, among other insights on the priorities and perspectives of a growing and formidable constituency. 

“We are a powerful voting bloc in American politics that has yet to reach its full potential,” said Pillai. “And contrary to perceived generational differences, older AAPI women are as progressive as their younger counterparts when you consider their voting patterns and beliefs on key issues such as ending racial discrimination and immigration reform.” 

Pillai highlighted the impact of anti-AAPI hate and racism on AAPI respondents, which included the reporting of how respondents felt their mental health had suffered, believed they were discriminated against or experienced harassment at work, felt unsafe walking outside, or had been called a racial slur. 

On the overall impact of COVID-19, Pillai stated that many AAPI respondents related to the loss of a close family member or a friend to COVID-19, but there were also striking nuances for subgroups such as Pacific Islander women 50-Plus (28% of respondents were impacted by loss). Pillai also stated that 10-12% across the different subgroups reported that they, or a member of their family, experienced a job loss during the pandemic. NAPAWF’s separate study on those who had lost their jobs or were out of the workforce during the pandemic showed they had indeed been impacted by long-term unemployment (44% of AAPI women).

“To meet the unique needs of AAPI 50-plus, organizations must work together to paint a more authentic picture of this growing influential group,” said Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Asian American and Pacific Islander Audience Strategy. “As part of our commitment to building more inclusive communities, AARP is proud to host this panel and bring visibility to organizations such as NAPAWF, Stop AAPI Hate, and UCSF in their efforts to amplify the experiences of our AAPI 50-plus and help drive systemic change.”

Kwok encouraged the audience to “listen and think about how you might use the data for their advocacy work, for funding requests, to write stories in the media, and to help debunk the ‘model minority myth’ and the ‘perpetual foreigner’ concept, which has been detrimental to the AAPI community, especially during this time.”

AARP #StopAsianHate panels are part of AARP’s commitment to fulfilling the Association of National Advertisers Alliance for Inclusive Multicultural Marketing pledge to take a stand against hate and violence targeting the Asian American Pacific Islander community. To view the first panel on “Advocating For Our Elders” or to re-watch this panel on “Backing Up Our AAPI Elders With Data”, please visit the AARP AAPI Community Facebook Page (@AARPAAPI).

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability, and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation’s largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

 

Racial Inequity Impacts Older Asian Americans

The impact of racial inequity on the lives of elderly Asian Americans has been rudely brought to our attention by the attacks on Asian elders. AARP is hosting several initiatives in an effort to stop Asian hate and advocate for the elders that reflect its promise to protect and serve older Americans of all colors.

 In a webinar on May 6, an AARP panel, #StopAsianHate: Advocating for Our Elders, called attention to the ways individuals, organizations and communities of color can advocate for AAPI elders as they face fallout from the pandemic, racism and ageism. The discussion tackled stereotypes and how to provide support.

Key AAPI organizations discussed policy and planning of racial equity and communications, to bring visibility to their work  supporting elders and to provide information on resources.

 “You can’t legislate racism away,”  said John Yang, President and Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), pointing out that federal advocacy, though critical, cannot replace educating the public. He urged that a war of words, language and beliefs, hate has to be fought in the classrooms of life. 

Videos of black violence on Asians have been given currency in an attempt to deflect the issue, he added. Viral stories of other communities of color attacking Asian Americans are circulating on social media, when in reality less than 5 percent of the attackers are African American, said Yang.

With better understanding comes better appreciation of the community, and that helps build bridges between different groups, Yang explained. “We must stand together in our fight against hate of all kinds.”

One approach would be to pay tribute to and commemorate the many contributions that generations of Asian American and Pacific Islanders have made to American history, society and culture. Yang suggested that schools could highlight the contribution of Asian Americans in the history of  country.  Images from World War II and railroad workers should not feature only white Americans. Pictures of Asian Americans who helped build this nation alongside other Americans should be shared in classrooms. 

The common thread that runs through history is that the American Asians are perpetual foreigners in their own country.

“No matter how long you have been in the US you are seen as a foreigner. Any time you have a threat in the US, and here there is Covid19 threat or real geopolitical tension against the Chinese government, the backlash happens against Asian Americans. What is different this time however is, the elderly and women are disproportionately being attacked as they are being perceived as vulnerable,” said Yang.

Asian American hate, though systemic throughout American history, has taken new meaning in the wake of the Covid 19 virus and the license to hate given by the previous administration.

“AARP strongly condemns all racially motivated violence and harassment,” stated Nancy McPherson, AARP California State Director. “We must come together as a community to empower and uplift one another, especially during these trying times. This May, let us recognize and celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander Americans’ integral contributions to the United States’ past, presence and future.”

Edna Kane-Williams, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, AARP, stated that AARP unequivocally stands in support of AAPI.

AARP is making sure that it is a megaphone for this message.”This is not a time for organizations to stand silently along the sidelines hoping that people get the message. We really have to be active allies and not passive allies. This is not a benign event that is happening. It is malicious. It is  malignant and it really must stop. We must signal our support of the AAPI community and our absolute rejection of what is happening in no uncertain terms,” she said.

“We have to signal our support for the AAPI community and absolute rejection of what is happening. Most importantly we hope everyone leaves this webinar with an idea of what each one of us can do individually. Each one of us must step up.”

Panelists urged the public to step up to support the AAPI community with suitable words and deeds. Words are important and carefully crafted words can damage the cause and exacerbate tensions against the community. Small gestures of kindness to an elderly AAPI neighbor for instance a bunch of flowers on Fathers Day will go a long way, said Yang. 

“Let us all commit to stopping AAPI hate by taking three actions: Learn about how detrimental the ‘model minority myth’ is to AAPIs; shatter the ‘perpetual foreigner’ image of AAPIs; and reach out and support your AAPI friends, neighbors, and colleagues,” said Daphne Kwok, Vice President Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Asian American & Pacific Islander Audience Strategy.

Ritu Marwah is an award-winning author whose story Jinnah’s Daughter, featured in the New York Times’s Express Tribune blog, exemplifies her deep interest and understanding of history and the place of people in it.

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

 

Why The Senior Vote Matters!

Senior citizens have always been a very reliable voting bloc in the United States.  We assume that this is because they have the time to go vote.  While that might be somewhat true, the fact is that retired people are most vulnerable to any policy changes made by the government.  When Social Security constitutes a sizable part of your income and Medicare is your only option for health care, voting is much more than just your civic duty – it becomes the most important thing you must do to maintain your quality of life.

Just like all older voters, older Asian Voters are more likely to be registered and to vote. They reliably show up to the polls to vote in larger numbers than their younger brethren.  Infact, in presidential elections, voter turnout is even higher for foreign born Asians than those that are U.S. born.

According to the National Survey of Older Voters During COVID-19: Asian Americans, conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of AARP, although 86% are “very likely” to vote in 2020, the majority of Asian American voters 50+ are not being engaged or contacted by either party affiliation (61%) or community organizations (74%), according to (AAVS).

This data is so puzzling but what does this mean and how does this impact this large voting bloc?  It means that this group is invisible.

When you think of a Asian American voter, your mind immediately conjures up a 30 something year old, highly educated person with a good paycheck; painting a picture of a young, educated, middle class person.  This image belies the fact that many of these voters are senior citizens or at least 50+ and this is the demographic that AARP  (American Association of Retired Persons) is interested in.

Turning 50 is life changing in many ways, but the significance of that particular number becomes even more acute when you receive your welcome package from AARP.  I am not old and I am certainly not retiring anytime soon you think and you are right.  But AARP is not just for old, retired people.

AARP is working to have your (50+)  voice heard on the issues that matter to this demographic.  Protecting social security and medicare, lowering prices of prescription drugs, and ensuring your right to vote safely among many other issues. While these might not be issues that are top of mind for you at 50, you know it will be very soon.

Speakers at the Oct 21 AARP briefing released new findings from recent national surveys exploring the key priorities and concerns of Asian American voters aged 50 and older. Results from the 2020 Asian American Voter Survey (AAVS), conducted by AAPI Data on behalf of AARP, APIAVote and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, show that 93% of Asian Americans 50-plus view health care as important heading into the election, making it the top most important issue. Jobs and the economy follow as the second most important issue, with 89% of respondents citing them either as “extremely” or “very” important.

With over 50k+ nursing home deaths and the disproportionate vulnerability of our elders to the current pandemic, these survey results are not surprising. COVID-19 has underscored the importance of healthcare as a voter issue and has caused a sense of insecurity related to the economy, health, freedom from discrimination, elections and voting.

Additional findings from the survey on 50+ AAPI (Asian American & Pacific Islander)  – which is the category under which South Asians voters are aggregated include:

  • Plurality of older Asian voters identify as Democrat but the majority describe themselves as moderate.  They are more united around ideology than around a party affiliation.

  • Older asian voters value opportunity and freedom.  They also value entrepreneurial spirit, respecting people with different ideologies and have a greater willingness to accept refugees.

  • Majorities of older Asian American voters support action for equality and equity and agree that there is racial and ethnic discrimination in this country.

  • 50+ Asian voters have become more progressive since the 2016 elections.

  • Over 75% of the older Asian voters get their election information from traditional media and about 42% from talking to their family.

If the 50+ Asian voter is so engaged and likely to vote, why are they not on the radar for either party? 

One piece of data that is striking is this :  85% of 50+ Asian American voters are foreign born. One reason for this opportunity gap is the need to reach out in different languages in order to communicate effectively with this community.

But the larger reason for this lack of engagement is education about the numbers and their impact.  “They don’t pay attention if there is no data,” says Daphne Kwok of AARP.  “But now we are proving that this cohort is an important part of the electorate.  For the political parties, it is so key that they start to hear from AAPI 50+” continues Kwok.  Our issues and concerns have to be raised and addressed.

“We have seen over the past election cycles, more and more AAPIs getting involved politically, voting, and hopefully our voice is starting to become louder.”  Kwok is also optimistic because it has also been proven in the last election that AAPIs have become the margin of victory in many races. Hopefully this is the incentive both parties see to reach out to this voting bloc that could make a difference for their candidate.

So let’s get out the Vote in our 50+ community.  Each state has different rules, different timelines, and different procedures.

Everything you need to know to vote safely is at aarp.org/election2020  and APIAvote.org.

Older voters are more likely to vote in person.  If there is a vulnerable senior citizen in your family, please take the proper precautions but help them make their vote count.

We can’t afford to let anyone’s vote go uncounted.

Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney is a Bay Area resident with experience in educational non-profits, community building, networking, and content development and was Community Director for an online platform. She is interested in how to strengthen communities by building connections to politics, science & technology, gender equality and public education.

image: BBH Singapore on Unsplash

The New Digital World Can Give Seniors A Hard Time

Family gatherings on Zoom and FaceTime. Online orders from grocery stores and pharmacies. Telehealth appointments with physicians.

These have been lifesavers for many older adults staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic. But an unprecedented shift to virtual interactions has a downside: Large numbers of seniors are unable to participate.

Among them are older adults with dementia (14% of those 71 and older), hearing loss (nearly two-thirds of those 70 and older) and impaired vision (13.5% of those 65 and older), who can have a hard time using digital devices and programs designed without their needs in mind. (Think small icons, difficult-to-read typefaces, inadequate captioning among the hurdles.)

Many older adults with limited financial resources also may not be able to afford devices or the associated internet service fees. (Half of seniors living alone and 23% of those in two-person households are unable to afford basic necessities.) Others are not adept at using technology and lack the assistance to learn.

During the pandemic, which has hit older adults especially hard, this divide between technology “haves” and “have-nots” has serious consequences.

Older adults in the “haves” group have more access to virtual social interactions and telehealth services, and more opportunities to secure essential supplies online. Meanwhile, the “have-nots” are at greater risk of social isolation, forgoing medical care and being without food or other necessary items.

Dr. Charlotte Yeh, chief medical officer for AARP Services, observed difficulties associated with technology this year when trying to remotely teach her 92-year-old father how to use an iPhone. She lives in Boston; her father lives in Pittsburgh.

Yeh’s mother had always handled communication for the couple, but she was in a nursing home after being hospitalized for pneumonia. Because of the pandemic, the home had closed to visitors. To talk to her and other family members, Yeh’s father had to resort to technology.

But various impairments got in the way: Yeh’s father is blind in one eye, with severe hearing loss and a cochlear implant, and he had trouble hearing conversations over the iPhone. And it was more difficult than Yeh expected to find an easy-to-use iPhone app that accurately translates speech into captions.

Often, family members would try to arrange Zoom meetings. For these, Yeh’s father used a computer but still had problems because he could not read the very small captions on Zoom. A tech-savvy granddaughter solved that problem by connecting a tablet with a separate transcription program.

When Yeh’s mother, who was 90, came home in early April, physicians treating her for metastatic lung cancer wanted to arrange telehealth visits. But this could not occur via cellphone (the screen was too small) or her computer (too hard to move it around). Physicians could examine lesions around the older woman’s mouth only when a tablet was held at just the right angle, with a phone’s flashlight aimed at it for extra light.

“It was like a three-ring circus,” Yeh said. Her family had the resources needed to solve these problems; many do not, she noted. Yeh’s mother passed away in July; her father is now living alone, making him more dependent on technology than ever.

When SCAN Health Plan, a Medicare Advantage plan with 215,000 members in California, surveyed its most vulnerable members after the pandemic hit, it discovered that about one-third did not have access to the technology needed for a telehealth appointment. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had expanded the use of telehealth in March.

Other barriers also stood in the way of serving SCAN’s members remotely. Many people needed translation services, which are difficult to arrange for telehealth visits. “We realized language barriers are a big thing,” said Eve Gelb, SCAN’s senior vice president of health care services.

Nearly 40% of the plan’s members have vision issues that interfere with their ability to use digital devices; 28% have a clinically significant hearing impairment.

“We need to target interventions to help these people,” Gelb said. SCAN is considering sending community health workers into the homes of vulnerable members to help them conduct telehealth visits. Also, it may give members easy-to-use devices, with essential functions already set up, to keep at home, Gelb said.

Landmark Health serves a highly vulnerable group of 42,000 people in 14 states, bringing services into patients’ homes. Its average patient is nearly 80 years old, with eight medical conditions. After the first few weeks of the pandemic, Landmark halted in-person visits to homes because personal protective equipment, or PPE, was in short supply.

Instead, Landmark tried to deliver care remotely. It soon discovered that fewer than 25% of patients had appropriate technology and knew how to use it, according to Nick Loporcaro, the chief executive officer. “Telehealth is not the panacea, especially for this population,” he said.

Landmark plans to experiment with what he calls “facilitated telehealth”: nonmedical staff members bringing devices to patients’ homes and managing telehealth visits. (It now has enough PPE to make this possible.) And it, too, is looking at technology that it can give to members.

One alternative gaining attention is GrandPad, a tablet loaded with senior-friendly apps designed for adults 75 and older. In July, the National PACE Association, whose members run programs providing comprehensive services to frail seniors who live at home, announced a partnership with GrandPad to encourage adoption of this technology.

“Everyone is scrambling to move to this new remote care model and looking for options,” said Scott Lien, co-founder and chief executive officer of the company, which is headquartered in Orange County, California.

PACE Southeast Michigan purchased 125 GrandPads for highly vulnerable members after closing five centers in March where seniors receive services. The devices have been “remarkably successful” in facilitating video-streamed social and telehealth interactions and allowing nurses and social workers to address emerging needs, said Roger Anderson, senior director of operational support and innovation.

Another alternative is technology from iN2L (an acronym for It’s Never Too Late), a company that specializes in serving people with dementia. In Florida, under a new program sponsored by the state’s Department of Elder Affairs, iN2L tablets loaded with dementia-specific content have been distributed to 300 nursing homes and assisted living centers.

The goal is to help seniors with cognitive impairment connect virtually with friends and family and engage in online activities that ease social isolation, said Sam Fazio, senior director of quality care and psychosocial research at the Alzheimer’s Association, a partner in the effort. But because of budget constraints, only two tablets are being sent to each long-term care community.

Families report it can be difficult to schedule adequate time with loved ones when only a few devices are available. This happened to Maitely Weismann’s 77-year-old mother after she moved into a short-staffed Los Angeles memory care facility in March. After seeing how hard it was to connect, Weismann, who lives in Los Angeles, gave her mother an iPad and hired an aide to ensure that mother and daughter were able to talk each night.

Without the aide’s assistance, Weismann’s mother would end up accidentally pausing the video or turning off the device. “She probably wanted to reach out and touch me, and when she touched the screen it would go blank and she’d panic,” Weismann said.

What’s needed going forward? Laurie Orlov, founder of the blog Aging in Place Technology Watch, said nursing homes, assisted living centers and senior communities need to install communitywide Wi-Fi services — something that many lack.

“We need to enable Zoom get-togethers. We need the ability to put voice technology in individual rooms, so people can access Amazon Alexa or Google products,” she said. “We need more group activities that enable multiple residents to communicate with each other virtually. And we need vendors to bundle connectivity, devices, training and service in packages designed for older adults.”

This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Corona Virus Opens a Pandora’s Box of Scams

If Willie Sutton were alive, he wouldn’t be robbing banks, more likely he’d be a scam artist, siphoning off a portion of the almost $70 million that Indiana consumers alone have reportedly lost to fraud even before the COVID-19 pandemic opened up a pandora’s box of new scam opportunities.

“At the Federal Trade Commission, we always say the fraudsters follow the headlines,” explained Todd Kossow, Director of the Midwest Region of the FTC. “They take advantage of the major news stories of the day and find new ways to access consumer’s personal financial information. The corona virus pandemic has been no exception to that.”

Kossow’s remarks were delivered at an on-line convening for ethnic media primarily covering Indianapolis and nearby regions. In addition to FTC staff, presenters included representatives from state and local agencies responsible for consumer protection, as well as from non-profits like the AARP, the Better Business Bureau, and others on the frontlines of battling scams and deceptive marketing practices.

“Scammers are like vampires who bleed their victims not just of money but of hope and self-respect,” said conference moderator Sandy Close, director of Ethnic Media Services. Close urged media participants “to shine a light on these activities through your media coverage and your community service.”

Susan Bolin, from the Better Business Bureau, concurred with the need for increased media coverage and involvement. While acknowledging active media participation in Fort Wayne and Evansville, “we still need more help. Just imagine the impact that we can have if every media outlet partnered with us.” Ultimately, Bollin said she wants to make Indianapolis a scam-free zone.

The goal is a daunting one.

Scams that have proliferated since the pandemic include large up-front money payments to companies claiming they can assist homeowners to renegotiate mortgage payments they missed because of COVID linked job layoffs; or scams that promise small businesses an inside track to securing federal paycheck protection funds to retain employees.

“So what are the main types of COVID-19 related scams that we’re seeing?” Kossow asked. “Scammers who are pitching so-called treatments and cures for COVID-19 without any proof that they work. The FTC has sent warning letters to nearly 250 companies making such claims.”

Presenters cited several “red flags” typically associated with scams: run out and buy a gift card to make a payment; a money wire transfer is required; an upfront payment is necessary before a prize can be claimed; authentication of your bank account number or verification of your Social Security number as mandatory in order to speed or complete the application or funding process.

Several speakers said that humiliation over being scammed often discourages victims from reporting what happened. There’s also a sense that trying to recover the money is a hopeless task. This is particularly true with gift card transactions. At least with payments made on credit cards, victims have a bank record to point to in filing a fraud claim. Moreover, victims have a self-interest in reporting scams, Andrew Johnson, Chief of Staff of the FTC’s Division of Consumer Affairs, emphasized

“Since July, 2018, In just a two-year period, the FTC mailed $23.6 million to almost 140,000 people in the state of Indiana, which is pretty remarkable,” Johnson said. “Generally, when the FTC settles or wins a case, and we get money that we can return back to consumers, one of the main ways we determine who to send money to, is we look back at our database of who reported to us.”

One net result of the pandemic’s advent is a decrease in face-to-face counseling that would encourage reporting to the FTC.

Cheryl Koch-Martinez, who works at Indiana Legal Services, said her organization assists low-income residents in understanding their financial options and advising them on consumer fraud cases. Given the imperative for social-distancing, “face-to-face communication is just not there,” she said. Telephone and e-mail are inefficient substitutes for the sensitive conversations that need to occur.

Reverend David Green, Senior Pastor, Purpose of Life Ministry, shared the experience of a maintenance engineer at his church. Originally from El Salvador,

he immigrated to the United States 20 years ago and obtained citizenship. He sent $1,000 to purchase a trailer in Kentucky and then sought to make arrangements with the sellers to personally pick it up. “They said, ‘no,’” Green reported. “They said they needed to deliver it and that if he would go to PayPal and send $600 for the insurance on the delivery of the trailer, that when the trailer got delivered, he would get the $600 back.”

In this case, Reverend Green encouraged his church’s employee to file a report with the FTC and the Better Business Bureau after the seller would answer phone calls but promptly hang up.

Several speakers highlighted the debilitating effects of scams that prey on people’s loneliness. While romance scams come readily to mind, scammers also have used a victim to become unwitting money mules, someone who moves money to a third-party. The use of third parties makes the origin and movement of financial transactions more difficult for authorities to trace.

Such was the case Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryAnn Mindrum described of an elderly woman who was told she’d won the lottery and had to pay fees before she could secure her winnings. She did not win the lottery, lost a substantial amount in so-called fees, “but,” Mindrum explained, “she talked to the scammer for two years!” Mindrum said her office stepped in to end the relationship, extradited the scammer to the U.S. and successfully prosecuted him. The woman was not charged.