by William Crum
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt spoke Thursday in Kansas City, Kan., on how to prevent scams.
Schmidt spoke at the Fairfax Industrial Association monthly luncheon held at the Board of Public Utilities office in Kansas City, Kan.
Schmidt said his office recently handled a case involving an elderly woman who was called by scammers who said they were with the Internal Revenue Service.
“This lady sent them the money, not realizing it was a scam,” he said. She lost hundreds of dollars.
“What we try to do at the attorney general’s office is help prevent against this,” he said. Schmidt said the woman probably won’t get her money back because it involved people from another country.
“Because of social media, things like this occur every day, and we’re constantly investigating issues like this and prosecuting them as well,” he said.
The Kansas attorney general’s office is also involved in Medicare fraud cases, he said, as it tries to protect the public.
There is a constant threat to elderly people who get involved in scams, he said.
“We truly try to prosecute these people who are hurting elderly citizens within Kansas,” Schmidt said.
At the end of the meeting, he fielded a few questions. More than 100 people attended the meeting.