Strolling for Safety

It's safety by numbers: be it learning how to protect oneself against financial fraud, or looking out for one another. 

That was the message during a Senior Safe Walk on the Fairfield University campus. First Selectman Michael Tetreau, Thomas Betzig of People’s United Bank and Fairfield Police Chief Gary McNamara hosted the walk, geared to local senior citizens.

“We wanted to get them out and get them active,” said Sgt. Sue Lussier of the Fairfield Police Department. Lussier didn't mean the running or jumping jacks kind of active, although that’s important. Rather she meant the "be aware and take action" kind of active.

Senior citizens are the most vulnerable when it comes to financial crimes like wire fraud and Medicare fraud. 

“It’s more frequent than you might think, in part because seniors are so trusting,” Lussier said.

People should hang up immediately if a stranger ever calls asking for a social security number, insists an immediate decision much be made, offers to send a courier to pick up a check, orders money wired from one bank to another source, asks for credit card or bank account numbers, or offers a fee to recover money previously lost. 

Aside from wire scams, senior citizens are also vulnerable to home improvement and contractor fraud, said Angela DeLeone, Senior Community Relations Specialist at Peoples Bank.

“Seventy-five percent of financial exploitation is done by families,” DeLeone, who is also a crime prevention specialist, said. “In this economy, families in financial crisis justify the 'early' inheritance.”

The walk, just under a half-mile, started at the Quick Center. It circled the fountain and library and returned to the center, which was offered for use by its director Gary Wood. Afterwards, McNamara provided crime prevention tips at the Walsh Art Gallery in the Quick Center.

Looking out for one another is an important part of Fairfield’s Neighborhood Watch program, Donald Peterson said.

Peterson, who is head of the Fairfield Citizens Corps Council, wants to expand Neighborhood Watch to include emergency training.

“As a community, we need to be prepared. There are times when neighborhoods may have to band together before the state or federal agencies can respond,” Peterson said. 

The Fairfield Police Department planned the event together with Peoples Bank and Fairfield University.

“You have shown us all how to get something off the ground,” Tetreau told the group. “Hopefully we can make this an annual event.”