TRIAD will not have a meeting in May.  We are looking at a new way of providing information to Seniors of the Roanoke area.  Check back for future updates.  For additional information email;  cru2@roanokeva.com

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McDonnell Presents Consumer Protection Money to Help  Virginia Seniors

SeniorNavigator Receives Funds from Prescription Drug Settlements

Richmond  – Attorney General Bob McDonnell  presented a $30,116.94 grant to SeniorNavigator, a statewide non-profit organization that connects seniors with health and aging services in the Commonwealth. The group will use the funds to help educate Virginia seniors vulnerable to prescription drug abuse. 

The grant funds result from recent prescription drug settlements secured by the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, working with other Attorneys General nationwide. SeniorNavigator will use the funds to combat prescription drug abuse and addiction among Virginia ’s seniors through outreach, education and improved communications.

SeniorNavigator developed and manages the online resource www.SeniorNavigator.org. Since its launch in February 2001, SeniorNavigator.org has served as a resource with a comprehensive network of community-based centers across Virginia . The Web site combines online assistance with help through its network of SeniorNavigator Centers, including hospitals, libraries, sheriff’s offices, Agencies on Aging, senior centers and faith-based organizations. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and the Virginia Health Care Foundation created SeniorNavigator. Warner served as Founding Chairman before his election as Governor. 

 “Older adults are vulnerable to the complex problem of prescription drug abuse and addiction -- a problem that has gone largely undetected,” Attorney General McDonnell said. “The human toll on seniors and their families requires proactive steps to educate seniors and caregivers. Important prevention measures can reduce the risks associated with prescription medication to avoid unintentional addiction.”

“We applaud Attorney General McDonnell for his understanding of the scope of the problem, and the factors that can lead to this largely unintentional, yet life-threatening addictive situation,” said Katie Roeper, executive director of SeniorNavigator. “Attorney General McDonnell clearly is committed to helping seniors and caregivers.”

Linda Nablo, Commissioner of the Virginia Department for the Aging, said, “A growing number of seniors are cared for by family members, so it is imperative to include caregivers and families in educational and outreach efforts. This initiative takes a comprehensive approach through an awareness campaign aimed at seniors, their families, caregivers, and professionals.”

 The funds for this grant were recovered from legal settlements reached by the Office of the Attorney General in 2008 with Caremark Rx, L.L.C., and Express Scripts Inc., two pharmacy benefits management companies. The settlements involved claims that these companies engaged in deceptive business practices by encouraging doctors to switch patients to different brand name prescription drugs and representing that the patients and/or health plans would save money.

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FTC Releases List of Top Consumer Complaints in 2008

The Federal Trade Commission today released the list of top consumer complaints received by the agency in 2008. The list, contained in the publication “Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book for January-December 2008,” showed that for the ninth year in a row, identity theft was the number one consumer complaint category. Of 1,223,370 complaints received in 2008, 313,982 – or 26 percent – were related to identity theft.

The report breaks out complaint data on a state-by-state basis and also contains data about the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest per capita incidence of fraud and other complaints.  In addition, the report sets forth the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest incidence of identity theft.

The report states that credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft at 20 percent, followed by government documents/benefits fraud at 15 percent, employment fraud at 15 percent, phone or utilities fraud at 13 percent, bank fraud at 11 percent and loan fraud at four percent.

The top 20 complaint categories were:

Rank	Category	Complaints	%
1	Identity Theft	313,982	26
2	Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection	104,642	9
3	Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales	52,615	4
4	Internet Services	52,102	4
5	Foreign Money Offers and Counterfeit Check Scams	38,505	3
6	Credit Bureaus, Information Furnishers and Report Users	34,940	3
7	Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries	33,340	3
8	Television and Electronic Media	25,930	2
9	Banks and Lenders	22,890	2
10	Telecom Equipment and Mobile Services	22,387	2
11	Computer Equipment and Software	21,442	2
12	Business Opportunities, Employment Agencies and Work-at-Home	20,286	2
13	Internet Auction	17,294	1
14	Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection/Repair	17,263	1
15	Health Care	16,275	1
16	Auto Related Complaints	14,278	1
17	Travel, Vacations and Timeshare Plans	13,200	1
18	Credit Cards	13,196	1
19	Magazines and Buyers Clubs	10,188	1
20	Telephone Services	9,300	1

The FTC collects consumer complaints from more than 125 other organizations and makes them available to more than 1,600 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad via Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database. Copies of the “Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book” can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistantor call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

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 A Slumping Economy = Increase for Scams

Here is another scam that is not health care related but in view of the current financial situation you may want to pass these tips along .

Important Information Security Awareness Message:

Be aware of persons requesting your personal information by e-mail or telephone. In the wake of the current economic crisis, many scammers have been alleging, among other things, that they are with an individual’s financial institution and that their personal information is needed to assist them with a bank merger or acquisition process.

Whatever you do, don't click on links in e-mails purportedly sent by your bank. These will navigate you to Web sites, where you are asked to re-verify personal and bank information as part of a merger or account access process. In one example that targets people affected by the Chase acquisition of Washington Mutual, the e-mail asks recipients to click on a link and confirm their identity so Chase can "activate new security features for our new and old online banking customers." The link goes to a fake Chase Web site that asks for account log-in and other information. The scammers are gathering the information to sell to cybercriminals who will use it to transfer money out of victims' accounts or commit identity fraud.

The following are general practices to avoid becoming a victim of these types of scams:

· Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail. Simply delete it.

· Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as officials soliciting personal information via e-mail, telephone or other means.

· Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.

· Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.

· Validate the legitimacy of the organization by directly accessing the organization's website rather than following an alleged link to the site.

· Do not provide personal or financial information to anyone who solicits information.

Triad began in 1988 when AARP, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheriffs’ Association signed a cooperative agreement to work together to reduce both criminal victimization and unwarranted fear of crime affecting older persons. Today, Triad is active in47 states, including