Have you heard the story of the guy who had leftover concrete and made your neighbor an offer he just couldn’t refuse? Of course the concrete man gave a good excuse for needing payment up front and you’ve also heard the rest of the story. Your neighbor lost his money and the friendly concrete contractor just got lost.

Maybe you heard about Wanda W. who needed a new plate and extensive dental work. She didn’t think anything was amiss when the dentist she chose said she’d need to pay $3,600 up front before work could begin. After three months of broken appointments and delays by the dentist – and only getting a teeth cleaning – the 64 year old Wanda figured that something was fishy.

“I wrote a check for the full amount, I paid them up front to get a cheaper rate,” said Wanda who asked, cajoled, then pressed and demanded that she either get her teeth fixed or get her money back. “I need to get my teeth fixed,” she said, “they did not want to give me any money back.”

These are just two examples. Ripping off seniors is big business for scammers.

The Scotland County Chapter of AARP has invited Cynthia Perry, a North Carolina trained Fraud Fighter, to provide consumer protection tips on how to avoid fraud and get contact information to law enforcement agencies if needed. You can hear Cynthia Perry discussing “Who ya gonna call and Fraud Fighters.”

Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Senior/Civic Center on Turnpike Road.

North Carolina now has a new corps of volunteers in action called “Fraud Fighters”. These speakers have been trained by the Attorney General’s Office and AARP to raise awareness of consumer fraud. They conduct outreach and consumer education, from sponsoring shredding events to actively speaking and educating older residents to be aware about protecting themselves from financial fraud.

One particularly frustrating, but common, scam older residents run into is the Canadian or foreign lottery. People are told they have won a lottery- supposedly based on something they signed up for weeks or months earlier – and in order to recoup several thousand dollars in winnings, they first must send in a check to cover administrative fees ranging from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. These scams are tough to resolve.

Still wondering about Wanda? She called the state Attorney General’s office. Residents age 50 and older may call their respective state Attorney General’s office about possible cases of financial fraud or other forms of consumer abuse. Callers may be transferred to Fraud Fighters, a program between AARP and the North Carolina Attorney General’s office.

Volunteers’ field calls on telemarketing, cell phone, tax, home repair, identify fraud and other scams. These schemes typically have scammers who “charge exorbitant rates” or say they are going to give services they don’t end up giving to the consumer.

That’s what happened to Wanda. “I called the attorney general’s office to see if they could help me,” said Wanda, who said she ended up getting her money back “pretty quickly,” minus $80 for the dental cleaning.

AARP surveys show an overwhelming majority of adults are concerned about becoming a victim of consumer fraud or having a family member or friend fall victim to a scam. Research by AARP and the Department of Justice has shown that consumer education can lower a victim’s willingness to respond to fraudulent pitches by more than 50 percent.