WINDHAM — A consumer protection forum hosted last week by a local legislator featured Maine’s attorney general, representatives from AARP Maine and plenty of references to the movie “Catch Me If You Can.”

Rep. Mark Bryant, D-Windham, organized the event on the evening of Thursday, April 27, in the Windham Town Council chambers to help residents learn about ways to protect themselves from scams and fraud. The discussion focused mainly on scams that target seniors, including IRS phone scams where someone falsely claims to be from the tax collection agency and tells people they owe back taxes, romance scams and the grandparent scam where someone pretends to be a grandchild that needs money immediately. 

“One of the most important things that my office does is the Consumer Protection Division,” said Attorney General Janet Mills, who noted that division fields about 12,000 contacts a year from people with concerns about fraud. “Many, many of the calls that we get – and emails – are about scams, and we’re particularly concerned about seniors in the state of Maine falling victim to a variety of scams.” 

Two officials from AARP Maine, Volunteer President Rich Livingston and Communications Director Jane Margesson, also participated in the forum.

Livingston highlighted the AARP Fraud Watch Network, which works nationally to provide alerts and tips in order to help people protect themselves from fraudulent activity. 

“Almost nothing that we’ve done in our more than 50 years experience has resonated as broadly as has the work we’re doing in fraud and scam prevention, because almost everybody has experienced it or knows someone who has experienced it,” Livingston said.  

Margesson identified several red flags that can indicate when its a scammer on the other end of the line – such as someone asking for money immediately or asking the scam victim not to tell anyone about the call – and she emphasized how scammers prey on emotional responses to try and trick people into divulging personal information or sending money. 

“Scammers are absolutely expert at pushing the emotional buttons that we all have,” said  “They call it ‘getting you under the ether,’ into a place where you’re no longer thinking logically.” 

While the panel discussion was mostly a serious one about how people can protect themselves from fraud through awareness, there were some moments of levity tied to the movie “Catch Me If You Can.”

That 2002 Hollywood film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks tells the story of Frank Abignale Jr., a young con-man who masqueraded as an airline pilot, attorney and doctor before eventually being arrested. He later left his life of crime and went on to advise the FBI, and as part of his redemption story, Abignale is now an AARP Fraud Network Watch Ambassador. 

AARP Maine brought Abignale to Portland earlier this month to share his insights on scam and fraud protection 

“I was excited to see Frank and listen … I was just blown away,” Bryant said about hearing Abignale speak. “Just him telling his life story, and telling how he’s turning that into educating all of us – because I do think the scammer’s brain works differently.”

Mills pointed out that Abignale “doesn’t look like Leonardo DiCaprio, though.”

Joking aside, Bryant and his guests had serious reasons for convening the forum Thursday night. Along with hearing from constituents, Bryant said that his own 92-year-old father-in-law was the target of a grandparent scam. Fortunately, he realized it wasn’t his grandson calling. 

Bryant said that his main goal with the forum was to reach residents through the community TV station. The event was recorded for TV 7’s show “Speak Out,” and will air every morning at 7 a.m. for about a month. 

Mills said that she occasionally participates in similar forums when asked, and that the Attorney General’s office has been posting fraud and scam alerts to its website about every week. 

“The best prevention, as Attorney General Mills just said, is to just hang up,” Livingston emphasized. “The bottom line consideration is: if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true.”

Matt Junker can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or mjunker@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @MattJunker.

Maine Attorney General Janet Mills speaks during a consumer protection forum hosted in Windham by Rep. Mark Bryant, right.