Great stuff today at the Green Bay Scam Jam held at UWGB, with an afternoon long workshop brought to us from a collective of groups that aim to help seniors fight back against the scammers which plague their voicemails and social media feeds. They had a line up of specialists who shared their expertise with a full room audience.

Here are the five biggest takeways:

Don’t give money to people on the internet: It sounds like a blunt instrument approach. But this is a blunt force problem. Strangers befriend seniors on social media and build relationships with them before taking their money. It’s a sad tragedy that needs to stop.

Bitcoin ATMs Are The Devil: Here is the thing. Even to my bitcoin savvy friends, these machines are a poor bargain even when they’re used properly for their given purpose. So, when an expert presents nothing but an easily verifiable list of dangers they pose, I’m prepared to start a campaign to ban them. It’s that bad.

AI scams are here: It doesn’t take a lot of audio for an AI scammer to spoof the voice of a family member. This means seniors need to implement multiple safeguards against AI threats. This includes information specific passwords to a relationship that has never been on cyberspace.

Take A Stand Against In Person Scammers: This was the question I asked the panel. Don’t give money to people who approach you in public. Too often in the mall and downtown does a stranger walk up to you with an IPad and ask to swipe your card. This includes over marked band candy and fake save the rainforest scams.

Seniors Are Berated With Theats: I was dizzy when I walked out of that room. The threats our seniors face from scammers is intense. And they must be protected.

@mrfranktorres

Scam Jam at UWGB: Great Event! Scammers are attacking our parents!!!!

♬ original sound – MrFrankTorres

Did you attend Scam Jam? Let me know what you thought in the comments!