The attorneys and paralegals from CSS attended a Silicon Valley Bar Association educational seminar today given by the County FAST Team.  The FAST Team is comprised of selected members of the offices of Adult Protective Services, the Public Guardian, the District Attorney, County Counsel and law enforcement.  The purpose of the team is to identify, investigate, prevent, and remedy the financial abuse of elders and dependent adults.

The presenters provided us with a great deal of information that will be useful to us for serving our clients. The most urgent warning that they gave to us involved “lottery scams.”  They are seeing an increase in scams where an individual is contacted that they have won a foreign lottery.  The individual is asked to wire money to cover the taxes on the winnings before the winnings can be released.  The Federal Trade Commission has put together information for consumers on this and other scams at their website.

For specific information on lottery and wire transfer scams go to this link at the web site for the Federal Trade Commission.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.