No one wanted to leave.
It’s a good thing no major crime happened in Highland Falls last Tuesday afternoon, because two of the HFPD’s top officers were tied up talking to local senior citizens about a wide variety of topics.
The event was the monthly Highlanders Senior Citizens Club meeting, which is held at 1 p.m. at the Senior Center, off Drew Ave., on the third Tuesday of each month. The next one is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 17, and all community residents age 55 and over are invited.
Highlanders President Chris Byrnes called this particular meeting a ‘grand opening’ of sorts for the club, after over a year of not being able to meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our grand opening was a great success,” Byrnes said. He’d invited HFPD Acting Chief/Sgt. Jason Torpey and Detective Tom Kleveno to attend, and said they “did a wonderful presentation on scams that are pulled on seniors”.
“It was so great that nobody wanted to leave. We were there over two hours and I almost had to throw everyone out!” he laughed.
Torpey and Kleveno said they enjoyed the meeting just as much as the several dozen seniors did.
“We did give a presentation on identity theft and current popular scams that target the elderly,” Torpey said. “Those scams are ones many of us have heard of, such as the IRS scam, the grandchild-is -in-trouble scam, fake or useless warranties, phishing, debt collecting scams and lottery scams.”
He said they also spoke about how scammers operate on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace and how scammers steal personal information to take loans or make purchases.
“We explained methods that scammers use to hide their identity and gain the victim’s trust,” Torpey added. “We talked about common indicators of scams, such as a willingness to overpay for items in advance and the requesting of payment in gift cards or money orders. We emphasized that if it seems too good to be true, than it most likely is.”
The two say their advice pertains to all community residents, not just the seniors.
“These days, everyone needs to know about the importance of monitoring finances and credit and how to always protect your personal information,” Kleveno added.
At the meeting, the two also talked about the HFPD’s “Project Good Morning” program.
“It’s free and is designed for seniors that live alone,” Torpey said. “When a person signs up, they call into our dispatch every morning. By late morning if a senior has not called in, a Highland Falls Dispatcher will call the contact number provided. If contact is not made, the dispatcher will send an officer to the residence to check on the person. This program has saved lives in the past.”
They said they also reminded seniors — and again all community residents — that the HFPD offers vacation “house checks”.
“A resident can sign up for a house check when they go on vacation, or if for any reason they will be gone for any period of time,” he said. “Patrol units will do a check of the residence each tour while the residents are gone.”
