(April 17, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Martin Bailey from AARP and Melissa Smarr from the Silver Shield Task Force of Fairfax County, to discuss their upcoming event called Scam Jam to be held on April 27th from 9am-1pm at the Fairfax County Government Center.
The second annual Scam Jam aims to educate the public on how they can protect themselves against scam artists. There will be speakers and workshops, all designed to inform people about different scams that are currently happening here, and all over the world. Bailey notes that 16.7 million people a year are scammed at a cost of $16.8 billion dollars annually. It is a huge problem, and this program is intended to arm people with knowledge so that they are less likely to fall for a scam.
There will be several speakers who will be highlighting current scams that are happening now in Virginia. The Grandparents scam is one of the more common ones, and has been around a long time. A con artist calls up an elderly person and pretends to be a young relative in trouble, needing bail money. It is designed to put the victim in panic mode and scare them into compliance. There are also a variety of phone scams using IRS, Medicare and Social Security (note: these agencies will never call you, they will always send you correspondence in the mail).
One of the key ways to protect an identity is to safeguard your social security number. Bailey points out that much of the demographic information on potential victims is “out there” for the world to see, via everything from the online white pages to social media. But a scammer would need a social security number to open a bank account or credit card. It is very, very important to never give out that number unless it is a wholly legitimate source.
In addition to the speakers, there will be an opportunity to shred old papers with confidential information and safely dispose of unused medication. If you cannot make it out the event, AARP has a variety of resources online that are free to the public. Two of their most popular pieces are the Con Artist Playbook and the Watchdog Alert Handbook, which are free and available online. There are also blog posts and articles that are constantly being updated, as AARP attempts to keep up with the scammers in an ever-changing environment.
Fairfax County Silver Shield Task Force also has a number of valuable resources on their website, including consumer protection information, how to report a scam, handling door-to-door solicitors and much more.
Additionally, Keys-Gamarra is strongly committed to the 
With deep roots in the community, along with raising her two young boys in Mason District, Ricardy is acutely aware of the challenges and needs of her district. She has never thought about running for public office in the past, but was moved to serve her community in an educational capacity. She has a lot of ideas and comes with a variety of perspectives to share, as she says there are “many ways to peel the onion”. She is excited to bring some of those ideas to the table in Fairfax County.
Hebron notes that there are a wide variety of neighborhoods and constituents in the Lee District. It is home to some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the county, but it there are also pockets of extreme poverty. The district covers 30 square miles of land south of the beltway (I-495), between Franconia and Ft. Belvoir. With many languages that are spoken, and many cultures that are represented, she believes that the diversity is Lee District’s strength. She aims to bring people together and work toward making her home district the best place to work, live and play.
Plerhoples lives in the Dranesville District, where she and her husband are raising their two daughters. She serves at the PTA president of her children’s elementary school, as well as holding a spot on the Governing Board of the McLean Community Center and serving on the board of her neighborhood citizens association. As a co-founder of Virginia Democracy Forward, a progressive grassroots organization based in Northern Virginia, Alicia has worked to raise money and elect Democratic candidates throughout the commonwealth.
After the case managers determine that there is a basis for the claim, they move forward in contacting the housing provider to try and resolve the issue. The case mangers always try and bring the parties together to come to a resolution. If an investigation has determined that a housing provider is in violation of fair housing law, and they refuse to come to an agreement, then Squire’s office will refer the case to the County Attorney’s office for further review. Many times, after the disputes are resolved, the person in violation of the law will be required to attend a Fair Housing training in order to better understand the law and how to conduct business in the future.
Hebron strongly believes that the purpose of incarceration should be rehabilitation, as opposed to a lifetime of punishment. The cold, hard reality that exists for most people when they are released from prison is that they do not have very many opportunities to turn their life around. They often have no money, no job, no voting rights and limited education. This makes it exceedingly difficult for them to secure housing, a good paying job, and the ability to take care of themselves. They often turn back to the old habits they had that put them in jail in the first place. It is the reason why the recidivism rate in this country is so high. Hebron strongly believes that education is the key to giving hope and the confidence to believe that they can make a better life for themselves.
Family PASS
Lord Fairfax suggested that the county organize a motorcycle charity ride, with a friends and family car rally, that traced the border of the original Lord Fairfax land grant. The event will cover over 5 million acres, and will stretch from the Northern Neck, follow the Rappahannock River and travel up to the Fairfax Stone, then back along the Potomac River and out to the Chesapeake Bay. The Lord and Lady have participated in a variety of other events such as this in Europe and Asia, and were enthusiastic about helping to plan a first-of-this-kind charity event in Fairfax County.
The ride is designed to be accessible to all who would like to participate. The entrance fee is only $25, and is used to cover the cost of setting up and securing the route. Folks can register