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Westchester, Explained 27: Inside Consumer Protection - Fighting Fraud in Westchester · This Week in Westchester: The Podcast

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: Hi Westchester.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Westchester County Government Communications Director Katherine Chaffee.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_02: And as an extension of This Week in Westchester, the podcast, we welcome you to Westchester Explained.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: In this episode, we sit down with Westchester County Director of Consumer Protection, Jimmy Zano, for an inside look into what the county's consumer protection department does and what are the modern threats facing Westchester County residents and consumers today.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: We also dive into simple but important steps residents can take to protect themselves and their identity.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: And we also discussed a little bit of hope about maybe the jets this year.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: From fishing text to fraudulent phone calls to tech washing, we break down some of the most common ways that criminals try to steal personal and financial information, and why slowing down before you click, respond, or share info can make all the difference.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: Join us as we learn how Westchester is helping residents stay one step ahead of scammers and how to protect your identity and your money because this is Westchester explained.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: So let's begin.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: We got a fan favorite in the podcast studio today, Jim Mezano, Director of Consumer Affairs for Westchester County.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: Also one of the most fun.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: Can we like give you the award for the most fun commissioner, director?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I I want to be.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: You are.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: I want that to be.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: You are.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: You're a comms favorite.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um so first of all, let's just talk about consumer protection.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: What does your department do?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So believe it or not, what we do goes back to like the Greeks and the Romans.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And uh there's even language in the U.S.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Constitution about weights and measures.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And that's because you can't have a society that has trade unless everybody's weighing things the same.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: This is so biblical.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Say um Rhode Island and Connecticut weighed a bale of hay different.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Well then how could you have fair trade if they're weighing it in different differently by state?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: So there's so since the colonies were established going into the 50 United States, they always had to ensure that everybody was using the same weighing standards.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: That literally goes back to the Greeks and the Romans.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: You can actually trace it back.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: The thing that I find this is a fun fact that your department taught me that I love, is that our standard for weights and measures, for weights, excuse me, is the measurement in France.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: I'm still I'm telling the story wrong.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: You all use the same thing.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's international standards.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: I've just killed the story.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: There's international standards.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: But isn't the original like milligram in France somewhere, and that is what everybody uses?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, tell the story because I've killed it.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, I don't You don't know the story.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know the story.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: You heard that from Ethan Bogrin, who is this county sealer, who's the head of weights and measures, who goes to these national workshops and learns all about these great nuggets of history.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, we're gonna get him on.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Get him on.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: And he will tell the story that I've I've killed and you don't know.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Ethan Bogan is a great story.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: And the and the official weight is in France.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: That's all I know.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what everybody uses.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, all right, we're gonna get him on, we're gonna have him tell the story.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: But you're on today because we're gonna talk specifically about identity theft.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I still have to finish about what my office does.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, sorry.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, go ahead.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: Finish first.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: So we basically have three wings of our office.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, of our three wings of the office, wing number one is weights and measures as you described, going around.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Our inspectors are in the field every day, inspecting weighing devices, mostly scales, but any weighing device you can think of.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: With that comes packaging inspections, gas station pump inspections, home heating oil, truck inspections.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they're very busy.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: The inspectors are out there every single day in the field doing them.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Part two is consumer complaints.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Catherine goes to a store with her 50% off things she got in the mail, and they give her a hard time at the cash register, and you're like, I really think I deserve this 50% off.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Who are you gonna call?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Consumer protection.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: We will represent you and help you get uh if you're right, uh, we will help you get your 50% off.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: We that comes really handy.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: People have a warranty, like a dishwasher or a dryer, something like that, a washer.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and they go back to the store and they don't honor the warranty, we get involved with that.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say our track record on that's really strong.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: When we get involved with these big box stores and consumer protection shows up with our little badge, they're pretty good about honoring what they should have.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's part two.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Part three is the bear of the office that is licensing over 10,000 home improvement contractors and handling the complaints against them.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's a lot of work.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: That's a big area.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: You're like what it's like, hey, I was a county legislator for 20 years and never realized how hard that was for that office when I was doing their budget every year.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's a beast.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh, a lot of contractors don't want to be licensed.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And we have to kind of pull them through the process because we want them licensed.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's better for the county for them to be licensed, but also it's better for them too.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's a lot of work.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's a unfortunately a lot of complaints against home improvement contractors.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Homeowners get into it with their contractor a lot.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: We handle those complaints.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: The good news is we try to settle them.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's harder.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes you could be looking at a very large amount in dispute.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: But um we are we do make a difference and we do give people money back all the time.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: So we're gonna have you on to talk about the home improvement contractors, because that's a whole podcast in and of itself.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe it's a whole series.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: But um, one thing that I do want to really highlight for anybody listening is if you are hiring a home improvement contractor, someone to redo your deck, your bathroom, your kitchen, whatever, please, please, please make sure they're licensed.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually for the contractor to be operating in Westchester County, working in Westchester County without a license, is a crime.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's a misdemeanor.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't want to hire someone who's committing a crime.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's a big red flag, right?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: A big red flag.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Number two is we're gonna check their insurance, we're gonna check their financial background.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're not gonna give a license someone that's got 20 judgments again for ripping off consumers.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: So we look at their financial background, their insurance, other things too.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: So they do get a background check.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Why wouldn't you want someone you're gonna hire and let into your home have a background check?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: You'd want that.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so if somebody's hiring a home improvement contractor this very moment, they can actually call your office or go online and check to see what their that their license, their track record, the whole thing.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: They can go online.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: The only trick uh tricky part online is if you don't have the exact name of the company, it might not come up in our database.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if that happens, just call us.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, we're happy to talk to people if they call us.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Send us an email.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: Right, you're here to help.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: So, real quick, let's just tell everyone before we move on to why you're here today, which is the identity theft, just tell everyone real quick your website, your phone number, your email address if they want to get a hold of you on the consumer, on the um home improvement contractor side.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: So um we um the best way to reach us is conpro at westchestercountyny.gov.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I really have to go slow now for the beginning of this job.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was a different email address.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been a while, Conpro C O N P R O at westchestercountyny.gov.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: And for the website, consumer.weschestercountyny.gov.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: So now anyone just give your phone number.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: 914-995-2155.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, terrific.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: So just one other thing on the if you're hiring a contractor, there's a great thing on our website that a lot of people don't know about because it started during my time as director, and that is we have a sample contract up there.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're entering into a contract with a contractor to do work at your home, you can download our sample contract to make sure that contract is done accurately because the laws uh that dictated what we put in our sample contract are all laws to protect consumers.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to use something like our sample contract, they may hand you a contract that isn't very good.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: So check our sample contract on our website.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: And don't let them pressure you into signing something that we don't feel comfortable with.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Who you're gonna call?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Consumer protection if you have any problems.
• 8:31
  unknown: Okay.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: Just like Ghostbusters.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, okay, so you're you're here.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, there's so many topics that you cover, everything from home heating oil, the measurement of it, you're getting your tomatoes, the measurement of that, renegade renovators, home improvement contractors, contracts.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: But something that comes up a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, um, is identity theft, which is a horrible experience for anybody who's been through it.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: I it happened to me more than once, unfortunately.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it happens and it's painful.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: We were joking before, what's more painful?
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: Identity theft or the Jets?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: What would you say?
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think the Jets are better this year, so let's go with identity theft.
• 9:11
  unknown: Okay.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm feeling a little confident the Jets are a little bit of a better team this year.
• 9:15
  unknown: Okay.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but so let's go through some basic tips about how to not get your identity stolen.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: So we just put together uh 10 essential tips to prevent identity theft.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: That was after researching pretty thoroughly um what's going on across the world.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's not just here in Westchester, it's the United States, it's the whole world.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: And the scams are coming at you from all over the world.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's the problem, because when we've talked to law enforcement at all levels, from federal on down to local, you know, it's very hard for them.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, someone gets uh their identity stolen, they're a victim of identity theft.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: The person doing it could be sitting in China, South America, Europe, Africa, it could be anywhere on the planet.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not going to be easy for law enforcement to go after them.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's, you know, I think some people think these people are like sitting in an attic here in Westchester County.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's so much more complicated that.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, the scammers and hackers who are committing identity theft are really, really good at it.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: And they're getting better.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: They're trained.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um where are they trained?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: They they'll I'm gonna I'll tell you a quick story.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: We have time for a quick story?
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we always.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a guy named Mark Rober.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: You can look him up on YouTube, and he got a scam call.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is probably about five years ago.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: He got a scam call and it really annoyed him.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And he's a very successful YouTuber.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's made a lot of money on YouTube.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he was a former NASA engineer, so he's a smart guy, and he made a lot of money.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: So he went after he decided to go after the person who made the scam call to him.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: When he started doing the due diligence to find out where the call came from, it's kind of unbelievable.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: It came from an office tower in India.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, and then he went to the site, he reported it to authorities in India uh that he was coming, and then he went there, and when he got to look at the got there, looked up at the building, which you already looked down online, but it was an office tower, like in Manhattan.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: People went to work every day.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: There was like three floors in a building of scam callers.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: They went to work with their briefcase every day, like everyone else does.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: They were trained.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I'm what I'm getting at here is it's not somebody in their attic scamming you.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's organized crime.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: They're that good.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: They're trained, they're funded, and they're really good at it.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, also they wouldn't be doing it.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's why you have to be so nervous about identity.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: You have to be so careful in everything you do, because the scammers are that good.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, what's fun about the Mark Rover's video about this, which you can find on YouTube, is he wanted to annoy them while he's waiting for law enforcement to do their job in India.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: So he did fun things like he sent the box of roaches in.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: So when I opened up the roaches, when all running the call, the scam call center.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And he also did a giant stink bomb.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: So when he opened the box, the stink bomb went off.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Just to annoy the scam call.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: They're stealing money from people.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad they got harassed.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yeah.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: Oh gosh.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: So, okay, so what is like the number one, or I guess, or number of tips?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_02: What are some tips, top five tips, top 10 tips that people to can do to protect their identity?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start with number one on our list that we put together, and that is watch out for shoulder surfaces.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're using an ATM or filling out forms in public, you should really cover the keypad if you're using your phone or your computer or shield your paperwork because you have no idea who's standing around you.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: People could be scamming everywhere you go in life.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I would not fill out a piece of paper for like that has like your confidential information, like your date of birth, your social security number, your phone number, and somebody can see it.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: So be aware of anyone nearby who may be eavesdropping, because modern phone cameras can capture sensitive data from several feet away.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: And they may be stealing your info.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: So be careful at everything you do because you don't know who's watching you.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's number one.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Shoulder surfers, we're calling them.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Cute name.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: All right, we'll go to number two.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and this one has always been true since we got into this modern age.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: But no, this goes back decades.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_02: This is for I've been listening to this my whole life.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: So shredding sensitive documents.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Criminals are known to dumpster dive.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: They'll go to a uh landfill or they'll go to any place uh it looks like they're or even front of your house.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, because it's actually, believe it or not, case law, since I know you're you're an attorney, uh, there's case law that once you put it out, it's fair game.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: So they'll go, yeah.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: So when they walk up and down the street, they'll go into your garbage.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: But in there, if you just put like bank statements or credit card statements or tax records, they'll take them and now have all this confidential information about you.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: And they also go into, like I said, dumpster dive if they find landfills.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: So always use a shredder for personal and confidential documents.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's a requirement in your life.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Westchester residents, by the way, you can use the county mobile shredder that's at recycling events around the county.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Just do a Google search for the Westchester County Shredder.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: That the county clerk uses it often.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, that's a great service.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can come down with those kinds of documents and they'll shred them for you on the spot.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: You can also just throw them in the fireplace.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: That's what we do.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: You can do that too.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's another way to go.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: Paper to start the fire.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so let's go to number three.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of in the same vein.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Secure records at home.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: You never know who's coming in your house.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe your kids brought somebody home.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you have a worker in the home that you don't really know.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know who these people are.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And every I I'm sorry to say this to you, Catherine, but I now trust no one.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: I know.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: Based on everything I know.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_02: All these tips, it's making me a little paranoid.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you have to be that way.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: You have to be that way.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: So don't leave checkbooks, financial statements, or IDs in plain view of visitors into your house because all they need to do is pull out their phone.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: Three seconds later, they have a picture of it.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: So um lock sensitive documents in a desk or a fireproof safe to prevent guests who you may not know too well from photographing them with a cell phone.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, don't make it easy for people to look at your personal information.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's our advice.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: The next is to protect your mail.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: Never leave outgoing mail with a raised red flag on the mailbox.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's a best practice to bring your mail inside a post office and drop it off there.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: Collect incoming mail daily, and don't have the Postal Service hold mail if you're going away.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry, to use the hold mail if you're going away.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: Don't just leave it there.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: A couple things on this.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's funny.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I go out and speak a lot to senior citizen groups.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: And they always like get very disturbed when I tell them don't put your outgoing mail in the box in front of you and put the little red flag up.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Take it inside the post office because it's a pain in the neck.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: I will tell you that I will never, ever not follow this advice.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen too many scams in post post boxes that are out in the public or in the worst thing is your house because there's no protection.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's more protection with one of those blue boxes that are around town, but they've been ripped off too.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: So um I bring every single piece of mail in my life to the post office.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's my rule.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: I know you don't want to hear that, but that's the best practice.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's the safest practice.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's how your Westchester County Consumer Protection Director lives his life.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think everyone should do that.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that's a good tip.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: Now, the next one is something that we really have to highlight because I hear this all the time.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's stop check washing.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: Criminals use chemicals to alter checks stolen from mailboxes.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: They will switch to electronic payments whenever possible.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, so we should switch to electronic payments whenever possible.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: If you must mail a check, use permanent black gel ink to try to have uh to try to have your text cover the entire blank spaces.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: That's yeah, so let's fit into it.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: So actually, this ties into number number four, the one we just did, protect your mail.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because if they get your mail, they may get an outgoing check.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: And now they'll take the check and wash it.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: So basically, they use chemicals and they can um take your name out, take out what you wrote the check to.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: The two.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: They take it out and they put their own name in.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's check washing.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um so you really should do electronic payments, but you gotta be safe with electronic payments too.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you make sure that you do that uh if you're gonna do it from your bank, for instance, make sure like you have like really uh multi-factor authentication, right, as much security as possible with your uh online bank account.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: But um, if you must mail a check and people still mail a check, I have one thing I have to pay every month by check in my life.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: Say one vendor, one vendor.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: And um the reason I I want to really stress this: go on, go wherever you want.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not wanna, I gotta be open to everybody.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: I go to Amazon, but you can go to Home Depot or Target or whatever and get permanent black gel ink.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you went to Amazon and put permanent black gel ink, it'll come right up.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you can get one of those pens.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Those pens are harder to wash.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, good to know.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: All right, good because um the um the permanent black gel ink sinks into the paper.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's harder to wash.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: So um, and my when we say try to use like when you're filling out a check, don't leave room for a scammer to put other information in.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: Write really big.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, write big and fill up the whole line.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, I like that.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's our all our check washing uh advice.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: Now the next one is a hard one.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's when you're it's shopping safely online.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I think this is where a lot of people fall into problems.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: So before entering payment details, verify the website's URL for misspellings.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: For extra safety, use a credit card, which offers better fraud protection than debit, or digital wallets like Apple Pay or PayPal.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_02: Not shop.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I always hear people say, Well, don't shop online, don't put in your information.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's almost impossible to do that today.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Very hard.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I shop online and I'm the consumer protection director, but I do it as safely as possible, meaning I am super careful how I get to the place I'm shopping.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I never ever click a link.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Wherever you are on the internet, if you see a link for Amazon or Target or Home Depot, whatever, don't click on that.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: You put Amazon.com into the bar and you go to Amazon yourself.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because what the hackers and scammers do is they set up websites like Amazon1.com.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: So when so you so you've made one mistake by adding a one.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then now you're on their website, the scammer hacker website, that looks identical to Amazon.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: So you put in your login information, just give it to them.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now they can steal your Amazon account.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: So um you really have to go to these sites yourself.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: You have to drill down and make sure you're at the right place.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: I double check where I'm at.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: I go there myself, I go there, I write in Amazon.com, then I still make sure I'm in the right place.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you do a say you did a search, Amazon in your search bar on your on the internet.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing that comes up sometimes it says suggested or sponsored.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I don't click on those.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's not the real search.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's somebody who paid them.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: What if the scammer paid them?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: And they do.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: They do.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why you have to be so careful.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you're gonna do a search, make sure you're really on.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: I keep saying Amazon, not picking on Amazon, but so many people shop online on Amazon.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: So be really, really careful.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: And we always another important point use a credit card.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's more protection with a credit card if you're gonna challenge an illegal charge than a debit card.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, you don't want to give a debit card access to your bank account.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's much more dangerous.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: Learn that the hard way.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: Let me just say that.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry about that.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_02: So the next one is to beware of phishing scams.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, never click on links in unexpected emails or texts claiming that there is an account problem.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: This is especially true if a bank or a credit card company is calling you, right?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: So let's highlight that.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: That these a bank or a credit card company will likely never call you with an emergency.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: So when I first got this job as consumer protection director, I came from the county legislature to here to work for County Executive Latimer and still here with County Executive Jenkins.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um one of the one of the first pieces of advice that seemed to be so important for me to get out to the public is be really, really careful of unsolicited communications.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: That kind of goes to these next two points.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um again, you mentioned the word paranoid before.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: You really have to be a bit paranoid with unsolicited communications.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's an email, whether it's a text, whether it's a phone call, whether it's a piece of mail.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: You really have to be careful because you have no idea who sent this to you.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: And these days, it's more likely than not that it's coming from a Scammer or hacker.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: And if not, it's somebody trying to sell you something you don't want to deal with anyway.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: So um so one thing that that they call phishing and smishing is something we should talk about.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that is you get, for instance, the common one a lot of people recognize is they get a text that said it's UPS or the post office and is a problem with one of your uh packages.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_02: That text comes, I I feel like I get that text every day.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's a problem with your delivery.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: So click on the link.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, don't click on the link.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: Click on the link to deal with this problem.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's the scam.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Once they get you, there's so many things can happen when you click on the link and it's different.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes clicking on a link might give that person on the other side of that link when you get there access to your phone or computer.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: They go right in and take anything they want.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: Or um they're gonna try to trick you to think to make you think it's real and continue to steal your confidential information.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: So there's different ways they can go with these links.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: But bottom line, folks, never click a link in any communication, particularly we're talking mostly right now that email and text.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Never click a link unless you're 100% sure where it's coming from.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a tough way to live your life.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, as you know, I send out a monthly playlist with a link.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I always wonder if some people don't click on it because they're worried about links.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: I don't blame them.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: Right, I know.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's also hard because sometimes you're, you know, it happens to me, right?
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: You're like rushing around and you gotta get your work and I got to the kids here, and all of a sudden you get a text message.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_02: The Netflix uh needs you to update your credit card information.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's a scam, right?
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_02: Like Netflix does not text for your credit card.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: But in the panic and the rush of everyday life, you might just click it and then there you go.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta people do it every day.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's why this, like I said before, the scammers are good at what they do and it works.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's why they do it.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why they're sending these unsolicited communications.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're concerned, ignore the messages that come in by email or a text.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: But the best thing to do, so I get an email, say, let's go back to UPS.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: There's a problem with my package.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: The best thing to do is delete that email and call UPS.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a problem with my account?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Credit card.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a problem with your credit card account?
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Click the link.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: No, don't click the link.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Call your credit card.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: Or if you have a problem with my account, pause and think like, why would I haven't shipped anything with UPS?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: Why would they be texting me?
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's it.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_02: That's it.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_02: That's a key point.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: So that's so that's but I want to go.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: I keep telling this when I go around and talk to the seniors.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: The safest thing you can do in every possible situation like that on unsolicited communications is you get away from that unsolicited communication immediately.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: Delete it.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then you call who it's allegedly from.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's the best practice.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_02: So the next one is to avoid voice phishing.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_02: Scammers spoof caller ID to poses your bank or other financial institutions.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: They will claim your account is compromised, you panic, you start giving them codes and passwords.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: Golden rule again, your bank will never call, your bank will never text.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a call.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it looks like it's real because it says Citibank.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: But it says like Citibank one.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, something like that.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Or city.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean, there's different things they could do, but you think you're getting a real call, you're not.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that's going back to the prior point and unsolicited communication.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: You have no idea who that person is.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: So do not talk to them, do not engage with them.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: But if they say they're from Citibank, delete the text or the email and you call Citibank back to the prior point.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: The whole thing here is that when you when they tell you your account is compromised, you kind of panic.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why you're so quick to reveal your codes and passwords, because you're panicking.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: But your bank is never going to call you, as you said, and ask for PIN or login credentials.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: You really just got to calm down.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I guess.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_02: That's the that's the one takeaway from this, right?
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, calm down and relax.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: And relax.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And um just be like I'll give you an example.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: One mistake people are making a lot, and you would never even think of it, is they get a call saying, I'll make one up.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: Protect the earth, an environmental group.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're calling for donations to protect the earth.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: Would you like to make a contribution?
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: You have no idea who this is.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds great.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: You want to be a good person to help save the earth.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: So people like, oh, sure, 25, give me your credit card.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well now you just gave them your credit card.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna say this, and this is gonna deem harsh, again, paranoid, as as Catherine said earlier, but do not donate to anybody that calls you on the phone.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: You have no idea who it is.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: Make donations, but you have to make the communication yourself.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, for instance, I every year around the holidays, I like to do a lot of donations around the holidays with the Christmas spirit, right?
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I per I go to all those websites and I donate online that's safer that way, as we talked about before.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: But I go myself to, I'll give you an example of St.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Jude.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: I like to give a holiday donation to St.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: Jude every year.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: I go to St.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: Jude, I make the donation my way, but St.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: Jude calls me during the year for donations, but I don't know that it's St.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: Jude, so I don't give the money.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: I only give the money when I make the communication, so I make sure my donation goes to what's really needed.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: No, that's a that's an excellent point.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um next tip is to lock down your Wi-Fi.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: Put a password on it.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_02: No visitors.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: So the key thing with Wi-Fi is it's the public Wi-Fi that you have to be so careful with.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: So if you go into the I I'll throw some names out there, not picking on anybody, McDonald's or Starbucks have a sign.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: We have free Wi-Fi.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that seems great.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: So people are sitting there, they go into the free Wi-Fi.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the catch.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: When you go to your on your phone or your computer for the Wi-Fi available, there might be two or three McDonald's, McDonald's one, McDonald's four, Mac EDs.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: Some of those probably are scammers.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: They sit in there.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: And they set up a fake Wi-Fi.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: So if you click on theirs rather than the real one, you're now beholden to the scammer.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: They have you.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: They can get right into your computer.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: So so I guess if you're surfing the web, you might be okay.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: But don't ever enter a password.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: Never go to anything and free public Wi-Fi.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Never use free public Wi-Fi like you're at home.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Never do that.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: If you're out in public, um you may be in a store that has free Wi-Fi, but you logged into the wrong one, and now you gave your complete control to a scam or a hacker.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: So be careful with free public Wi-Fi.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Believe it or not, back in 2008, when I was a lawyer, I was I went to do a case in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I was in the hotel, and this is funny, I wanted to buy a baseball card on eBay.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I used these.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_02: This is very on brand, sorry.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: Free public Wi-Fi in this hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: Not thinking a thing.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: When I got home, because I used, I bought the baseball card on eBay and I paid for it through PayPal.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: Both of those were corrupted.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_02: Oh no.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: So there was a hacker that was using somehow was getting into that.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is in 2008.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: A hacker was got into that hotel's free public Wi-Fi and was stealing what information from what people were doing on the free.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's all the way back then.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: So imagine what it's like now with the AI and all these other powerful tools.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: So be careful of free public Wi-Fi.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: I recommend don't even use it.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: Don't use it.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that's a great tip.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: And the the last tip that you have here is to monitor your credit.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_02: A credit freeze is the best way to block unauthorized accounts.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's free and it doesn't affect your score.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us more about this.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Credit freezes are free under federal law.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Congress passed a law that the three credit rating agencies, um TransUnion, Equifax, and Xperian, I always have to think about those three, those three have to give you a credit freeze if you ask for it for free.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: So why not get one?
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, what it does is if if somebody um was trying to steal Catherine Schiaffi's identity and they're trying to open up a bank account or a credit card under your name, right?
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when when that bank, either way, a bank for the credit card or the bank account, goes to do a background check on you and they look at your credit, it's gonna be frozen.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: That stops it right there.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: So a credit freeze is a very powerful tool to stop identity theft because you can stop it right there where they're about to use your name to open up a credit card or something like that.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: So we are we we recommend getting a free credit freeze from one of the three credit rating agencies, and it's free.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_02: And you can go to annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228 to get more on that.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, that'll give you your credit reports.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: So you can get those regularly and check for suspicious activity, which is good.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um at yeah, right, annualcreditreport.com or 877-322-8228.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um but if you want to get the credit freeze, just go right to one of those three websites.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm sure you can go from annualcreditreport.com too, but I just you can go to Experian, um, you can go to Tranjulian uh or Equifax.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: Just go to those websites and they have right on the bar on the top, you know, get her get a credit freeze.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_02: This is great.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_02: So these are these are 10 tips that really can help you prevent identity theft.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_02: One thing that I want to ask you is in your experience in doing this now, is what almost 10 years?
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: Almost?
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, is I make is AI making it worse?
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: Incredibly so.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: In in almost everything we do, AI is making things worse.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: I want to give you an example.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: A little different than identity theft, but I think it's something that's happening right now.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been going to the US Open for tennis since the 80s.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: Go back with my father.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: And my family's been going to the US Open for decades.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the way it worked for years was that there was a day, maybe in more uh May or June, where the tickets went on sale.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you just wanted to get you want to go in one of the stadiums or you just want a grounds pass to walk around because there's like 20 courts, which is actually an incredible deal for consumers.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: You pay one fee to look at or you can walk around and see tennis on 20 courts and usually like in the front row, where you're like the third row, the fifth row.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's like unbelievable.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: You're watching these pros play.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, so from I would say from the 80s when my family started doing this until COVID, let's use COVID as a time.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: Pretty much they went on sale for a couple of months.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: Any day of the week.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: You could have gone on there and got face value grounds pass for the US Open.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the way it was for my whole life.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: Post-COVID, my wife and I, who does this with me, uh, we started noticing that the tickets were gone the day they go on sale in like 15 minutes.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so we were still getting the tickets, but we know we we knew we had to be online at 10 o'clock the day they went on sale.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: So we're still working out until about a year or two ago.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: The last two years is now the tickets are gone almost instantaneously at 10 o'clock.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because through AI and these ticket bots, these ticket brokers are buying them all up.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it's funny, the New York State legislature actually passed good legislation to crack down on this, but unfortunately, I think through AI has made what they do more powerful and harder to track.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: So here's your numbers, Catherine.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: The grounds pass was I think the ones we got, we ended, we did, because we went, my wife is so good at this.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: She went on the American Express presale, we did get some tickets.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we are going to US open, don't worry.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: But um our friends are not going with us this year because they weren't able to get tickets.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's a shame.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so we paid, I don't know, let's say 130.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, they're$338.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it's gone up from$130 to$338.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that's been that way since the day they went on sale to the public.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: So AI did that.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about, and that's stealing, you know, every one of those consumers gonna have to pay a couple hundred dollars more if they want to go to the US Open.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody wants to go to the US Open.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's this amazing tennis tournament right here in New York.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a perfect example of how AI is changing consumer protection.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: Here you have a story where the state of New York passed a bipartisan law to crack down on these ticket brokers with their ticket bots.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: But because of AI, they're too good to crack down on, and they're still doing it.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: How about that, Katherine Choppy?
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you gotta come back.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_02: We got more to talk about.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, if anytime.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_00: We're always available.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_02: But but I do think I do want to really highlight what you said earlier is a lot of these essential tips for preventing identity theft, um, regardless of AI and everything else, it really comes down to slowing down, seeing who's actually texting you, seeing who's actually calling you, seeing what website you actually entered, and just double checking everything and calming down and not being in a rush.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_02: And I will tell you, I know I I mentioned that I've been a victim of identity theft all the times that I were.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_02: I was rushing.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_02: I had to do something else, and I there you have it.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_02: It is what it is.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_02: One time there was actually a skim on an ATM machine, but that's a whole other story.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but but it it has happened.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_02: It does happen because we're rushing.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: And let's go back to what we talked about earlier.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's organized crime.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: They are highly trained, they're really good at this, and one of the things they train them in is how to rush the person on the other end of the phone.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's part of the training.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: They're trying to rush you to make a quick, bad decision, which is why slowing down when you get these calls.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let me just add one thing if I can.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: My one of my main pieces of advice when I go around and speak around the county about consumer protection is don't answer the phone anymore if it's not somebody in your context.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: That way you can cut out a lot of these unsolicited calls.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_00: Let it go to voicemail.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: So um, don't put yourself in a situation where you have to slow down and be careful.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just answer the phone if it's somebody in your context.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: I believe that'll help you a lot in protecting yourself from identity theft.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's hard to do.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_02: So we're we're not answering the phone, we're slowing down.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_02: We're thinking about what we're doing before we do it.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_02: And um, we're gonna try to prevent this from happening.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's why we do things like 10 essential tips to prevent identity theft, but there are ways you can protect yourself.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said before, sometimes law enforcement can't really help you if you get ripped off because it's coming from all over the world.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's why you have to protect yourself.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's why you have to take preventative action to make sure you're not a victim of identity theft.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for being with us today.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_02: For more information, consumer.westchestercounty ny.gov and Jimmy's on him.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's really great to chat with you.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: Happy to be here.