[Decatur, GA] Seniors from across the county are invited to join DeKalb County public safety officials, local lawmakers and various service providers for Scam Jam 2012. The scheduled event will take place on Thursday, June 14, at 10 a.m. in the Manuel Maloof Auditorium, located at 1300 Commerce Drive in Decatur.

Presenters include District Attorney Robert James, Sheriff Thomas Brown, Solicitor-General Sherry Boston, State Senator Gloria Butler, City of Lithonia’s Mayor Deborah Jackson, DeKalb County Police Department and Fire & Rescue, and Dunwoody Police Department.

Scam Jam 2012, hosted by the DeKalb County Triad, is an event to educate local seniors about various scams and tactics used by criminals to take advantage of seniors The elected officials as well as other presenters will provide valuable information on how seniors can protect themselves from becoming victims of exploitation.

“We see so many cases of our elders being taken advantage of through various tactics,” said District Attorney James. “There are individuals who actively prey on our most vulnerable citizens. It is our jobs as first responders and law enforcement agencies to come together to educate the community on current criminal trends and potential scams to avoid.”

Additional participating organizations include: AARP- Lithonia Chapter, Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Cares, Citizens Trust Bank, State Triad of Georgia and Social Security Administration.

“I am committed to combating crimes that target our seniors and actively working with the community to educate and empower them against various schemes,” said Sheriff Thomas Brown.

The DeKalb County TRIAD presents crime prevention programs to reduce senior crime victimization, increases awareness of public safety concerns through education and community involvement, and recruits and trains senior volunteers to work as law enforcement partners.

Solicitor-General Boston said, “Far too often, our senior citizens don’t speak up about their troubles. They may even think some ‘bad help’ is better than no help at all. We hope to give vulnerable seniors the tools they need to protect themselves and their friends from financial, physical and emotional abuse or harm so that they’ll realize ‘bad help’ isn’t an option and ‘good help’ is possible.”

###