Page 12 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • October 9, 2013 Area Protecting seniors: Safeguarding identity & finances Fraud against seniors is on the rise. The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants is making an effort to help seniors understand the types of fraud that exist and the steps they can take to prevent fraud. While there are many different types of fraud, three types are occurring more fre- quently: Most people don’t know their identity has been stolen until unexplained charges appear on credit cards or their bank accounts have been emptied. With the last four digits of a Social Security number, a scammer can open a new credit card account, apply for loans, access bank accounts, and ille- gally obtain professional licenses, driver’s licenses, and birth certificates. Criminals obtain personal information by stealing mail, going through trash, calling on the phone, or sending a form in the mail asking for personal information, sending e-mails that link to a website (known as phishing), or swiping credit cards. • Never give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet. • Shred all financial documents, bank statements, sensitive mail, credit card applications, and documents containing any type of personal information. • Keep a close eye on credit cards at stores or restaurants. Destroy old or unused cards. • Don’t let anyone copy your driver’s license. • Use a locked mailbox or a post office box. Have any checks delivered to a bank or post office box instead of a home address. • Take mail to the post office instead of leaving it for the mail carrier to collect. In health care fraud, a scammer mis- uses a medical card, fabricates treatment, and gets paid for it. Another type of health care fraud involves finding a senior in need of medical supplies, obtaining his or her Medicare card number, and using it to make claims or to receive health care ser- vices or equipment. • Never sign blank insurance claim forms. • Never give blanket authorization to a medical provider to bill for services. • Ask medical providers what they will charge, and get clarification on out-of- pocket expenses. • Carefully review benefits statements from insurers. Call insurers or providers with any questions or if a statement does not seem correct. • Do not do business with door-to-door or telephone salespeople who say their medical services or equipment are free. • Give insurance/Medicare identifica- tion only to those who have provided medi- cal services. • Keep accurate records of all health care appointments. • Review statements received from CMS (the Medicare administrator) to make sure all payments it made were for bona fide medical expenses incurred on your behalf. Report any discrepancies to CMS. There are several widely-used finan- cial scams. Fraudsters can pretend to be a grandchild who needs money, offer bogus insurance policies or investments, offer home improvements that are never com- pleted, or collect for nonexistent charities. Fraud can occur over the phone, at the front door, at the mall, or online. • Don’t buy from unfamiliar compa- nies. • Don’t be pressured into buying some- thing. • Get all information in writing, whether it’s an investment, a charity, or a prod- uct. Ask for contact information. Give the information to a trustworthy person for a second opinion. • Do some research. Contact the Better Business Bureau, local consumer pro- tection agency, state attorney general, or National Fraud Information Center before doing business with any unfamiliar compa- nies or organizations. • Don’t ever fall for the “free prize” line that many scammers use. If a caller says the payment is for taxes, he or she is violating federal law. • Don’t commit to any investments before reviewing the information with a trusted friend, family member, or financial advisor. • Never send money or give out personal information, such as credit card numbers and expiration dates, bank account num- bers, dates of birth, or Social Security num- bers, to strangers. • When using an ATM, take care to ensure there is no one nearby trying to access your PIN and “skim” your account. Unfortunately, there are as many dif- ferent scams as there are scammers. While these categories are on the rise, seniors should be vigilant at all times when being offered a deal that “won’t last” or requires them to “act now.” Don’t be afraid to hang up the phone, close the front door, or turn away from anyone, for any reason. Protecting yourself or a loved one against financial fraud is serious business. A CPA can help seniors analyze their cur- rent financial situation and determine the best course of action for the future. To locate a highly qualified professional, visit findacpa.org, the NJSCPA’s free, online Find-A-CPA service. For more information about various per- sonal financial matters, visit the NJSCPA’s public service website at MoneyMattersNJ. com. Visitors to that website may subscribe to Your Money Matters, the NJSCPA’s free, monthly e-mail newsletter, which provides valuable personal financial planning advice throughout the year. Lake Avenue bridge (continued from page 9) leaves to their leaf dump on Lakeview Drive. In the fall of 2012 the Village of Ridgewood DPW was using Godwin Avenue and Goffle Road, which resulted in complaints of leaves flying off the trucks onto Midland Park roads, Van Vliet said. He added that access to Kuiken Lumber and the A&P, both of which see a heavy flow of customers during morning and eve- ning rush hours, should also be easier. Some last-minute details remain to be done. The road needs to be striped. The southeast entrance to the A&P, which received a new concrete apron, will not be accessible to motorists for another week, and landscaping and cleanup still need to be completed. In addition, the Kuiken Bros. parking lot, used as a construction site, will have to be repaved. The $1.3 million project was funded with moneys from the NJ Department of Transportation. Started two years ago, work included the removal of the old bridge and the realignment of the replacement struc- ture to prevent occasional flooding. There was once a culvert downstream and a pond, for which Lake Avenue is named. The previous brick and steel arch struc- ture was built in 1900 and was undersized in terms of the weight of the vehicles it could accommodate. Access was limited to 17 ton, three axle box trucks, and 35 ton five axle trucks. Those limits will now be 25 tons and 40 tons, respectively. Two con- crete sections were added in 1931, when a widening project also took place. In the 1990s, the A&P added a pedestrian bridge in the area to provide access to the super- market’s parking lot.