Suffolk DA announces fraud unit to protect residents from scams

A coalition of municipal, county, state, and federal agencies has come together with private partners to form the Suffolk County Fraud Fighters, a new initiative announced Sunday by the Suffolk district attorney’s office that is intended to educate residents across the county about how to protect themselves from scams.

The program was launched in response to recent scams perpetrated on Suffolk County residents, including a telephone scam in which callers claimed to be representatives of District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office and a Bitcoin scam that conned an elderly woman in Winthrop out of $35,000, according to a statement from Hayden’s office.

“We and our Fraud Fighters partners are committed to giving older adults and all other community members the information and awareness necessary to spot a scam before they fall victim to it,” Hayden said in the statement. “The people that conceive and execute these scams are cunning, convincing, and ruthless.”

The coalition’s first public presentation is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Kroc Center at 650 Dudley St. in Roxbury. The program will feature multiple speakers from participating agencies who will help residents of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop learn how to keep themselves and their money safe, Hayden’s office said.

Several divisions of Hayden’s office are participating in the program, including the Civil Rights/High-Risk Victims Unit, the Community Engagement Unit, and the Special Prosecutions Unit, as well as police departments in Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop; the Boston Housing Authority; and the US Secret Service.

Other participating organizations include Central Boston Elder Services, Hebrew SeniorLife, the Vine Street Community Center, Metro Credit Union, and Mystic Valley Elder Services.

“We’re going to reach as many people as possible as often as possible because that’s exactly what the con artists are doing,” Hayden said. “They’re doing it by every means available, including emails, telephone calls, texts, physical contact, and urgent, phony pop-up messages on computers. Our goal is to update our presentation whenever they update their scams.”