L.A. to offer free training seminars to protect seniors from cyber scams

City Attorney Mike Feuer speaks in downtown L.A. about the senior cyber safety campaign.

Free training seminars to raise awareness of cyber scams will be opened for seniors in Los Angeles from June 13 through mid-July.

Launched by City Attorney Mike Feuer, the campaign aims to educate seniors with “the tools to thwart scam artists, surf the web safely and feel empowered to use cyber technology without fear.”

The Take Off Your Rose Colored Glasses: Things Are Not Always What They Seem To Be campaign will be accompanied by brochures, posters and video messages, as well as an Elder Abuse Prevention Symposium in 2015, the Office of the City Attorney said.

During a press conference held in front of Angelus Plaza Thursday, Feuer said the number of seniors who use smartphones and the Internet has risen but that they lack the awareness of the younger generation, especially when it comes to financial security and personal identity.

The Office said about 400,000 L.A. residents are over the age of 65.

Safety tips issued by the Office included not giving out credit card, social security and bank account numbers over the phone or Internet unless the recipient is reputable, using less obvious passwords and recognizing suspicious emails.

Among the citywide seminars to be held in the next few weeks, two — June 18 at St. Barnabas Senior Center at 10 a.m. and June 24 at Angelus Plaza at 10 a.m. — will be available in Korean.