Non-School Presentations

The holiday season brings joy, celebration, and giving—but it also brings heightened risks. Scammers, fraudsters, and thieves often take advantage of this busy time of year to target unsuspecting victims. In this presentation, participants will learn how to recognize common holiday scams, practice safe in-store and online shopping, and take practical steps to enhance home security.

AUDIENCE: Adult consumers of any age
DURATION: 45 mins

Pennsylvanians have a proud history of military service. Today, over 320,000 U.S. veterans call Pennsylvania home, and there are over 2,200 organizations that serve veterans all across our Commonwealth. Scammers and identity thieves target veterans because of the additional government benefits they receive. They often appeal to vets’ patriotism or exploit elements of a military lifestyle to steal their hard-earned benefits. This presentation identifies the top 10 scams targeting veterans and provides information on how to protect yourself and your family from being victimized by them.

While many businesses treat customers fairly, some use deceptive tactics to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. This workshop empowers participants to recognize and avoid common sales scams, such as bait-and-switch tactics, misleading “going-out-of-business” promotions, and continuous sales that disguise regular prices as discounts. Attendees will also learn key precautions to take when entering contracts for goods and services, including the risks associated with rent-to-own agreements.

AUDIENCE: Adult consumers of any age
DURATION: 30 mins

Losing a loved one is one of life’s most difficult experiences—and sadly, it’s also a time when scammers may try to take advantage of grief and vulnerability. This workshop sheds light on common funeral fraud and bereavement scams, from overpriced or unnecessary services to identity theft of the deceased. Participants will learn how to recognize red flags, protect themselves during this emotional time, and make informed decisions when navigating end-of-life arrangements.

AUDIENCE: Individuals planning funerals or in any stage of the bereavement process
DURATION: 1 hour

Your home is your most important financial investment. It’s not just where you live; it’s a crucial investment in your future. When it’s time to perform repairs or build that addition, you deserve to know that the people and businesses doing the work are trustworthy. This presentation provides consumers with information to keep in mind before hiring a home improvement contract, what rights consumers have, and how to report contractor fraud.

This program educates consumers on some “Dos & Don’ts” of ID theft. Each year, more than 10 million Americans have their personal information — including name, social security number, bank account, or credit card number — stolen. This presentation is designed to raise awareness of identity theft tactics, steps to take to protect your identity and personal information, and information on reporting identity theft.

Scammers and fraudsters target Pennsylvanians every day in an effort to gain access to our money or personal information. They target our emotions in hopes that we will let our guard down and believe the scams they are perpetrating. From robocalls to social media messages, texts to emails, Pennsylvanians must be on the lookout for these “too good to be true” hoaxes. This presentation will break down the top 10 scams currently being used in PA.

As more and more Americans turn to dating websites and applications to find romance, scammers and identity thieves have increasingly turned their eyes to these platforms as a way to find new victims. The scammer creates a fake profile and works quickly to gain their target’s affection and trust. Once they do this, they use this false relationship to steal funds, information or both from their victim. This presentation explains how this scam works, identifies tactics the scammers use and provides information on how to protect yourself from being victimized by a sweetheart swindle, a/k/a romance scam.

The Senior Scam Prevention educates older Pennsylvanians and their families throughout the Commonwealth on crime prevention. Our goal is to make Pennsylvania’s older population aware of the threat of fraud to the elder community, teach them how to avoid being victimized; and to make sure they know who they should call when they are concerned about their safety and well-being.

Scammers and fraudsters target Pennsylvanians every day in an effort to gain access to our money or personal information. They target our emotions in hopes that we will let our guard down and believe the scams they are perpetrating. From robocalls to social media messages, texts to emails, Pennsylvanians must be on the lookout for these “too good to be true” hoaxes. This presentation will break down the top 10 scams currently being used in PA.

As the elderly and disabled become more dependent on others for their care, it becomes increasingly important for individuals who accept the position of trust as their caretakers to be held accountable for neglecting and endangering those in their care. This presentation defines and identifies indicators of neglect, endangerment and abuse and provides information on how and where to report suspected caregiver neglect, endangerment and abuse.

Bullying doesn’t stop at any age. As we grow older, some don’t always “grow up.” This interactive program is designed to educate individuals on senior bullying and includes: types of bullying, why people bully, and what an individual can do to help themselves or others in a bullying situation. This program will help any individual that is involved in a bullying situation to find the confidence within them to report the problem. This program will also help caregivers recognize bullying issues in the senior population.

As prescription drug prices continue to rise, many consumers are turning to online pharmacies as a way to find less expensive options. Others use online pharmacies for the convenience of home delivery or due to privacy concerns. But according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 97% of online pharmacies are fake. This presentation provides consumers with information about the risks of using fake online pharmacies, and identifies warning signs to spot the sites that may be unsafe to use.

Pennsylvania continues to fight a public health and public safety battle against the heroin and opioid epidemic. Although the recent Pandemic shifted focus away from the Opioid Crisis, we lost over 5,100 Pennsylvanians in 2020 from heroin and opioid overdoses – that’s 14 Pennsylvanians every day! This presentation will discuss what Opiates are, why citizens are at risk, proper storage and disposal of Opioids, and explaining what Narcan is. This presentation also discusses what the Commonwealth is doing regarding the Opioid crisis.