While identity theft is nothing new, the pandemic has magnified many cybersecurity issues. If you’re like me, you’ve been doing more online ordering and providing additional information on the web to facilitate home deliveries and curbside pickups. 

This heightened information sharing has led to more information gathering … and not just by the companies we chose to do business with. Cybercriminals are also on the hunt for our personal information — and many have increasingly been using it to their benefit over the last couple of years. 

As we highlighted in 12 of the Dirtiest Tax Scams & Schemes from the IRS, pandemic scams were on the rise over the last year. To combat them, we also let you know about Card Sharks and how you can keep yourself safe from credit card fraud. And we covered some identity protection basics in Modern Financial Planning: Personal Data Security. 

But we’re taking it a step further with next week’s client benefit webinar. In fact, we’ve invited an award-winning presenter to help you take your cybersecurity savvy up a notch.

Staying Ahead of Identity Thieves and Scam Artists: Learn from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Register for our Nov. 18 webinar and learn how you can protect yourself from cybercriminals! Guests are welcome, so we encourage you to extend an invitation to others.

Time: 4 p.m. (mtn)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 18
Location: via Zoom

About Our Presenter, Hazel Heckers

Hazel Heckers is the victim assistance coordinator with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. In addition to educating the public and providing professional training, she works with a team specializing in serving victims of identity theft and fraud. Hazel also serves co-victims of cold case homicides and missing persons cases, providing support systems for families of missing persons.

“Hazel worked to establish the first 24 Hour ID Theft and Fraud Hotline in the nation and was in the forefront in bringing the issues of Medical ID Theft, Child ID Theft, Family Violence and ID Theft, and Disaster Response Related ID Theft and Fraud to light. She is considered a national expert in ID Theft, Fraud, related Cyber Crimes and Romance Scams.”

Hazel was nationally recognized in 2014 as the recipient of the U.S. Department of Justice National Crime Victim Service Award. She was also honored as Woman of the Year from Domestic Violence Initiatives.

About Our Webinar

In her presentation, Hazel will update you on the ever-evolving tactics that scammers and identity thieves use to steal your information, money, identity, and more. And she’ll share red flags that could indicate that a cybercriminal is after you. When you’re aware of the tricks these predators use, you can take action and avoid falling into their traps.

Hazel will also be hosting a question-and-answer session after her presentation so you can ask your most pressing questions. As moderators, your FPFoCo team will do our best to keep your queries anonymous so you can ask both hypothetical and real-world questions — including those you might be dealing with right now.

We hope you’ll join us at 4 p.m. next Thursday, Nov. 18. Register today, and get ready to stay ahead of the identity thieves and scam artists!