Dozens of ‘Savvy’ Seniors Show up for Elder Fraud Presentation

CSB's Gorecki Turns to Education for Elder fraud Prevention

MOUNT PLEASANT - Mount Pleasant's James and Bonnie Eastman saved their entire lives for retirement.

"We've all worked hard," Bonnie Eastman said. "I was a teacher. My husband ran a business. You'd surely hate to see your money go to some scammer."

Local seniors gathered at the Racine Family YMCA for Savvy Senior Solutions. It's a program hosted by Assisted Living Locators and presented on Monday by Community State Bank's Sherri Gorecki.

Seniors learned about the many types of financial scams and how to prevent becoming a victim.

Elder financial abuse cost United States senior citizens $36.5 billion dollars each year. Shockingly, only one in 44 senior citizens report it.

"The key message I was trying to delver today is it sort of starts with you," said Sherri Gorecki, Community State Bank BSA Officer. "By the time you get to the bank, sadly you have frequently already lost money. So it's my goal to sort of educate people before they get to the point to where they've already sent money or they're already getting involved in these scams."

Gorecki's important message was well received and appreciated.

"It's nice to know that there's people that do care and willing to put out information," Racine resident Patti Proeber said. "It takes extra steps. You know, It's just nice. It's nice to know there's people who care."

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