A Special Message For Florida's Senior Citizens:
On the Safeguard Our Seniors Task Force web site (click on the
logo to visit the site), it is pointed out that "every day, hundreds
of Floridians fall victim to financial fraud. Many of these victims
are trusting seniors who were misled into making risky or inappropriate
financial investments by unscrupulous agents and scam artists, including
annuities and reverse mortgages."
In cooperation with Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink's Safeguard
Our Seniors Task Force, we encourage you to do your part to make
it more difficult for predators to take advantage of you. You can
do this by learning all you can about how to protect yourself, thereby
reducing your vulnerability. The more knowledge you have about these
scams and how they are perpetrated, the less likely it is that you
will become a victim.
To help you begin the process of locating resources intended
to help educate you on these issues, and perhaps other issues which
will likely be of interest to you, we provide the links below.
We'd like to suggest that you begin with the Florida Department
of Financial Services (DFS), Division of Consumer Services:
I call your attention to the Consumer Guides, where you can print
out the DFS brochures discussing many of your insurance questions.
The Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) provides information
about banking and financial-related matters. They offer consumer
resources to assist you:
Next, there's the Office of Insurance Regulation:
If you click on the "Consumers" tab at the top of the page, you
will see a list of topics covered. Just click on the topic you're
interested in for further details.
And finally, below are other internet sites we've identified
that will allow you to arm yourselves against victimization:
Your best defense?
A GOOD OFFENSE!
We wanted to show you some real examples of scams that have been
reported right here in our own back yards. Please take a moment
to look over these examples: This
Really Happened!
Remember -- if you are considering an insurance, annuity or investment
opportunity, the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division
of Consumer Services, is available to help. If you have any questions
or concerns, please call a specialist today. The toll free number
to call in Florida is 1-877-693-5236. If you're calling from outside
Florida, please dial (850)413-3030.
Sincerely,
Sean Michael Shaw, Esquire
Insurance Consumer Advocate
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