AARP taught seniors how to say they weren't interested and to get off the phone quickly. Fraudulent telemarketers buy and sell lists of names and telephone numbers of people who have been swindled in the past and are likely to fall prey to revictimization. The lists may come from catalog sales, magazine subscriptions, warranty forms, registration for prizes, or Internet transactions. To help prevent revictimization, AARP obtains these lists from police and works with them and other enforcement officials to set up reverse boiler rooms. Armed with a trained group of volunteers, phone calls are made to deliver fraud prevention messages.
Volunteers warn seniors that they have been targeted for recurring con games.
AARP gets telecommunications companies to donate long-distance service and works with the States Attorneys General, the National Sherrifs' Association, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on reverse boiler rooms. Send a letter to the editor . Catalyst strives to spur crime prevention practitioners and activists to action, connect them with other like-minded, proactive organizations in the field, and prove prevention's effectiveness by reporting on tested and replicable strategies, current trends and issues, new research and resources.