West Valley City police, senior-center staff outline how seniors can avoid gift-card and investment scams

Chief Colleen Jacobs convened a virtual West Valley City community meeting to warn residents about scams that target older adults and to outline steps families and community organizations can take to reduce risk.

The session featured detectives from the police department's property crimes unit, Cindy Waters, director of the Harmon Senior Recreation Center, and video testimony from seniors who said they were pressured to withdraw cash and buy gift cards. "We're here to help you and address any problems you may have," Chief Colleen Jacobs told viewers at the start of the broadcast.

Detectives said common red flags include requests to pay with gift cards, tactics that keep victims on the phone and create a false sense of urgency, and instructions to avoid contacting family or friends. "If someone's trying to get you to pay them with gift cards, it is almost always a scam,"…