On Monday June 24th, KTVU Channel 2 news reached out to Senior Advocacy Services about a story highlighting Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month.
Coincidentally, not long before the TV request, the SAS Elder Justice Coordinator, Donata Mikulik, met a community member Ezra Gardener Rust who had fallen victim to a phone scam that cost him approximately $32,000.
As a retired professor, Ezra thought he would have outsmarted the scammers, but their tactics were so scary he felt he couldn’t hang up the phone. Donata helped connect Ezra to the news reporter and led to our Sonoma County elder abuse awareness work being highlighted on a Bay Area news channel.
After his experience Ezra is eager to tell his story as far and wide as he can, in hopes that could help someone else from falling victim. If you know any community groups interested in a presentation on Frauds and Scams, or have another idea about spreading the message of elder abuse prevention, reach out to Donata Mikulik, Elder Justice Coordinator at donatam@sasnb.org.
Check out the news story for June 2019: http://www.ktvu.com/news/sonoma-county-had-6-000-reported-elder-abuse-cases-last-year-feds-say-that-crime-is-on-the-rise
