The Farmington Family Crisis Center held a free seminar this week to help educate people on the tactics used by scammers.

The target audience was primarily retired citizens and those unfamiliar with the threats of technology.

The objective of the seminar was to educate the elderly on what scammers are looking for and how to protect themselves against them, a KOB 4 report said.

“The older adult population is the fastest growing population in the United States, we wanted to continue to protect older adults in our community to ensure they have a high quality of life, and they have a life that is safe and protect them by education and awareness,” Aaron Newman, the center’s senior program coordinator, told KOB 4.

The seminar offered an example of how scammers used a medical condition to extort money from one of the victims that attended the seminar. Victims also were fooled by fake emails that solicited purchases for various items.

“They are not aware they can get an email that looks like it’s from an online source but there is just something different about it that makes it not an official purchase,” Newman told KOB 4.

Being vigilant over your personal finances and verifying online transactions are keys to protecting your identity and money.

“Know what you’re purchasing who you are purchasing it from and review your financial statements so you can be aware of it,” Newman said. “You are the one that knows best on what you’re purchasing and if it’s too good to be true it probably is."