Internet Crime, Safety Big Topics at Annual Expo for Seniors

ST. CLOUD -- Hundreds of central Minnesotans ages 55 and up packed the River's Edge Convention Center this weekend. The 17th annual Expo for Seniors was held Saturday morning from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

Started in 2003, the expo is Central Minnesota’s largest event offering products and services for older adults.

The free event featured breakfast, health screenings, and over 100 vendors providing information on health care, fitness, safety, finance and more.

This year’s keynote speaker, FBI Cyber Division Unit Chief Donna Gregory, talked about internet scams and the importance of online safety.

Kevin Smith is the Public Affairs Officer for the FBI’s Minneapolis Division. He says they are trying to get the word out about their Internet Crime Complaint Center.

We really want to get the word out to people in St. Cloud and central Minnesota that if you feel that you've been victimized by suspected internet crime that we have a one-stop-shop where you can report that to our internet crime complaint center.

IC3 was developed back in 2000 and has received an average of 300,000 complaints per year for the last five years. Smith says many online scammers try to target seniors specifically.

There's multitudes and a lot of ways that scammers are out there to try to defraud the general public -  especially seniors. The more that we can get the word out about how people can defend themselves and be safe online against these scammers, the better.

Smith says if you believe you have been a victim of an internet crime, you should contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.