An interesting informative talk was attended by the beneficiaries of the “Care for the Third Age IV” programme.
Specifically, on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at the offices of the organization and in cooperation with the Public Security of Drama, the fifty beneficiaries of the program had the opportunity to attend an informative speech on “Phone scams and ways to deal with the phenomenon”. The speech was delivered by officers of the Public Security of Drama, Police Officer B’ Karamichalis George, Lieutenant A’ Dimitriou Anastasios and Lieutenant B’ Doldouras Konstantinos. The police officers stressed that the elderly are the main target group for telephone frauds. They analysed cases of fraud from their recent cases and gave specific instructions on how to deal with these cases. Their instructions were clear. In particular, they underlined that :

1. If we see an unknown number, we either don’t pick it up or remain cautious.
2. If we hear someone crying as soon as we answer the phone, we hang up immediately. If someone says they are a doctor and are asking for money for an operation, we hang up immediately. If they say that someone close to us has been hurt, we hang up immediately.
3. We call the person they referred to, to see if they are okay so we can stay calm.
4. Immediately after we call 100 (police emergency number).
   In all cases, the officers pointed out, we remain calm and composed. They don’t know our personal information, they are attacking our emotions and trying to create panic. The beneficiaries then testified to their own experiences and discussed many different scenarios. Finally, they received their vouchers in order to buy essentials.
   The “Care for the Elderly IV” project involves the monthly provision of vouchers to buy food and basic necessities for elderly people over sixty years of age and the organisation of talks in the context of the distribution on topics related to the elderly. It is financed entirely by the TIMA Public Benefit Foundation.