Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback is inviting residents to a pancake breakfast and seniors online safety session on Friday, April 10, at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prince Albert.
The event begins with a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Legion, 133 8th Street East. A seniors-focused information session will follow, beginning at 10:30 a.m. with a fraud prevention presentation by Affinity Credit Union. A second presentation on online and internet safety by Sgt. Derek Simonson of the Prince Albert Police Service is scheduled for 11 a.m.
Hoback said the event is meant to help seniors protect themselves from internet scams and fraudsters.
“It’s just a chance to for seniors to get an understanding of what types of threats could be facing them online, and what they can do to prevent any type of scams or threats against them” Hoback said.
He said the breakfast and presentations bring together community outreach and public education. Donations collected during the breakfast will go to the Salvation Army.
“We’re aware of what happened around Christmas time at the Salvation Army burning down, so we’re just looking to help them out,” Hoback said. “It’s a chance to serve the constituents.”
Randy added concerns about scams and online fraud have been coming up often in conversations with seniors, which helped shape the event.
“We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries about different types of scams and things going on online,” he said. “We thought we’d bring in two great partners to provide the latest and greatest, up to date information on what types of scams are going on and how to prevent being a victim of those scams.”
Hoback said scammers continue to shift tactics, but many people are already familiar with some of the common ones, including fake emergency calls involving relatives or pop-up messages telling people to call a number and pay to remove a virus form their computer.
He said the April 10 event is also expected to bet the first in a broader effort to bring similar sessions to other communities across the riding later this year.
“This is the first one,” Hoback said. “We plan to do more in the coming weeks or months ahead here this year in the different communities, to just inform seniors of what types of scams are out there and making sure they can do everything possible to protect themselves from these types of scammers.”
The breakfast is open to everyone, while the presentations are geared toward seniors. Hoback said attendance is limited to 120 people, and registration is required.
People can register by calling 306-953-8622 or online at MPRandyHoback.ca/breakfast. Hoback said the breakfast itself is free, with donations to the Salvation Army encouraged.
“It can be anything from 10 cents to $1,000 can be anything from 10 cents to $1,000 whatever a person wants to give. It’s going to a good cause. And that is the Salvation Army,” he said.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
