FTC expert to lead telephone town hall

Charles Harwood, Northwest regional director of the Federal Trade Commission, will speak at 11 a.m. Thursday to Idahoans in a telephone town hall.

Harwood will address ongoing trends in fraud and identity theft and discuss how to avoid becoming the next victim of a costly scam.

The call will be moderated by AARP Idaho state director Lupe Wissel.

“Sophisticated criminal organizations from foreign countries know how to separate consumers from their hard-earned money and they are relentless in their pursuit,” Wissel said. “The Federal Trade Commission and our guest Chuck Harwood are experts at identifying these groups, learning their tactics, and teaching people how to protect themselves. This will be an interesting conversation with a regional and global perspective into the business of professional con artists.”

Harwood has been director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Northwest Regional Office for roughly 30 years. He promotes privacy and information security through policy development and education.

The Federal Trade Commission’s mission is to protect the public from deceptive or unfair business practices and from unfair methods of competition through law enforcement, advocacy, research and education.

The statewide town hall is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday. Participants can join by dialing toll-free 866-767-0637 or listen to the live stream live on the AARP Idaho Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AARPIdaho.