Experts discussed hurricane preparedness, fire safety, fraud prevention, and financial education
Hillsborough County Aging Services hosted a Senior Safety Summit, offering seniors professional tips on how to remain protected on a variety of topics.
More than 60 seniors attended the summit at the Town 'N Country Senior Center, 7606 Paula Drive Tampa, FL 33615, where they learned about hurricane preparedness, fire safety, fraud prevention, and financial education. The summit was held in June in recognition of National Safety Month.
Hillsborough County Office of Emergency Management spoke about the importance of hurricane preparedness now and not waiting until officials announce a hurricane heading towards the area. The keys are to make a plan now and know your evacuation zone Residents who require special needs disaster assistance can pre-register for sheltering and evacuation assistance at HCFL.gov/StaySafe.
Hillsborough County has created an annual Disaster Planning Guide to help residents take steps to prepare. In addition, seniors are encouraged to sign up for HCFL Alert to get immediate information on emergency alerts, including hurricane evacuations, flood warnings, severe weather alerts, major road closures, and county events. Residents who prefer to receive the messages in Spanish can sign up at HCFL.Gov/Alerta.
At the Senior Safety Summit, seniors also learned about fire safety. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue staff demonstrated the use of emergency fire blankets as an alternative to fire extinguishers.
Along with hurricane and fire preparedness, participants learned about fraud safety, including phone scams. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reminded seniors to be aware of phone scams seeking money from seniors and to be aware of emerging scam tactics with the growing use of artificial intelligence. These schemes target vulnerable seniors, increasing the importance of educating seniors and providing resources for them to recognize these scams.
And a Suncoast Credit Union representative spoke about financial education and maintaining a budget on a fixed income. Suncoast Credit Union also highlighted how cybercriminals try to scam people by using artificial intelligence to recreate one's likeness and image. They reminded seniors in attendance that cybercriminals are always trying new ways to scam innocent people using artificial intelligence.
A key component to the Senior Safety Summit is for seniors to hear the presentations with their peers, which helps them to engage in the topic and learn from each other by discussing shared experiences.
Hillsborough County Aging Services offers a number of programs and activities throughout the year for its clients. To learn more, visit HCFL.Gov/Aging or call (813) 272-5250.