Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting you. This week, here's Ryan Gorman. Thanks so much for joining us here on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm Ryan Gorman, and we have a few very
important conversations lined up for you. In a moment, we'll talk to the national Commander of the Salvation Army about the work they're doing with their Red Kettle campaign this holiday season and the need across the country which remains at unfortunately high levels. But right now, to get things started, I'm joined by Kathy Stokes, AARP's director of fraud Prevention Programs, to discuss scams to watch out for during the holidays. Kathy, thank you so much for coming on the
show. And before we get to some of the specific types of scams everyone needs to be aware of, can you begin by giving us a sense of how significant this problem has become. Gosh, I'm so glad that you asked
that, Ryan, because we're actually in a crisis with fraud. You know, you look at the data on just what we know because it's super underreported losses reported last year, we're nine billion dollars with a bow and we're certainly going to see more next year, and a lot of the fraud that we see throughout the year, some elements of those really ramp up around the holidays. So it's important to understand what's out there and how to protect yourself.
Have you seen those who are behind these fraudulent schemes and these scams? Have you seen them grow in their cleverness and how they're able to trick Americans into going along with whatever it is they're trying to do. Well, I think I'd swap out clever for diabolical. There you go, Yeah, better word, you're right now, that works. Yeah, we'll see Ryan. What we're seeing is more and more the fraud industry, if you will, is
run by transnational organized crime, so they can do everything at scale. The technology keeps getting better and better and cheaper. And whereas maybe ten or fifteen years ago we were getting mail and email and the phone calls, now we
have so much more coming from so many different places. Social media and text messaging has really really grown in terms of what the fraud is that's happening out there, and you know, they're just at scale, and we're fighting a battle where we're trying to say, let's make sure consumers know how to protect themselves, when really that's only part of the solution. You know, it's
every step of the way to around the holidays. It's the potential purchasing of what you think is a gift for someone, to the sending of that gift to someone, to receiving something that's not what it was meant to be. So there are a number different layers to the fraud and scams correct from the start where you see an online ad, maybe you're on social media and you see like the best possible gift for Dad, and like, awesome, I'm going to purchase that, and it never comes, or what comes is actually
inferior to what they were saying it was going to be. Or then you have something and you're going to ship it off to mom and you know, somebody steals it from her front porch, or you know, we're all shipping and receiving this time of year, the holidays, by and large, and we've seen a doubling of people who've experienced getting a text from FedEx or from ups it's entirely fake. Seeing there's a problem with with what we're trying to
ship. Click here, you end up going to, you know, a copycat page, and quite often it's downloading software, malicious software under your device to steal your credentials and try to hack into all of your accounts. And it seems to me that form of fraud, that particular scam right around this time of the year, when you have so many people who are sending so many different things to different places, you know, you can just click on
that without thinking. You know that you had purchased different things and that you're trying to send different gifts, and you don't even really pay attention. You're like, oh, no, what now, and you click and there it is. Yeah, and you know that's the thing if you know about it. So we're talking about it now. The person who just walks away and checks her text and goes, oh wait, there's a shipping from fedec,
she'll know, you know. And so it's really important, Like if we talk about it, if there's more in the media about it, if we have conversations, we're essentially inoculating ourselves. There are data that suggests if you know about a specific scam, like the fake text from feeds, you're eighty percent less likely to click on that link. Anyway, so we really do have to do a lot more talking about it. I'm Ryan Gorman, joined
by arp's director of Fraud Prevention Programs, Kathy Stokes. So let's get into some of the other things that holiday shoppers should be aware of before purchasing gifts this year. Yeah. Well, while you know, one of the most favorite gifts to give and receive is the gift card. We all love them, I know I do, but our survey shows that twenty seven percent of us have either given or received a gift card that ended up not having any
balance on it when they went to use it. Now, so that could be an error at the cash register, or it could be oh, I already used it and I didn't toss it. But a lot of it has to be linked to fraud because we know that low tech criminals will send people into stores, have them take cards off the racks, manipulate them so that they can access the you know, the credentialing on the back, so that when that card gets scanned, they're pinged and they know the card is now
active and they drain the funds just like that. And even more concerning is they have electronic means of doing that. You don't have to step in the store. They have bots that can go and they can search for gift cards that have balances on them that are online and drain them that way. And I want to ask you about online shopping, social media ads that's become more and more a part of people's purchasing habits. Is it safe to buy things
online? Or if you click on those social media ads and it takes you somewhere to purchase something, is that safe? Well? Not. According to our survey, we have thirty eight percent of people who have experienced fraud doing just that. I think really the safest way to shop online is to go with big companies that you trust, even if it's small companies and you've done business with them before. You know, if you do, like say you
do a lot with Etsy, go to etsy dot com. Don't click on a link from your email or your dext type it in E T S Y dot com because if you down't, those links can take you to a site that looks exactly like where you think you are, and you're just you know, open to them stealing at least credit card information, which you have some protections for, but you know, downloading software and having your credential stolen whole another ballgame. People are using these apps like venmo Zell, cash app,
more and more to pay for items that could be really convenient. Are those safe? Well, the way they have come to market, they're really not. I mean they're supposed to be used in at least from what I understand, all of them, at least initially said. You know, really use these to send money back and forth with family and friends, loved ones. You know, I use zel to send money to my kids in college, or you know, to pay the pet sitter. But I would not use
one. I would not use it to buy a product, especially with someone I had never worked with before. They simply don't have the consumer protections that you would want to have when making a purchase. So go to the credit card. You know that at least if there's a problem, you can go back to the vendor. You can then go to your bank that issued the card, and you have some protections and get your money back. I'm Ryan
Gorman, joined by Kathy Stokes, AARP's director of fraud Prevention Programs. Donating
to charities another big part of the holiday season. What should people be aware of before doing something like that well, you know, this part of the year is probably one of the most important times for legitimate charities to get their end of year fundraising in and the criminals know that, so they'll set up fake charities, or you know, they'll make themselves sound like they're from a legitimate charity and really push at the end of the year to get your donations
in. And I think what is safest to do is stick with the charities that you currently trust and support. Don't take incoming requests. Don't you know if someone calls you, someone you know, walks up to you and tries to get you to commit funds, just say, you know what, I've already made my commitments this year. If it sounds something like you're interested in, look it up. You can go to give dot org or charitynavigator dot org, do your research and decide, hey, okay, maybe I'll support
them next year. Are there any other tips you can offer up that we should be aware of as we're doing some holiday shopping or anything related to what everyone's up to this time of the year. Yeah. A couple of things that we saw where people were actually kind of lost knowledge in a fraud quiz that we do every year, is that fewer people seem to know that they did just last year. That it's really risky to go and do a web
search to find customer support for any company. What you want to do is go to that company's website and find it or if you have if you can log into their website, or you have an app, or you can find a previous statement. Because criminals are buying these customer support ads, and when you think that eight hundred number is going to take you to the major retailer you're having a problem with, you're actually talking to a criminal and you have
no idea. And if someone ends up being the target of a scam or they're targeted by fraud, what are some of the steps that they can take. Well, importantly, if you've lost money, money has been stolen from you, your identity has been stolen, and you've suffered identity fraud, it's really important to report it to law enforcement. We don't do that, and that's why we don't know really how much fraud is out there. We can't really prioritize going after it. So the more people that report, the better
off we are. If you report, then you have a police record, and who knows a year or two or five from now, maybe there's a federal or a state program that seeks to provide some restitution for victims who lose so much money from these from this fraud every year. And finally, where can everyone listening go for more information or more help on all of this. So AARP has this tremendous victim support program and it starts with the helpline fraud
Watch helpline is eight seven seven nine zero eight three three six zero. There's also a victim support program. You can learn about that and more by going to AARP dot org slash fraud Watch Network. And this is something that everyone of all ages can take advantage of these resources, correct, right, And you don't have to be at a certain age, and you don't have to be a member of AARP. AARP's director of Fraud Prevention Programs Kathy Stokes with
us. Kathy, thank you so much for ticket a few minutes to come on the show. Really appreciate it. Thank you for having me Ryan. Happy holidays. Happy holidays to you as well, Kathy. I'm Ryan Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities, and now I want to bring in our next guest we're joined by the National Commander of the Salvation Army, Commissioner Kenneth Hotter. You can learn more about all the great work this organization does at Salvation ARMYUSA
dot org. That's also where you can support that work. Commissioner Hotter, thank you so much for ticket a few minutes to come on the show. I think just about everybody listening is familiar with the Salvation Army, but if you don't mind, can we start with the backstories to how this organization came about. Glad to do so. It's great to be with you today, Ryan. The Salvation Army was established in eighteen sixty five by William and Catherine
Booth. It was established in the East End of London, which was really ground zero for the worst poverty of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom, and the Booths felt compelled to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in so doing they discovered that they had to also address the physical, the mental, the psychological, the emotional needs of the people that they encountered. They were in abject poverty, and so the Salvation Army from its inception was dedicated
not only to spiritual needs but to physical needs. As well. It came to this country in eighteen eighty and since then, the Salvation Army has not only continued to grow as a denomination of the Christian Church, but it has become the largest non governmental provider of social services in the nation. We serve in every zip code. We have about seven thousand centers of operation, all of them dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel and meeting needs in Christ's name without a
nation. There's so much that you do, so many different services that you provide that I think a lot of people might not even be aware of. But I want to start with really one of the things that the Salvation Army is so well known for, and that's your red kettle campaign around the holidays. Tell us about that. The red kettle campaign actually began on the wharves
of San Francisco in about eighteen ninety. Captain Joseph McFee had been a sailor in the United Kingdom and he recalled a phenomenon that was called Simpson's pot. People would put a little food into this pot and make a meal for the sailors, and he thought, well, he didn't want to actually make a meal on the wharves of San Francisco that he could use that as a means
of collecting donations to provide meals to others. So in Christmas of eighteen ninety he said, a little Christmas kettle down on the wharves of San Francisco, and it has since become a national icon. The Salvation Army Christmas kettle now symbolizes generosity and caring and giving for millions and millions of people every year, and it's evolved over the years. Right, there are different ways that everyone can give to those who are there volunteering on the part of the Salvation Army
with the red kettle outside different retailers. It used to be, you know, if you had some change or you had a couple of bucks, that you would put it in the kettle. But now things have advanced in terms of technology. Talk to us about the different ways that people can participate. Oh, you're absolutely right. When people go up to a Salvation Army kettle in addition to putting a little money in, and we often see children doing that. It's a great way to teach them how to give from an early
age. But people can also so if they don't have cash, used Google pay and Apple pay and Venmo and PayPal. Our kettle signs now have QR codes. The Salvation Army is now able to receive bitcoin and ethereum. In addition to online giving at Salvation ARMYUSA dot org, you can also text the word kettles to five one five five five. In short, any way that you can think of by which donations could be made can be made to the
Salvation Army. It's incredible. We're joined by Commissioner Kenneth Totter, National Commander for the Salvation Army again. Learn more and offer your support at Salvation ARMYUSA dot org. The red Kettle campaign around the holidays. How important is this to the Salvation Army for you to be able to continue doing the work that you do heading into the next year. It's absolutely essential whenever someone gives it
a Salvation Army kettle that money will stay local. It will stay local because we're determined that when someone gives, they're giving to help meet the needs of their neighbors. They're the things that are at the top of their mind. So if those needs are going to be met in the course not only of Christmas, but of the coming year, those donations are going to be absolutely vital. Every year across the nation, the Salvation Army raises about one hundred
million dollars through those kettles. Wow, And it's absolutely vital to what we do. And obviously to make that happen, the Salvation Army has an army of volunteers operating those red kettles. Can you break down that aspect of this important work around the holidays? Oh? Absolutely. Even if someone can't give because of inflation, and certainly we're all suffering from that these days, they
can give a little bit of time at a kettle. And our studies show that the volunteers who stand at our kettles will raise about eighty dollars an hour on average. And when you think about it, that's a massive impact, because you can, over the course of a morning, say, raise enough money to provide about eight hundred meals or four nights of shelter, or a number of toys for children. A little bit of volunteering time can have a
massive impact. Of course, obtaining those volunteers and making sure that those volunteers know of the opportunity is one of the big challenges we face because everyone is stressed, everyone is short on time, everyone is going a thousand different directions, but we would want to encourage anyone who has a little time and has an inclination to do so, to come out and have some fun at a kettle, or alternatively, spend a little time distributing toys that have been collected
through the Angel Tree or serving meals to the homeless. What you get back is beyond measure and the impact that you have on other lives is astonishing. I know it's been a challenging stretch for many Americans. Going back to the pandemic, the need was incredible, and the work that you had to do with the Salvation Army, it was just so important. And that has continued
with a variety of different issues for a variety of different reasons. But here in twenty twenty three, how great is the need across the country from what you're seeing. You're absolutely right, Ryan, We know that the pandemic, much like the recession of eight to nine, is going to have a long economic tail, and that that taiale will damage the lives of those who are
most in need. For example, right now, if a family is renting a home and they have difficulty because of inflation, paying their utility bill, they're running a risk of losing that home, and we know from experience that it's going to be three times as expensive to get them back into housing once they're homeless. So the Salvation Army ramps up its financial assistance programs to help
people pay for their heat and their water and their gas. Those kinds of economic needs are going to be with us for several years post pandemic, and it's important that people know that normalcy therefore, for a lot of people has not yet returned. I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by Commissioner Kenneth Toad, or National Commander for the Salvation Army. You can learn more and offer your support
at Salvation ARMYUSA dot org. That's Salvation Army USA org. Giving Tuesday took place recently, and according to everything I've seen, donations down a bit this year. What was your experience like at the Salvation Army in terms of Giving Tuesday? What's become such an important day for so many organizations across the country to again do the work that you're aiming to do. Yes, indeed, the Salvation Army experience the same pattern that you describe, and that the Giving
Giving Tuesday organization has outlined. Giving across the country on Giving Tuesday was flat and the participation rate, according to those figures, was down ten percent. And that's a great concern to us. And it's of concern to us not because of the Salvation Army, but because of the people whom we serve. Because the Salvation Army has always been a lean organization, we are very conscious of our responsibilities for stewardship and maintaining trust. So when those donations decline,
it has a direct impact on our ability to do something. So, like our colleagues in the nonprofit sector, we're eager to give people the message that what they do now from this day until the end of the year is going to be critical to not only the holiday season, but to twenty twenty four. How does the Salvation Army adjust and adapt the work that you do depending on the needs of a particular community. Well, the Salvation Army has never
been a single purpose organization. We're not just about food, We're not just about housing, we're not just about kids programs. We're about all of it. When we send a Salvation Army officer into a community, he or she will have one instruction and that is is do what needs to be done there and do it in the name of Christ. So that officer will go out
into the community meet those who are in touch with needs. That individual, by wearing his or her uniform will obviously extend an implicit invitation to people to say, come and tell me what your need is that we can address it. And that kind of information is critical to helping the Salvation Army develop its partnerships with other organizations, with local governments, with local leaders, with corporations, and as a team, the Salvation Army then tries to become a catalyst
to fill the gaps. The Salvation Army has never felt that whatever it does in a community is sacrosanct. If another organization does something better than the Salvation Army can do it, God bless them do that work. Our job is to fill unmet need. That is what we really are trying to say when we use our phrase doing the most good, trying to address areas and needs
that are not yet resolved. And so that's the way we try locally in every community where we serve to respond to what we hear, what is going on. And let's talk about some of the different services you provide. Some of the areas where you offer help rerant, mortgage and utility assistance, the food pantries, homeless shelters. Let's start there with those three items and the work that you do on those issues. Well, the Salvation Army, in
terms of its shelters, has about five hundred shelters across the nation. In terms of food, we provide about one hundred and fifty five meals every year, about eight million nights of shelter. The Salvation Army serves about twenty four to twenty six million people every year. During the pandemic that ballooned to well over thirty million. But it certainly keeps us busy, and we could never do it, Ryan, were it not for the generous support of the American
public. It is one of the greatest gifts that the Salvation Army receives from God, and we treat it as very precious. Indeed, I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by Commissioner Kenne Todd, or National Commander for the Salvation Army. You can learn more at Salvation ARMYUSA dot org. That's Salvation ARMYUSA dot org. Two other areas that you focus on that I think are really important and I wanted to spend a moment on veteran services and services for the aging.
Tell us about that work. Veteran's work is critical for the Salvation Army, and there's a historical reason for that. In nineteen fifteen, General John Pershing was a cavalry commander based at the Presidio in San Francisco, and he was called to the southern border to find Pancho Villa with his regiment. And while he was away there was a fire in his quarters. His wife and his
four daughters were killed. When he came back to San Francisco, the local Salvation Army officer, a man by the name of Colonel Henry Lee, wrote him a little note of condolence, and General Pershing was deeply impacted by that little note, and he wrote a very kind response that we still have in
our archives. Two years later, Pershing was leading the American Expeditionary Force Ands and he remembered this the caring that he had received from the Salvation Army, and so he called us, called and he said, would you please send your people across to France with my boys? And we agreed. So the Salvation Army sent about two hundred and fifty people, mostly young women with no
military training to the front trenches in France. And while they were there, they read to the men, they comforted those who were wounded, They wrote letters home, and they started to make little fried items that the boys could enjoy the taste of home. And the boys loved them. They were called doughnuts, and the boys loved them so much they started to call themselves the
dough boys. So they came home and they told their wives and their mothers and their sisters about these little fried treats the Salvation Army had made them, and the American obsession with the donut was born. So in that one moment where we worked with General Pershing to support him in his time of need, two things happened. The donut had a future with the American public, and the Salvage Army established a relationship with the military that continues to this day.
That is incredible. Again, we're joined right now by Commissioner Kennethtodter, National Commander for the Salvation Army. And the need is great across the country. A ninety one million people in America have had difficulty paying for essential household expenses
just in this last week. And we also mentioned before giving Tuesday. Donations to nonprofits down ten percent this year, So it is more important now than ever to support organizations like the Salvation Army so they can provide that vital help to so many of our fellow America. So you can learn more and find out all the different ways that you can help, from donations to volunteering opportunities at Salvation ARMYUSA dot org. Again, that's Salvation Army USA dot org.
Commissioner Kenneth Hotter, National Commander of the Salvation Army. Commissioner Hotter, thank you so much for the tremendous work you're doing with this organization, for coming on the show. Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Thanks Ryan, God bless you and merry Christmas. All Right, and that's going to do it for this edition of Iheiradio Communities. As we wrap things up, I want to offer a big thanks to all of our guests and
of course to all of you for listening. I'm your host, Ryan Gorman. We'll talk to you again real soon.