Wood County sheriff teams with Perry Forensics for fraud prevention efforts
(Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)
PARKERSBURG — Training is being offered to help people prevent financial fraud online and over the phone. Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard has established an agreement with Perry Forensic to provide financial fraud prevention training to local citizens. The first training session will be at the Wood County Resiliency Center at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1. The training is open to 100 participants. According to Woodyard, both domestic and foreign criminal groups are defrauding local residents. Just last week, a Wood County citizen lost $15,000. “That is just one of many,” Woodyard said. “We have had some of our older folks who have lost their life savings.” The people carrying out these frauds are utilizing the names of local law enforcement officers and more to make what they present to people look official. “They can make it look so real,” Woodyard said. Jodey Altier, managing partner of Perry Forensic, said one of the “core values” of the company is to give back to their local communities. “If we can prevent one citizen from being swindled out of their hard-earned money, Sheriff Woodyard’s initiative will be worth it,” Altier said. Woodyard said an important step is not to give out any of your personal information and to check with the agency they claim to represent to see if the claims are real. Even a simple Google search can help someone determine if it is a scam or not. According to a release from Perry, the Federal Trade Commission said consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, which represents a 25% increase over the prior year. In 2023, the FTC stated nationwide fraud losses topped $10 billion which was up 14% from 2022. Consumers reported losing more money to investment frauds — more than $4.6 billion — than any other category in 2023, according to the release. That amount represents a 21% increase over 2022. The second highest reported loss amount came from imposter frauds, with losses of nearly $2.7 billion reported. In 2023, consumers reported losing more money to bank transfers and cryptocurrency than all other methods combined, the release said. “Criminals consistently change their methods of scamming innocent people; therefore, law enforcement must engage all resources at its disposal to stop financial crime,” Woodyard said. “I praise Perry Forensic for joining me on this initiative, and the cost to Wood County taxpayers will be zero.” Altier said Perry’s investigators are highly trained. “Our team of investigators have received extensive training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, U.S. Department of the Treasury, the FBI Academy, West Virginia State Police Academy, the U.S. Military and Continuing Professional Education,” Altier said. People can call 304-424-1924 to reserve a seat at the training. The training is free of charge. Group seating can be provided. “We don’t have any borders with this,” Woodyard stated. “If anyone outside of Wood County wants to attend, they are welcome. “This is important.” Local law enforcement, including former sheriffs in both Washington and Wood counties as well as the West Virginia State Police are some of the instructors for this program. There will be a new training session every quarter. In addition, they can present training to churches, civic groups or nonprofit organizations.Local News
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