Courtesy of Florence Klein, Founder, SilverPlanet.com

It’s time you got to know your state attorney general’s Web site. Why? Because the sheer magnitude of scams and frauds being perpetrated on older adults begs a first-stop Web site, and these government sites have areas set aside just for seniors.

Washington State’s attorney general has such a site. When you visit, you’ll see articles on various kinds of fraud that target seniors and on how to stay safe while surfing the Internet.

“Research suggests that seniors are less likely than other consumer age groups to report becoming victims,” according to the site. “Sometimes they are too afraid or embarrassed to tell anyone they have lost their money. In some cases, they do not even realize they were victimized. The damage can be as minimal as a few unwanted magazine subscriptions or as extreme as the loss of an entire life’s savings.”

North Carolina’s site has a section for seniors. Like many others, it encourages readers to become Senior Fraud Fighters. This nationwide consumer education program, done in partnership with AARP, trains seniors to recognize scams, report fraud, and protect themselves and others in their community.

Arizona’s attorney general’s site touts its newly formed Senior Sleuth Project, created in partnership with other agencies to help Arizona seniors detect and prevent fraud and abuse. Senior volunteers are trained to identify and report scams and fraud, including Medicare fraud, and use their knowledge to educate other seniors. The project operates an Elder Help phone line.

Pennsylvania’s attorney general’s site has a special area for seniors, as do those of Maryland, Illinois, and Minnesota. You get the idea. All the ones we checked operate hotlines, so don’t hesitate to call with your questions.

In Santa Monica, California, WISE and Healthy Aging trains volunteers to operate a fraud prevention call center there.

In Washington, AARP operates a fraud prevention call center. Older baby boomers and retirement-age volunteers operate in “boiler room” settings similar to ones con artists use, and they call potential victims from similar call lists. Watch the following video to see them in action:

Older people fall victim to scams because they’re relentlessly targeted, Jean Mathiesen, program director of AARP Washington’s Fraud Fighter Call Center, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. They tend to be more trusting, more likely to be home and to answer calls, and too polite to hang up or say no. Couple that with charming, clever con artists who politely address you by name and sound chummy, and you have the makings of a scam.

Once you become a victim, your name goes on a list, and calls for new scams will keep coming. Knowledge can help end this cycle.