With the holidays quickly approaching us and all the stories we hear on the news about scams and fraud, I felt it was a great idea to have an interview with my father, Warren N. Thurer, Chief of the Criminal Complaint Unit of the Nassau County District Attorney's office. I truly believe his advice could benefit us all during this holiday season! I also wanted to thank all of you for your support and feedback on these articles, it's much appreciated! Hope everyone enjoys this article! Happy Holidays, all the best and good will to all for a happy and healthy New Year as well! Much love, peace and happiness to you all as well!!

Charles: " What is your job title and how long have you held this title for? "

Warren: "I'm an Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Complaint Unit. I've been an Assiatant District Attorney since 1990, so I've served as an Assistant DA since 1990. I was promoted on February 21, 2006."

Charles: "When was your start date in the District Attorney's Office?"

Warren: My start date was Monday December 3, 1990.

Charles: "Can you tell us a little about your job and what the happens during a typical day in the office?"

Warren: " Sure, my job is sort of like the air traffic controller of the DA's office. We handle a wide variety of complaints both that are received in person and via the mail. Additionally, we handle a large volume of telephone calls and I also respond to emails where the public contacts the DA's office with a question or problem. Well, the types of complaints we receive vary, from bad checks to neighborhood disputes to large scale larcenies to organized crime, computer related crime, auto repair shop complaints, complaints against police officers and politicians."

Charles: " With the holidays quickly approaching, there are a lot of issues people run into in terms of scams, and frauds. What would your advice be to these people?"

Warren: " Never rely, always verify. The reason I say that is most scams are like when kids dress up for Halloween, they like to masquerade and dress up as other people. People like to pretend they are the IRS, electric company and etc. Most people that are victimized, rely upon somebody's representation without independently verifying it. For example, you contact a home improvement contractor and they tell you they are licensed, so you don't contact consumer affairs to verify and find out they aren't licensed."

Charles: "Would you say a rise in technology and intelligence has led to an increase in scams that people are targeted to?"

Warren: " I would say that as technology increases, the types of crimes we are experiencing in 2016, are different than 1990. As technology changes, the types of crimes people commit also changes as compared to 26 years ago. Some examples are, any computer related crime, identity theft, real estate and mortgage fraud. Also, with the laser printers and 3D printer, you are getting a lot of counterfeit checks."

Charles: " Can you tell us a little more about these scams, in terms of what types of scams people face, who is most likely targeted and what types of consequences can be faced if people do not take the advice of local law enforcement?"

Warren: "Sure, one of the most popular scams is the sweepstakes scams. It's the oldest scam. How this works is, you get a letter in the mail saying you won a contest, enclosed with the letter is what looks like an official certified check for under $5,000. The scammer indicates that the victim should deposit the check and wire money to pay for the taxes on the prize. The wiring of money is the key ingredient to most scams. If you did win a sweepstakes, first off you would have had to enter the sweepstakes, secondly they would deduct the taxes from the prize money and send you the balance and there would be no need to wire money back to anybody. The people that get targeted the most are senior citizens. Different scams target different people, some target attorneys and college students. If they don't follow the advice of law enforcement that can become defrauded and lose a lot of money."

Charles: "Why are these group of people vulnerable to these types of scams?"

Warren: "The seniors are vulnerable for a variety of reasons, they are home if they are retired. They are available during the day to answer the phone, door and check the mail and emails. Another reason, is people are living longer. Based on that fact, we have an increase in the senior population. Another reason they like to target seniors is because they have a lot of money from saving up."

Charles: "What can communities do to help combat these scams? Will a strong relationship between law enforcement and the community resolve this or is there more to it?"

Warren: "One strategy that the DA's office utilizes is a community outreach program. Attorneys in the DA's office like myself and others go to various senior centers and neighborhoods to educate them and proactively prevent them from being victimized from these scams."

Charles: "How can a resident of Nassau County reach out to your office, if they believe they have been a victim of a scam?"

Warren: "That's easy, they can call 516-571-3505 to report the matter and file a complaint. It has to filed either in person at 272 Old Country Road weekdays from 9AM- 4PM. Or, residents can go online to www.nassauda.org and they can download the complaint forms."

Charles: "If someone has an experience where they get a phone call from someone saying their relative is in distress, what would you tell that person to do?"

Warren; "Well first of all, what you mentioned is very important. A phone call can be good news or bad news. Scammers often times, use shock and surprise as a means to have the victim act in haste without properly analyzing the situation. What I would suggest is again, never rely verify!! Remain calm, take all the information from the caller, including the call back number and also the number on the caller ID. Tell the caller thanks for the information but I am going to contact my relative on a phone number that I have for them to see how they are doing. Another step that you can utilize is block the scammer's telephone number with your telephone provider."

Charles:"Does your office have a rise of these scam complaints around this time of year, being it's the holiday season , or does it stay consistent year round?"

Warren: "There are different types of scams that are more common during the holiday season. These scams can involve charity fraud because often times people want to donate to different charities to get a tax deduction for the current year that is ending. Additionally, with all of the holiday shopping, credit card fraud and identity theft, tends to increase."

Charles: "To take a deeper look into this, do you really think voter fraud and so called, fake news, really exist? It's something that has come up a lot, especially since we just had a presidential election."

Warren: "Fake news is not criminal unless it's a false police report or a sworn statement given to the DA's office. I haven't specifically encountered voter fraud, but we have had cases where there would be forged signatures on a nomination petition."

Charles: "Do you think police and the DA's office need to have a good relationship?"

Warren: "I believe that prosecutor and police partnerships are vital with the community being involved with the solution as well."

Charles: "What was your most newsworthy complaint?"

Warren: "SAT scandal which resulted in widespread media attention which also resulted in reforms to the test taking process and require a photo on the identification card."

Charles: "Are there uptick in crimes after hurricanes and

natural disasters?"

Warren: "After Hurricane Sandy, we received a substantial increase in the amount of unlicensed home improvement contractors."

This was a really good experience for me, and I'm grateful I had the chance to sit down with my father and talk to him about his job. Thanks dad for talking with me!