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Fairfax County is developing a text-message alert service to help older residents recognize scams while avoiding a flood of notifications that could cause them to tune out.

The service will be part of Silver Shield, the Department of Family Services’ anti-fraud initiative. The Board of Supervisors received an update on the program during the June 2 meeting of its Older Adults Committee.

Beth Ann Margetta, assistant program manager for the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging, said the county wants to provide timely, relevant information without sending so many alerts that recipients experience “text-message fatigue.”

Board Chairman Jeff McKay called the idea “fantastic” but stressed that texting should remain one tool among several. He asked how the county would reach seniors who do not use text messaging.

Officials promoted the planned service during the April 30 Scam Jam festival, held with AARP Virginia at the Fairfax County Government Center. The event highlighted two rapidly growing forms of fraud: romance-based investment schemes and cryptocurrency scams. Federal, state and county agencies also participated in a resource fair.

County officials acknowledged that scammers continue to multiply despite outreach efforts.

“It’s making my stomach turn that there are people who do so much to exploit our seniors,” Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk said.

County Plans Major Survey of Older Residents

Staff members also outlined an upcoming Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults. Fairfax County will mail surveys to 22,000 households this month. Beginning June 30, any senior will also be able to complete the survey online.

The survey will cost $91,000 to administer and is intended to guide the county’s future work, Margetta said.

McKay said he hopes respondents will reflect the demographics of Fairfax County’s broader senior population, allowing officials to gain “a real feel on what’s on our older adults’ minds.”

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who chairs the Older Adults Committee, encouraged supervisors to promote the scam-alert service, survey and other senior initiatives through their community networks.

The presentation was part of an update on Fairfax County’s SHAPE the Future of Aging initiative and its 2023-28 aging plan.

About 343,000 county residents are 55 or older, representing roughly 27.5% of the population. By 2050, that group is projected to approach 400,000 people and account for 29.1% of all Fairfax County residents.