Last Wednesday at Columbia College was the Federal Trade Commission and the New America Media’s Ethnic Media News Briefing: Spotting and Avoiding Scams. As the title suggests, the event focused on educating the audience on the scams that exist and how to protect oneself and one’s community. The event featured a panel of experts giving advice and ended with a Q&A session and lunch. From the panel, we learned that some of the most vulnerable communities are college students, low income, African Americans, and immigrants. We also learned that many people who are scammed do not report the incident, which makes it harder to protect oneself. WWP spoke to Steve Baker, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Midwest Region. Baker mentioned that 11% of the adult population reported being ripped off over a 12-month span.