Rep. Mike Jones said he didn’t need state or national statistics to convince him of a need to educate local residents about potential fraud.

“When people call, I take notes,” Jones said Friday. “Increasingly, I’ve been getting a lot more calls from all kinds of people in the district, asking what they can do when they get suspicious calls.”

Jones started asking around in Montgomery, and last fall, met someone with the Alabama Securities Commission who was conducting workshops in other parts of the state.

The result is a “How to Protect Yourself from Fraud, set for 9:30 a.m. until noon on Thurs., Feb. 28, at First Baptist Church of Andalusia. A free lunch also will be provided.

Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph Borg is among the speakers, who also include representatives of the Alabama Department of Senior Services, the FBI, legislators, and local law enforcement.

“The more I dug into this, the more surprised I was at the number of people who have actually been scammed,” Jones said.

Jones said he and Sen. Jimmy Holley, R-Elba, generally hold a town hall meeting prior to each year’s legislative session. This is one of those meetings, he said, just one that is targeted at specific issues.

The local fraud summit is being coordinated by the Alabama Securities Commission with support from Jones and Holley. Pre-registration is not required.