Napa Valley FiduciaryZachary C. Alexander · CLPF

Scam Watch · by Napa Valley Fiduciary

The scams currently targeting older adults — in plain language.

Companies, universities, and state government all have professional teams defending against today's scam landscape. Now you do too — at a personal scale. Free monthly digest plus real-time alerts when something is surging. Written by a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary. Always free.

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What you get

Two kinds of emails. Both free. Both stay free.

Scam Watch Monthly.

First week of every month

  • One scam pattern in depth: what is circulating, who it targets, why it works.
  • The tells — phrases, framing, urgency cues that give the scam away.
  • Three concrete defensive actions for the month. Specific, practical, not abstract.
  • Under five minutes to read.

Scam Watch Alerts.

When something surges in real time

  • One or two per week when a specific scam is actively hitting Bay Area seniors. Sometimes none if the week is quiet — no manufactured cadence.
  • Quick, focused, action-oriented. What it looks like, what to do today.
  • Silence in slow weeks is the point. Alerts arrive only when there is something worth saying.
Why this newsletter exists

Pattern recognition is most of the defense.

AI-powered scams in 2026 are sophisticated enough that the institutions you trust your money with already dedicate full-time staff to fighting them. The defenses that worked five years ago ("be careful with strangers," "hang up on robocalls") don't work now, and most people haven't caught up yet. If you're reading this, you have.

Scam Watch shows you what scammers are running right now and what to put in place. The structural moves that actually work — a Trusted Contact at your brokerage, view-only account access for someone you trust, a written "call before you wire" rule — sit between you and the threat without taking a single signing authority away. You stay in control of every account.

Who writes it

A California Licensed Professional Fiduciary.

Zachary C. Alexander, MBA, NCG, CLPF #1597 — a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary based in Napa, serving Napa, Solano, Sonoma, and the broader Redwood Empire.

The fiduciary perspective is what makes this newsletter different from generic FTC bulletins or AARP feeds. Fiduciaries see what actually reaches clients' mailboxes and bank statements after a scam succeeds — and the patterns that recur across cases. That perspective is the editorial filter.

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More than email coverage?

The full Fraud Protection service.

For families who want ongoing oversight — view-only account monitoring, a designated professional Trusted Contact, written “call before you wire” agreements, recovery support if something happens — the full Fraud Protection service is the next step.

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Questions about Scam Watch or fraud protection?

If you, a family member, or a client may benefit, I am happy to talk it through. No charge for an initial conversation.

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