Army Community Service’s Employment Readiness Program hosted its first Exploring Employment Conference at Riley’s Conference Center on Feb. 23.

The event began at 10 a.m. and was broken into three different segments. The morning session focused on career education and training, affordable education and obtaining the skills needed to be successful in a specific career field. The afternoon session centered more on home-based employment.

“I’m glad that the American Academy of Cosmetology was here, because we are looking to start our own business, and this is just what we needed to get our feet on the ground and our minds working” said Lori Loketti, conference attendee.

As patrons took a small break from networking, the K-State Research and Extension Office served lunch and allowed job seekers to relax and listen to guest speaker Chris Biggs, Kansas Security commissioner, present “Don’t Get Scammed. Investigate Before You Invest.”

Biggs gave a lecture on how to be on the lookout for scam artists and how people can make sure their money is in the right hands.

“The Kansas Office of the Securities commissioner is dedicated to helping you invest your money with legit businesses. We also want to prosecute those who are scamming you, so that those criminals are unable to continue,” Biggs said.

Biggs showed the commercials his office had put together to make people aware of scams.

Before investing, Biggs said people should call the Kansas Commissioner’s Office if they aren’t sure about the company’s mission statement, “blue-sky requirements” or agency responsibilities, to know who you’re dealing with and for real-time enforcement.

The two groups who are scammed the most often and easiest targets, he said, are the elderly and active duty Soldiers and their spouses.

“I hate to say this, but if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Ponzi-schemes are the oldest form of scamming. I bet each of you is familiar with Bernard Madoff, what he did was a large scale Ponzi-scheme” Biggs said.

Potential investors need to know the red flags: unsolicited offers, high-pressure sales, “elite or secret” investments, unsubstantiated claims or promises and a lack of straight answers.

“Before you invest your money, please call us and ask questions so that we can verify with you, because nothing legit requires you to give money to get money,” Biggs said.

“This conference had a lot of good information. The people were welcoming and very informative,” said Suzan Estay, military spouse.

“We are very excited about today’s events. It’s our first time doing something like this. All day the crowd has been pretty consistent, and the speakers are very knowledgeable in their fields, so we are very pleased with the turnout,” said Teresa Johnson, Employment Readiness Program coordinator.