Free cybersecurity event to help Los Alamos residents spot scams

A free cybersecurity day at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Los Alamos Entrada Park is aiming at the scams that can drain a bank account, hijack an email inbox or lock a family out of its own accounts. The July 15 event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 60 Entrada Drive and is being organized by L Tech, Tech Share and First United Methodist Church of Los Alamos.

The event is open to residents, families, seniors, nonprofit organizations, churches, educators and small business owners, a broad mix that reflects how widely cybercrime reaches in Los Alamos County. First United Methodist Church of Los Alamos says it welcomes people of every age and background, and the hotel’s 1,700-square-foot meeting space is designed for groups of up to 70 guests, setting up a smaller, hands-on format rather than a large lecture.

Organizers said the goal is to help people recognize phishing, identity theft, online scams, social engineering, account compromises and financial fraud, then walk away with steps they can use right away. The program will include presentations, demonstrations, interactive activities, educational games and question-and-answer sessions. Topics will include email and text scam awareness, password security, social-media privacy, home Wi-Fi and network protection, mobile-device security, small-business cybersecurity, data backup and recovery, and emerging threats. Lunch, snacks and refreshments will be provided with help from community sponsors and local businesses.

L Tech owner Stephen Kollman said the effort is meant to give students, families, seniors and business owners information they can use immediately. That matters in a county where more daily life runs through screens, including school communication, medical accounts, household bills and business records. The event is designed to be practical, not technical, so people can leave knowing how to slow down suspicious messages, protect passwords and check whether an account has been compromised.

The need is plain in the numbers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 859,532 complaints in 2024, and reported losses exceeded $16 billion, a 33% jump from 2023. The Federal Trade Commission said nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam in 2025 said it started on social media, with losses tied to those scams reaching $2.1 billion. New Mexico’s Department of Justice also offers free scam-awareness presentations and resources for communities, organizations, schools and partner agencies, and the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce has previously hosted a cybersecurity basics presentation by Attack Research.