Nearly 200 senior citizens yesterday attended an AARP workshop in Monroeville designed to help them avoid falling victim to fraud and identity theft.

Speakers, including state Attorney General Tom Corbett and representatives of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the state Securities Commission, hammered home the fact that Pennsylvania has the third-highest senior citizen population in the country, making it a target for con-artists and thieves.

"The AARP has over 1.9 million members in the state," said Stella Hyde, president of AARP for Pennsylvania, adding that its Consumer Issues Task Force has partnered with the Pennsylvania Security Commission to present the identity theft and financial workshops to seniors..

Education is key, said Nils Frederikson, a spokesman for the attorney general.

"A lot of seniors will suffer in silence, embarrassed that they've been victimized," he said.

Many senior citizens are fearful of telling family members about problems with fraudulent activity or door-to-door scams, he said, afraid they will lose direct control of their financial affairs. In situations of personal safety, such as negligent nursing homes or physical abuse, some remain quiet out of fear of retaliation.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, fraud and identity theft comprise the No. 1 most frequently committed crime in America today, with the drug market a close second, Mr. Corbett said.

And with scams and investment fraud now conducted on the Internet, the criminals are increasingly hard to trace.

"We catch the dumb ones," Mr. Corbett said. "When you go to bed at night, you lock the doors and windows. But you leave your computer open."

According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the state ranks 14th in the number of identity thefts.

The attorney general's office investigates and pursues cases of identity theft and provides crime prevention information for residents. It created the Pennsylvania Elder Abuse Unit in 2006 to deal specifically with senior citizens as targets of fraudulent activity.

The unit collaborates with the Senior Crime Prevention Academy, which gives multimedia educational presentations to seniors around the state.

Preventive action and caution are vital in protecting oneself from illegal schemes.

"If you hear the term 'no risk,' " Mr. Corbett said, "you better run."