Elder Fraud in Washington

Centralia police warned local businesses after a scam caller impersonating a county sheriff's deputy instructed an employee to withdraw cash and load it onto prepaid gift cards while also requesting personal information. Police emphasized that legitimate law enforcement never demands payment via gift cards and urged residents to hang up on suspicious calls and contact authorities.

Washington Trust Co. is launching the "Age With Wisdom" educational series to help older adults and their families in Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut prevent financial scams and fraud, covering topics such as impersonation, AI-enabled scams, and financial exploitation warning signs. The bank, which recently became a verified AARP BankSafe institution, will also address estate planning and coordination with financial professionals, drawing on employee experience working with customers affected by fraud and financial transitions.

Washington Trust Company launched the Age With Wisdom™ education series to help older adults in Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut prevent financial fraud and exploitation through fraud prevention training, financial planning guidance, and AARP BankSafe® education. The initiative addresses the growing threat of financial scams targeting seniors in a region where approximately 31% of Rhode Island residents are age 55 and older. Washington Trust, the nation's oldest community bank, has previously intervened to protect customers from significant financial losses, as highlighted in a New York Times article about banks' growing role in preventing elder financial exploitation.

An 86-year-old woman with dementia in Cincinnati lost $10,000 in a grandparent scam after fraudsters posing as her grandson's lawyer convinced her he was in jail and arranged for a driver to take her to the bank to withdraw cash. The scam exploited her cognitive vulnerabilities and the bank's failure to question an unusually large withdrawal by an elderly customer with no history of large cash transactions. The case exemplifies a growing trend in elder fraud, with Americans aged 50+ losing $4.3 billion annually, and impersonation scams showing a four-fold increase since 2020 in victims reporting losses of $10,000 or more.

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Both the U.S. House and Senate have passed bipartisan bills to protect seniors from financial fraud and scams, including the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act of 2025 and the Senior Security Act. These laws would allow financial institutions to pause transactions from older adults or people with disabilities when fraud is suspected, and establish a Senior Investor Taskforce at the SEC to identify challenges and trends affecting senior investors. The legislation represents rare bipartisan agreement on combating fraud targeting vulnerable populations, though specific dollar amounts of fraud losses are not mentioned in this overview of the legislative efforts.

AI-enabled investment scams cost Americans $632 million in 2025, representing the largest category of AI-related fraud with 4,356 complaints reported to the FBI. AI-assisted fraud grew 1,210% in 2025 compared to 195% growth in traditional scams, with criminals using deepfakes and AI technology to convincingly impersonate legitimate financial institutions and brokers. The FBI received over 22,000 total AI-related fraud complaints in 2025 with $890 million in losses, with investment scams, extortion, and data breaches accounting for the majority of cases.

Minnesota enacted a ban on cryptocurrency ATMs that took effect Saturday after residents reported losing nearly $1 million in scams involving the machines since 2023, with criminals impersonating law enforcement to pressure elderly victims into sending money through the kiosks. In 2025 alone, there were 70 reported cases resulting in over $540,000 in losses with an average loss of nearly $6,800 per transaction, as crypto transactions cannot be reversed once sent to a scammer's digital wallet. The ban requires removal of all existing machines by December 31, addressing a scam disproportionately targeting seniors who are often too embarrassed to report their losses.

Immigration-related scams have surged dramatically in Orange County and nationwide, with con artists impersonating licensed attorneys using fake websites, AI-generated photos, and stolen identities to defraud vulnerable immigrants seeking legal help, with victims losing hundreds to thousands of dollars. The scams have become increasingly sophisticated, with some legitimate attorneys also participating in fraud by filing false asylum and visa applications without client knowledge, exploiting immigrants' desperation during a surge in deportation cases. Federal Trade Commission complaints about immigration service fraud increased from 623 in 2023 to 1,626 in 2025, and disciplinary actions against immigration lawyers nationwide have escalated significantly.

An 86-year-old woman with dementia from Mount Washington lost $10,000 in a grandparent scam after a caller posing as a public defender claimed her grandson had been arrested and needed bail money. The scammer instructed her to withdraw cash from her bank and picked her up by car to transport her there, exploiting her concern for her grandchild and instructing her to keep the situation secret. Cincinnati police are investigating the case, and experts recommend families establish financial safeguards and open conversations about fraud prevention with elderly relatives.

The Federal Reserve banned two former bankers for stealing from elderly customers: Simon Alberto Gonzalez stole approximately $203,000 from an elderly Regions Bank customer in Orlando between August 2023 and November 2024, while Ralph Mojica took $33,300 from two elderly customers at First Interstate Bank's Nampa, Idaho branch between July and September 2025, plus an additional $8,000 from the bank itself. Both men were fired and barred from banking industry work without Federal Reserve approval, as regulators intensify efforts to combat elder financial exploitation amid a broader trend of seniors losing billions to fraud annually.

Seniors lost nearly $8 billion to scammers in 2025, with over $350 million specifically from AI-related scams including voice cloning, phishing attacks, and forged documents, representing a 59% increase from 2024. U.S. Senators Gillibrand and Kelly are pressuring nine major AI companies to implement stronger safeguards protecting vulnerable users, particularly seniors and people with disabilities, through a letter requesting details on safety testing and harm tracking. The average senior victim lost $39,000 per incident, prompting Senate Aging Committee hearings and calls for regulatory reforms to prevent fraudsters from exploiting generative AI technology.

A 53-year-old man has been extradited from Illinois to Utah to face felony charges for an elaborate romance scam that defrauded an Arizona woman of over $82,500 between August 2024 and July 2025. Todd Joseph Sweet posed as a retired Army sergeant major involved in classified operations and manipulated the victim into providing cash, credit card information, and $27,000 from her retirement funds, while also taking possession of her $65,000 pickup truck that he never returned. Investigators discovered Sweet has a pattern of similar romance scams across multiple states, including a 2010 Tennessee case where he swindled another victim out of $19,000 and

The U.S. Secret Service and federal prosecutors seized over $25 million in cryptocurrency from five international fraud schemes that victimized thousands of people across the United States and Canada, including major romance scams and fraudulent investment platforms. The largest case involved $12.1 million from romance scammers targeting over 200 victims, while another $10.4 million was traced from a network moving illicit proceeds through fake investment platforms. To protect yourself, verify investment platforms are legitimate before depositing funds, be cautious of romantic partners asking for cryptocurrency transfers, and never trust platforms that prevent you from withdrawing your money.

Federal authorities conducted a nationwide crackdown called "Operation Signal Break" targeting illegal "SIM farms" in Texas and five other states, which are operations that use thousands of SIM cards to send phishing and scam text messages while hiding their true origin. These scam operations cost Americans approximately $15 million annually, and the investigation has resulted in seizing over 500,000 SIM cards, nearly 1,900 SIM boxes, and more than $700,000 in illegal proceeds linked to Chinese criminal organizations. To protect yourself, be cautious of unsolicited text messages asking for personal information or directing you to click links, and report suspicious texts to the FTC or your mobile carrier.