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justice.gov
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
The U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI in San Diego recovered over $3.3 million for elderly fraud victims through a data-driven operation launched in January 2024, obtaining more than 40 seizure warrants for $5.6 million in total. The effort targets sophisticated scams affecting seniors, particularly cryptocurrency investment schemes and tech support/government impersonation scams, with California leading the nation in both number of victims (77,000+) and losses ($2.1 billion) in 2023. Authorities emphasize that early reporting is critical to interrupting transactions and recovering victims' funds before scammers disappear with the money.
kqed.org
· 2025-12-08
An 81-year-old Alhambra woman lost her life savings in a text-based romance scam after making seven bank withdrawals over three weeks, prompting her to sponsor Senate Bill 278 with California Sen. Bill Dodd. The bill would require financial institutions to delay transactions over $5,000 by at least three days if elder fraud is suspected, mandate employee training on fraud red flags, and require banks to notify designated emergency contacts or joint account holders of suspicious activity. With annual elder fraud losses exceeding $23 billion, the bill passed the California Senate with support from major senior advocacy groups, though initially faced opposition from banking and business lobbies over concerns about liability
wbay.com
· 2025-12-08
Wisconsin officials are warning about "financial grooming scams" where scammers build trust through dating apps and text messages before pressuring victims to invest in cryptocurrency schemes. In the past year, 22 Wisconsin residents lost $2.3 million to this scam, which targets people across all professions and educational backgrounds by using manipulative tactics and international crime organization scripts. Warning signs include unsolicited contact, requests to move conversations off dating apps, bragging about easy investment returns, and pressure to invest in cryptocurrency, with victims advised to report and preserve all communications with authorities.
azbigmedia.com
· 2025-12-08
The FTC reported $10 billion in fraud losses in 2023, with AARP estimates suggesting adults over 60 lose more than $28 billion annually to fraud. Older adults are targeted for their access to substantial savings, available time, and sometimes limited online safety knowledge, with common scams including gift card/refund schemes, romance scams, and cryptocurrency investment frauds. Protective measures include verifying communications, guarding personal information, remaining skeptical of unsolicited money requests, and maintaining open communication with trusted networks and caretakers.
the-sun.com
· 2025-12-08
Stephen Carr from Ontario, Canada, lost nearly $500,000 of his retirement savings to a fake cryptocurrency trading platform he discovered through a YouTube video between October 2022 and January 2023. The scam operated as a simulation showing false profits of $1.3 million, which Carr realized was fraudulent when asked to pay $150,000 to access his funds; he now faces selling his home to rebuild his life. The article also highlights similar investment and impersonation scams targeting online users, emphasizing the need for skepticism toward unsolicited online investment offers and remote access requests.
legalnewsline.com
· 2025-12-08
I appreciate you providing this content, but I'm unable to write an Elderus summary for this material. The article excerpt focuses on a California Supreme Court ruling regarding child protective services and a parent's legal rights—it does not involve elder fraud, scams, or elder abuse.
The Elderus database is specifically designed to document incidents and information related to elder exploitation. If you have articles about scams targeting seniors, financial exploitation of elderly individuals, or elder abuse cases, I'd be happy to summarize those instead.
villages-news.com
· 2025-12-08
Florida's Attorney General's office hosted a Cryptocurrency Scams Symposium in The Villages to educate seniors about avoiding fraud while recognizing top Seniors vs. Crime volunteers. The Seniors vs. Crime program recovered over $2.6 million last year alone, assisting more than 9,100 seniors through volunteer efforts, with cumulative recoveries exceeding $10.5 million since 2019. The event honored five regional Super Senior Sleuths and volunteer John McLaughlin, a former law enforcement officer with over 10 years of service helping seniors and solving high-value fraud cases.
mirror.co.uk
· 2025-12-08
An 82-year-old Maryland grandfather, Dennis Jones, died by suicide in March after falling victim to a "pig butchering" scam in which he was deceived by a person posing as "Jessica" on Facebook into sending tens of thousands of dollars for fraudulent cryptocurrency investments. Jones lost his life savings to the scammers and became severely depressed over his financial losses and shame, ultimately taking his own life just hours before his children planned to help him recover from the fraud. The scam, reportedly run primarily by Chinese gangs, exploits victims through fake online romantic relationships on social media and dating platforms before convincing them to invest in fake cryptocurrency schemes and phantom properties.
themirror.com
· 2025-12-08
Stephen Carr, a pensioner from Ontario, Canada, lost nearly $500,000 to a fake cryptocurrency trading platform he discovered through YouTube, investing progressively from October 2022 to January 2023 after seeing false account growth. When asked to pay $150,000 to withdraw his funds, he realized the platform was a simulation with no real connection to any actual trading system, forcing him to sell his house and reorganize his life. The article also notes that elder fraud losses increased 84% in 2022, with victims losing $3.2 billion nationally.
newtondailynews.com
· 2025-12-08
This is an opinion piece critical of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, arguing that the bill would weaken SEC oversight of cryptocurrency by shifting regulatory authority to the less-equipped Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The author cites the FBI's 2023 report documenting over $4 billion in investment scam losses and notes that 90% of stablecoin transactions are fraudulent, warning that reduced regulation would increase consumer vulnerability to crypto fraud and scams.
goldrushcam.com
· 2025-12-08
In June 2024, the U.S. Attorney's Office and San Diego FBI recovered over $3.3 million in a coordinated operation targeting fraud schemes against seniors, obtaining more than 40 seizure warrants for $5.6 million since January 2024. The effort highlights California's disproportionate cyber fraud problem, with the state leading the nation in both victim count (over 77,000 in 2023) and losses ($2.1 billion), and emphasizes the need for early reporting of suspected fraud to interrupt transactions before funds are transferred. Common schemes targeting elderly victims include cryptocurrency investment scams (highest losses) and tech support/government impersonation scams
cryptotimes.io
· 2025-12-08
A MakerDAO governance delegate lost $11 million in cryptocurrency after falling victim to a phishing scam that tricked them into signing malicious signatures, granting attackers access to their digital wallet and allowing them to steal 3,657 Aave Ethereum tokens and Pendle USDe tokens. The theft was detected by crypto-security firm Scam Sniffer, with stolen funds quickly transferred to another address. This incident reflects a broader trend of "approval phishing" attacks in the cryptocurrency space, with other high-profile victims like Mark Cuban also targeted in similar schemes.
tradingview.com
· 2025-12-08
A MakerDAO governance delegate lost $11 million in aEthMKR and Pendle USDe tokens on June 23 after falling victim to a phishing scam that tricked them into signing multiple permit signatures, enabling scammers to access and drain the wallet. The incident highlights the growing prevalence of "approval phishing" attacks in crypto, where victims unknowingly grant scammers permission to transfer their digital assets. Phishing scams drained $300 million from 320,000 users in 2023 alone, with some individual cases exceeding $24 million in losses.
startupnews.fyi
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
A user fell victim to a phishing scam after signing multiple fraudulent digital signatures, resulting in the loss of their digital assets. The specific dollar amount and nature of the digital assets lost are not detailed in the provided text.
cointelegraph.com
· 2025-12-08
A MakerDAO governance delegate lost $11 million in cryptocurrency tokens (aEthMKR and Pendle USDe) in a phishing scam on June 23 after signing multiple fraudulent signatures that granted scammers access to their wallet. The incident highlights the growing threat of "approval phishing," a technique where victims are tricked into authorizing transactions that allow criminals to drain funds, with phishing scams having stolen $300 million from over 320,000 users in 2023 alone.
news4jax.com
· 2025-12-08
This educational piece warns of romance scams targeting people on social media and dating platforms, where scammers impersonate military servicemembers stationed overseas using stolen photos and identities. The key indicator of a scam is when an online romantic interest requests money through any method (gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, or cryptocurrency), and victims should verify profiles through reverse image searches and report suspected scammers to the FTC and relevant platforms.
elpasoinc.com
· 2025-12-08
An 87-year-old El Paso resident lost approximately $10,000 after falling victim to a tech support scam impersonating Microsoft, during which scammers convinced her she had fraudulent Amazon charges and obtained her personal financial information. El Paso experienced 93 elder fraud reports totaling $6.2 million in losses this year, with the FBI noting that common schemes include investment scams, tech support scams, government impersonation, and romance scams—many originating from organized crime rings in Eastern Europe and Africa. The FBI reports that nationwide, seniors over 60 filed 101,068 fraud complaints in 2023 resulting in $3.
siliconeer.com
· 2025-12-08
In 2023, Americans aged 60 and older lost $3.4 billion to fraud, with California accounting for over $620 million across 11,000+ reports, and monolingual Chinese seniors in the Bay Area facing particularly high risk. Common scams targeting elders include investment fraud (especially cryptocurrency), tech support scams, romance scams, and impersonation schemes (often posing as government officials), with typical victims losing over $33,000. Experts recommend immediate reporting to financial institutions and law enforcement (FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI), noting that shame, language barriers, and fear of retaliation prevent many victims—particularly Asian Americans—from coming forwar
interestingengineering.com
· 2025-12-08
Scammers used AI-generated deepfakes of Elon Musk on hijacked YouTube channels to conduct cryptocurrency fraud, with approximately 30,000 viewers tuning into a fake livestream where the deepfake promised to double deposited cryptocurrencies. This marks an escalation in online scams that increasingly exploit deepfake technology and celebrity identities; notably, similar scams involving rapper 50 Cent's hacked accounts generated $3 million in 30 minutes. Users are advised to remain cautious, as these scams operate across international networks and celebrities will never solicit cryptocurrency through social media or livestreams.
aol.com
· 2025-12-08
"Pig butchering" is a rapidly growing romance scam where fraudsters pose as romantic partners and lure victims into fake cryptocurrency investments, with the scammer gradually building trust through small initial returns before requesting large sums of money. In Alabama alone, 88 victims lost more than $22 million to this scheme, with individual losses ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, exploiting victims' emotional vulnerability and the lack of regulation in the crypto market.
mcall.com
· 2025-12-08
Elder fraud costs Americans over $37 billion annually, with common schemes including contractor fraud, sweepstakes scams, and romance/grandparent impersonation cons. Deputy prosecutor Paul Greenwood, who handled more than 750 elder abuse felony cases in San Diego, highlighted that criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated—using AI-assisted text conversations and spoofed caller IDs—while noting that jobless adult children and unvetted caregivers represent the most typical perpetrators. Greenwood recommended 20 protective measures including using bonded caregivers, freezing credit, checking credit reports regularly, and letting unknown calls go to voicemail, while cautioning against romance sc
telegram.com
· 2025-12-08
Elder fraud losses in the FBI-Boston Division reached $89.6 million across 2,689 victims in 2023, with Massachusetts accounting for $63.7 million of those losses, and financial fraud targeting adults over 60 increasing by double digits. The most common scams include tech support, romance, investment, and government impersonation schemes, with investment scams showing the sharpest growth (419% increase in losses from 2021-2023, largely driven by cryptocurrency fraud). The FBI emphasizes that actual losses are likely higher due to underreporting and recommends that seniors avoid unsolicited contacts, resist pressure to act quickly, never share personal information with un
heraldnews.com
· 2025-12-08
Elder fraud in the New England region resulted in $89.6 million in reported losses across Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island in 2023, with Massachusetts accounting for $63.7 million of that total, though the FBI estimates actual losses are significantly higher due to underreporting. The FBI-Boston reports a double-digit increase in financial fraud targeting adults over 60, with investment scams showing the sharpest growth (victimization up 209% and losses up 419% from 2021-2023), largely driven by cryptocurrency schemes, alongside common scams including tech support, romance, and government impersonation fraud. The FBI recommends elderly individuals and their families be
fox23.com
· 2025-12-08
A romance scam targeting seniors is currently widespread, in which scammers build fake romantic relationships to convince victims to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. According to cybersecurity expert Zulfikar Ramzan, crimes targeting elders have increased 11% in the last year, resulting in $3.4 billion in losses with an average loss of $34,000 per victim. Ramzan advises seniors to verify anyone met online through video calls, conduct background research, and be wary when asked about investments, as scammers typically start with small requests that escalate to stealing entire life savings through fake investment statements.
texascooppower.com
· 2025-12-08
Utility scammers impersonate company representatives through phone calls, texts, emails, and in-person visits to pressure consumers into immediate payments under threat of service disconnection, often using spoofed caller IDs and fraudulent websites designed to steal money or personal information. Common tactics include demanding payment via gift cards or cryptocurrency, claiming overpayment refunds, and using high-pressure language and poor grammar as red flags. Consumers should verify requests directly with their utility company by calling the official number, never provide personal or banking information over the phone, and report suspected scams to help protect their community.
infosecurity-magazine.com
· 2025-12-08
Between February 2023 and February 2024, cryptocurrency scam victims lost nearly $10 million to fraudsters posing as lawyers who claimed they could recover their funds, the FBI warned. These scammers contacted victims via social media and fake websites, impersonating attorneys from fictitious law firms and falsely claiming authorization from the FBI or CFPB, then requested personal information, upfront legal fees, or back taxes. The FBI cautioned victims to verify any contact claiming to help with fund recovery, as these secondary scams prey on people already victimized by initial cryptocurrency fraud.
ambcrypto.com
· 2025-12-08
On June 26, Metallica's X account was hacked and used to promote a fraudulent Solana-based cryptocurrency token called METAL, with scammers falsely claiming a partnership with Ticketmaster to boost credibility. After regaining control of the account, Metallica's team removed the fraudulent posts; this incident is part of a broader pattern of celebrity account compromises being exploited to promote memecoin scams, with a similar $15 million pump-and-dump scheme involving Hulk Hogan's name occurring earlier that month.
fedweek.com
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
In 2023, the FBI reported an 11 percent overall increase in fraud complaints, with a 14 percent surge in scams targeting adults 60 and older, who lost $3.4 billion of the $12.5 billion in total reported losses. Tech support fraud was the leading crime affecting seniors with nearly 18,000 complaints and $600 million in losses, while investment scams proved costliest at over $1.2 billion, and call center schemes disproportionately impacted older adults who lost almost $770 million—more than all other age groups combined, with some victims reportedly taking their own lives. The FBI recommends resisting pressure to
interpol.int
· 2025-12-08
Operation First Light 2024, a global police operation spanning 61 countries, disrupted transnational online scam networks by freezing 6,745 bank accounts, seizing USD 257 million in assets, and arresting 3,950 suspects involved in phishing, investment fraud, romance scams, and impersonation schemes. Notable successes included recovering AUD 5.5 million (USD 3.7 million) for an Australian impersonation scam victim and saving a 70-year-old Singapore resident from losing SGD 380,000 (USD 281,200) in a tech support scam, while also rescuing 88 you
vallartadaily.com
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
The FBI reported a rise in timeshare fraud scams primarily targeting older Americans who own part-time properties. Criminals deceive timeshare owners into paying substantial sums of money under false pretenses related to their properties, constituting a form of elder fraud aimed at extracting cash or cryptocurrency from senior victims.
yahoo.com
· 2025-12-08
Elder fraud losses in the Boston FBI Division (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island) totaled $89.6 million across 2,689 victims in 2023, with national losses reaching $1.6 billion from January to May 2024—a significant increase from the prior year. The most common scams targeting seniors include tech support, romance, investment, and government impersonation schemes, with investment scams involving cryptocurrency showing a particularly sharp rise of 419% in losses between 2021-2023. The FBI emphasizes that actual losses are likely higher due to underreporting and recommends elders be cautious of unsolicited contact, resist pressure
ca.style.yahoo.com
· 2025-12-08
Romance scammers use dating apps and social media to build fake relationships and solicit money from victims, with the FTC reporting a record $547 million in losses in 2021 and $1.3 billion lost over the past five years. Scammers employ tactics including fake profiles, claims of emergencies or inability to access funds, and requests for payment via wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency, with victims 70 and older losing the highest average amounts ($9,000 median loss). The FTC advises people to avoid sending money to strangers, verify profile pictures through reverse image searches, and never send money to or take investment advice from someone they haven't met in person.
forbes.com
· 2025-12-08
A fraud ring used stolen funds from FBI impersonation and romance scams to purchase approximately $1.4 million in collectible stamps through an auction house, with three Indian buyers acquiring 149 lots using criminal proceeds. The scammers employed a multi-layered scheme where fake government agents convinced victims to send money for "safekeeping," often routing payments through romance fraud victims to obscure the trail before purchasing stamps as a money-laundering vehicle to legitimize the stolen funds. The FBI seized the stamps, though no charges have been filed to date.
krcrtv.com
· 2025-12-08
During Elder Abuse Awareness Month, law enforcement in Shasta County, California highlighted the prevalence of financial fraud targeting seniors in the region, with the Redding Police Department reporting approximately 175 cases of elder abuse to their detective division last year. Perpetrators often include family members, caregivers, and neighbors who exploit the trust of elderly victims, making detection and intervention difficult. State lawmakers are advancing SB 278, which would require financial institutions to hold transactions over $5,000 for at least three days when financial abuse is suspected, aimed at preventing scammers from quickly transferring stolen funds offshore or to cryptocurrency accounts where recovery is rare.
12news.com
· 2025-12-08
Arizona seniors have lost over $82 million to fraud, with tech support scams causing average losses of $23,000 per victim and affecting people 60+ at 500% higher rates than younger adults. The Peoria Police Department is actively combating the "Phantom Hacker Scam," where criminals use pop-ups to trick seniors into sending money via cryptocurrency ATMs while posing as fraud detectives, and authorities are installing warning signs at crypto machines and urging community members to educate elderly relatives about avoiding such scams.
states.aarp.org
· 2025-12-08
Ellen Klem and Billie McNeely, working for Oregon's Attorney General's office and Adult Protective Services respectively, are leading efforts to combat rising elder fraud in the state, with recent scams increasingly involving cryptocurrency schemes that are difficult for law enforcement to trace. Elder fraud is growing nationally and particularly threatening to Oregon's aging population, with victims experiencing devastating financial losses and psychological harm that can be life-altering. Their prevention work includes training bankers and law enforcement, educating the public through campaigns like "Just Hang Up!," and providing dedicated prosecution support for complex financial exploitation cases.
clintonherald.com
· 2025-12-08
A June 2024 Washington Post investigation revealed a massive scam operation centered in Myanmar's Kokang region, controlled by Chinese crime families, that employed approximately 120,000 coerced workers across over 300 call centers to perpetrate cryptocurrency investment scams and romance scams targeting US victims. Workers from 35 countries were lured under false pretenses and subjected to beatings, torture, and killings for attempting to escape or failing to meet quotas, demonstrating why legal consequences remain minimal for scammers operating from overseas jurisdictions.
justice.gov
· 2025-12-08
Robert Louis Sanchez of New Mexico was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison as the fifth defendant in a grandparent scam that defrauded hundreds of victims across the United States, including Kentucky, of over $3 million between August 2020 and May 2021. The scheme involved callers convincing seniors that a grandchild needed emergency money, with co-conspirators posing as couriers to collect cash and launder proceeds through banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. Sanchez served as both a courier and "safehouse" keeper for stolen funds, with four other co-conspirators previously sentenced to terms ranging from 6 months to 6 years in prison.
freep.com
· 2025-12-08
Scammers are impersonating legitimate job recruiters and staffing companies (including Indeed, LinkedIn, Robert Half, and Kelly Services) to target job seekers with fake work-from-home offers promising $200-$1,000 daily pay. According to the FTC, consumers filed nearly 108,500 complaints about fake job opportunities in 2023, with about 32% resulting in losses averaging $2,169 each, totaling over $500 million in losses. The FBI warns that some scams involve cryptocurrency payment requirements disguised as part of the hiring process, trapping victims in schemes where they see fake earnings but cannot access real money.
wthr.com
· 2025-12-08
This educational article explains how to identify fraudulent debt collector scams, which often use threatening calls or texts to alarm potential victims. Warning signs include calls outside legal hours (8 a.m.–9 p.m.), threats to disclose debt to family or coworkers, requests for untraceable payment methods like cryptocurrency or gift cards, and failure to provide required information such as the creditor name and amount owed. The article advises consumers to verify debts through their credit report and avoid sharing personal financial information with callers.
coinfomania.com
· 2025-12-08
A phishing website mimicking the Aurory NFT project's domain (aurory.app instead of app.aurory) stole over $500,000 in SOL tokens from users during an August 31, 2021 NFT drop on the Solana network. Users who connected their wallets to the malicious site and signed a fraudulent contract had their funds immediately transferred to the attacker's address, with the hacker subsequently converting stolen assets to other cryptocurrencies. To prevent similar incidents, users should verify correct URLs before connecting wallets, use new addresses for NFT minting, and avoid enabling auto-approve transactions.
news5cleveland.com
· 2025-12-08
Cryptocurrency scam victims in Northeast Ohio face a secondary threat from recovery scams, where fraudsters posing as lawyers from fake firms promise to retrieve lost funds but instead steal additional money. Between February 2023 and February 2024, such fictitious law firm schemes targeting crypto victims resulted in nearly $10 million in losses reported to the FBI. The FBI's Cleveland Midwest Cryptocurrency Task Force warns victims against recovery schemes and advises reporting all suspected scams to the BBB Scam Tracker or FBI.
25newsnow.com
· 2025-12-08
Between February 2023 and February 2024, cybercriminals posing as lawyers scammed cryptocurrency fraud victims out of $9.9 million by claiming they could recover their initial losses, using tactics such as requesting personal information, upfront fees, and payments for back taxes. The FBI warns that victims should immediately report scams to the Internet Crime Complaint Center and never provide financial information or payment to unsolicited recovery service contacts, as legitimate law enforcement never charges fees for crime investigations.
lancasteronline.com
· 2025-12-08
**70-year-old Mark Heath lost his entire $161,000 retirement savings to a "pig butchering" romance scam** in which a woman named Libby Collins contacted him on Facebook, built an emotional relationship with him, and convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency and NFT schemes through multiple transfers. After his son identified the scam during the holidays, Heath contacted the FBI, but the money and the scammer had already disappeared, leaving him dependent on Social Security and his son's financial support.
crozetgazette.com
· 2025-12-08
Patsy Froehlich fell victim to a remote access scam when a fake PayPal representative tricked her into allowing screen-sharing access to her computer, manipulating her into attempting a $20,000 bank transfer she believed was a refund correction; her bank caught the suspicious transfer and prevented the loss. The article also describes a separate Publisher's Clearinghouse prize scam targeting Andrew Taylor, who was asked to purchase gift cards as a supposed legal requirement to claim a $5.1 million prize, and notes that scammers increasingly use urgency, emotional manipulation, and emerging technologies like AI to defraud victims.
devdiscourse.com
· 2025-12-08
A 60-year-old man in India lost Rs 30.80 lakh after being contacted via WhatsApp by two suspects who promised high returns on cryptocurrency investments. After the victim invested approximately Rs 31 lakh, the fraudsters ignored his attempts to withdraw returns and ceased communication. Police have registered a case against the two suspects, though no arrests have been made yet.
yespunjab.com
· 2025-12-08
A Hisar resident lost ₹8,91,000 in a cryptocurrency investment scam conducted through Telegram, where fraudsters using the alias "CAPTAIN AMERICA" convinced him to transfer funds to bogus bank accounts supplied by a bank employee accomplice. Haryana Police arrested three individuals involved in the scheme: the primary perpetrator who received the funds, the bank employee who sold the fraudulent accounts for ₹25,000 each, and a facilitator connecting with the scammers. Authorities advise citizens to avoid unknown Telegram investment groups and verify legitimacy before investing, and to report suspected fraud immediately to the Cyber Helpline (1930).
yahoo.com
· 2025-12-08
Sophisticated overseas scammers steal tens of billions of dollars annually from Americans through internet and telephone fraud, with the vast majority of perpetrators escaping prosecution as law enforcement agencies become overwhelmed by the exponential growth in cases. Victims, particularly older adults targeted by romance, grandparent, and technical support scams, rarely recover their losses, and some cases result in tragic secondary consequences when victims become desperate or violent. The combination of low investigation priority at local police departments, difficulty tracking funds moved to cryptocurrency or foreign accounts, and federal prosecution thresholds means that scammers operate with minimal risk of being caught or held accountable.
m.economictimes.com
· 2025-12-08
Sophisticated overseas scammers steal tens of billions of dollars annually from Americans through internet and telephone fraud, with projections worsening as the population ages and AI technology advances fraud capabilities. Law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed and underfunded to investigate these crimes, resulting in few convictions and minimal recovery of stolen funds, while victims—particularly older adults—lose life savings to romance scams, grandparent scams, and technical support fraud. A tragic Ohio case illustrates the crisis: an 81-year-old man fatally shot an Uber driver after a scammer manipulated him into believing she was involved in a $12,000 bond extraction scheme, while the actual perpetrator remains
mb.com.ph
· 2025-12-08
Scammers steal tens of billions of dollars annually from Americans through internet and telephone fraud, with sophisticated overseas criminals exploiting an aging population and increasingly using AI to evade detection and prosecution. Law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed by the exponential growth in scams, with most perpetrators escaping capture and victims rarely recovering their money, while some police departments treat financial fraud as lower priority than other crimes. The article illustrates the crisis through cases including an 81-year-old Ohio man who fatally shot an Uber driver after being targeted by a bond scam, and highlights how stolen funds are quickly converted to cryptocurrency or moved to foreign accounts, making recovery and investigation nearly impossible.