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cbs12.com
· 2025-12-08
Despite government efforts to reduce robocalls, phone calls remain scammers' preferred method for targeting victims, with older adults being disproportionately targeted because "criminals go where the money is," according to AARP's Director of Fraud Victim Support. In one Florida case, an elderly man with dementia lost $10,000 after receiving a scam call with an 833-area code and withdrawing cash to mail to scammers in New Jersey—though this victim was fortunate when law enforcement recovered the money before delivery, a rare outcome. Experts recommend not answering calls from unknown numbers, silencing unknown callers on smartphones, and blocking suspicious area codes commonly used by scamm
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
· 2025-12-08
Google's Trust & Safety teams identified five prevalent online scam trends: AI-powered deepfake impersonations of public figures promoting fake investments, cryptocurrency investment scams promising unrealistic returns, cloned apps and landing pages mimicking legitimate brands to steal personal information, cloaking techniques that hide malicious content from detection systems, and exploitation of major events like natural disasters and elections to launch timely frauds. The company advises users to scrutinize unnatural facial expressions in videos, verify investment claims, check for misspellings and unusual formatting on websites, confirm URLs match official sites, and use only established platforms for donations and purchases.
wisn.com
· 2025-12-08
A gold bar scam has defrauded 49 Wisconsin residents of approximately $13 million, with victims averaging losses exceeding $250,000 each. Scammers impersonate bank officials and federal authorities, convincing victims their accounts are hacked and instructing them to purchase gold bars for "protection," then deploy couriers to collect the gold before disappearing with it. Two couriers, Gourav Patel and Junjie Liang, have been arrested in connection with the scheme, which operates across the upper Midwest.
wwd.com
· 2025-12-08
McAfee's consumer survey found that approximately one-third of Americans fell victim to online scams during the holiday season, with 60 percent of victims losing money and 10 percent losing over $1,000. AI-powered tools are enabling scammers to create increasingly realistic fake emails, texts, social media messages, and deepfakes that impersonate trusted brands and celebrities, with 88 percent of consumers reporting that AI is making holiday scams more sophisticated and difficult to distinguish from legitimate communications.
news.trendmicro.com
· 2025-12-08
This week saw a surge in phishing and smishing scams targeting personal and financial data, including fake Xbox console purchase offers using the phishing site xblgo[.]com, fraudulent X (Twitter) login alerts directing users to fake login pages, and 1,127 fake Lowe's text messages with bogus order updates and delivery notifications. All three scam types aim to steal credentials, account access, or financial information by tricking users into clicking malicious links or entering personal details on fake websites. Protection strategies include verifying sender information, avoiding clicking unknown links, and checking legitimacy directly through official websites and apps rather than through provided links.
forbes.com
· 2025-12-08
Virgin Media O2 launched "Daisy," an AI-powered chatbot designed to impersonate an elderly woman and engage scammers in lengthy, unproductive conversations to waste their time and resources. Developed with scambaiter Jim Browning, Daisy uses voice recognition and custom language models to keep fraudsters on the phone with meandering discussions about knitting and cats while refusing to provide the personal or financial information they seek. The company reports Daisy has already wasted hundreds of hours of scammers' time, potentially preventing them from targeting real vulnerable individuals.
yle.fi
· 2025-12-08
In August 2021, an OP bank customer under age 20 lost nearly 44,000 euros to a text message phishing scam that directed them to a fake banking website and captured their credentials. The Eastern Finland Court of Appeal upheld a lower court's ruling requiring OP's Järvi-Häme branch to refund the victim, rejecting the bank's claim that the customer was careless and citing the victim's youth, limited banking experience, and distress during the incident. The ruling remains subject to further appeal.
dailydot.com
· 2025-12-08
A TikTok user was scammed out of $40 by Boomira, a fraudulent online retailer, after purchasing an advertised seven-foot pre-lit Christmas tree through a TikTok Shop ad. The company provided a fake tracking number and disappeared with customers' money and payment information instead of delivering the product. The victim's viral videos warning others prompted thousands of people to avoid the scam, and authorities recommend verifying tracking numbers through official shipper portals, reporting suspicious charges to banks immediately, and being cautious of deals that seem too good to be true, especially for seasonal items with extended shipping times.
forbes.com
· 2025-12-08
Scammers are actively targeting online shoppers ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Nov. 27) through brand impersonation scams, including fraudulent ads for PlayStation 5 consoles on Temu, fake Amazon branding, counterfeit Walmart gift cards, and fake delivery notifications. Amazon combats these threats year-round using investigator teams and machine learning, removing over 40,000 phishing websites and 10,000 scam phone numbers in 2023 while referring hundreds of bad actors to law enforcement. Consumers should report suspected scams to Amazon's ReportAScam service and contact their bank immediately if compromised, as the Amazon A-
blog.google
· 2025-12-08
Google's Trust & Safety team is launching a regular advisory to track and combat increasingly sophisticated online fraud schemes, which are often orchestrated by transnational crime organizations using combined online and offline tactics. The advisory highlights five current scam trends: deepfake-enabled public figure impersonation campaigns promoting fraudulent investments and apps, crypto investment schemes promising unrealistic returns, app and landing page cloning that deceives users into sharing personal information or downloading malware, tech support scams using fake customer service pages, and credential theft through spoofed employee login portals. Google is implementing countermeasures including updated policies against impersonation in ads, enforcement against crypto fraud, and tools like SynthID to identify AI-
koco.com
· 2025-12-08
**Holiday Scam Prevention Guide**: The Better Business Bureau warns consumers to watch for three trending seasonal scams—imposter websites with misspelled URLs lacking HTTPS encryption, fake shipping notifications with malicious links sent via email or text, and fraudulent charities soliciting donations around Giving Tuesday. Protection strategies include verifying website URLs carefully, avoiding unsolicited links and instead using original confirmation emails to track packages, and researching charities through legitimate databases like the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Charity Navigator before donating.
al.com
· 2025-12-08
The Madison County Sheriff's Office is warning residents about a phone scam in which fraudsters impersonate law enforcement and court officials, threatening arrest for missed jury duty and demanding immediate payment of fake fines, sometimes including forged legal documents. The scammers use both automated and live calls to intimidate victims into sending money they do not owe. Residents are advised to verify caller identity through official channels, never provide personal or financial information to unknown callers, and report suspicious calls to the sheriff's office.
blog.google
· 2025-12-08
This policy white paper from Google addresses the rising threat of online scams, which affected over 21 million Americans last year and 78% of mobile users. Google recommends that governments, tech companies, and financial institutions strengthen collaboration through information sharing, cross-border cooperation, and international initiatives like the Global Anti-Scams Alliance to combat increasingly sophisticated transnational fraud networks. The recommendations also call for legal frameworks that incentivize companies to invest in AI-powered scam detection and prevention tools while protecting them from liability for good-faith protective actions.
wtap.com
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
This educational piece presents financial fraud prevention advice from Jeff Sandy, a former West Virginia law enforcement official, highlighting common scams targeting the Mid-Ohio Valley including impersonation of loved ones (such as the "grandparent scam") and too-good-to-be-true offers. Sandy recommends critical thinking (asking "who, what, when, where, why"), maintaining open communication with elderly family members, limiting personal information shared online and in obituaries, and reporting fraud immediately to law enforcement or the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) without shame.
communityimpact.com
· 2025-12-08
The Elder Financial Safety Center (EFSC), formed in 2014 by Dallas County Probate Courts, the District Attorney's Office, and The Senior Source nonprofit, addresses financial exploitation of seniors through prevention, protection, and prosecution. The article details prevalent scams targeting seniors aged 50+, including romance scams, government impersonation, tech support fraud, and grandparent scams, and recommends protective measures such as not answering unknown calls and avoiding clicking on unsolicited texts and links. Services are free to eligible seniors in Dallas and surrounding counties, with one case cited involving a victim who lost $545,000 after being groomed through a fake Geek Squad text message scam
973espn.com
· 2025-12-08
An elderly couple in Galloway Township, New Jersey, nearly lost $60,000 to an imposter posing as a federal agent who convinced them their bank accounts had been compromised and instructed them to withdraw cash for deposit into a "secure account." Police intervened after the couple's daughter alerted authorities, and arrested Dipen Patel, 51, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, when he arrived at the home to collect the money. The case highlights the prevalence of elder fraud schemes targeting seniors through phone impersonation.
hispanicprwire.com
· 2025-12-08
The New York StateWide Senior Action Council highlighted misleading marketing practices during Medicare Open Enrollment (October 15–December 7) as its November 2024 Fraud of the Month, warning seniors to avoid scammers who request personal information, falsely claim Medicare affiliation, or use high-pressure enrollment tactics. The council advises seniors to verify that plan representatives explain coverage changes in writing, confirm doctors are in-network, and opt out of unsolicited communications, with resources available through the NYS Senior Medicare Patrol at 800-333-4374.
paymentsjournal.com
· 2025-12-08
Cross-border payments, which represent only 11% of card transactions but account for 63% of card-related fraud, pose significant risks to consumers and financial institutions globally. In the UK alone, authorized push payment (APP) scams—where victims are tricked into sending money to criminals—caused £239 million in losses in the first half of 2023, with one in three UK cross-border payment users reporting victimization. To combat this growing threat, experts recommend implementing collaborative information-sharing frameworks between financial institutions, adopting tokenization technology, and establishing universal standards like ISO 20022 to improve fraud detection and reduce the physical distance advantage that enables criminals to evade capture.
saharareporters.com
· 2025-12-08
Four Nigerian nationals—Patrick Edah, Efe Egbowawa, Igocha Mac-Okor, and Kay Ozegbe—were sentenced to federal prison (30 to 60 months) for operating a romance and investment scam that defrauded victims across the U.S., including Western Tennessee, from 2017 to 2021. The defendants used fake identities and dating site profiles to establish romantic relationships and solicit emergency financial assistance, with victims losing thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, including one Tennessee resident who lost over $400,000. They were convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering after laundering scam proceeds through
cbsnews.com
· 2025-12-08
A 30-year-old San Leandro woman, Qingyun Chen, was arrested for allegedly running a large-scale tech support scam that targeted elderly victims throughout the Bay Area by convincing them their computers were infected with viruses, then directing them to withdraw cash that couriers collected from their homes. Chen was identified during a September investigation into the scheme and charged with grand theft and theft/embezzlement of an elder adult, with bail set at $2.5 million; investigators recovered significant cash and evidence from two of her homes.
catcountry1073.com
· 2025-12-08
A Galloway Township Police Department stopped an attempted elder fraud scheme when officers arrested Dipen Patel, 51, who arrived at a senior couple's home to collect $60,000 in cash. The couple had been deceived by a phone scammer posing as a federal agent who falsely claimed unauthorized bank accounts were opened in their names and instructed them to withdraw and hand over the money for "protection." Police prevented the handover after being alerted by the couple's daughter and have issued search warrants as the investigation continues.
americanbanker.com
· 2025-12-08
Comerica Bank sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in November 2024, claiming its investigation into the bank's administration of the Direct Express federal prepaid card program—which serves over 3 million Americans receiving federal benefits—is unlawful and exceeds the agency's authority. The lawsuit comes after years of allegations against Comerica, including outsourcing fraud complaints to Pakistan, failing to adequately prevent fraud, and mishandling beneficiary refunds, which led to a $1.2 million settlement in June 2024. Comerica's current contract with the Treasury Department expires January 2, 2025, and the bank faces potential replacement by Bank of New York Mellon.
newportdispatch.com
· 2025-12-08
Bath Police Department reported two recent online scams affecting local residents: a fake Facebook Marketplace rental property listing where victims lost money on a down payment after the scammer used photos from legitimate real estate sites, and a lottery scam where a victim sent $1,000 in processing fees after being told they won an $8.5 million prize from a company impersonating Publishers Clearing House. Authorities recommend verifying legitimacy before making online payments and reporting scams to local police and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
coventrytelegraph.net
· 2025-12-08
A survey by Aviva found that 30% of young drivers aged 17-25 were duped by fraudulent car insurance brokers, many contacted through social media platforms offering suspiciously cheap policies. Victims experienced serious consequences including invalid policies due to misrepresented personal details (49%), rejected insurance claims (22%), vehicle impoundment or police fines (17%), with Aviva identifying 340,000 suspicious applications and canceling 17,000 fraudulent policies in a single year. The insurer advises young drivers to avoid social media insurance offers and report suspected "ghost brokers" to the Insurance Fraud Bureau or Action Fraud.
oklahoman.com
· 2025-12-08
Oklahoma City is warning residents about a resurging scam where callers impersonate municipal court employees or law enforcement, demanding immediate payment of fake fines over the phone under threat of jail. The city advises residents to hang up, independently verify any debts by calling OKC Municipal Court at (405) 297-3898 or checking okc.gov/court, and notes that scammers increasingly use spoofed numbers, actual deputy names, and payment methods like gift cards and cryptocurrency to steal money.
breakingac.com
· 2025-12-08
A Pennsylvania man, Dipen Patel, was arrested after attempting to impersonate a federal agent to scam an elderly couple out of over $60,000 in cash in Galloway Township. The victim's daughter recognized the scam and contacted police, who coordinated surveillance and arrested Patel when he arrived to collect the cash. Patel was charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking and released on a summons pending investigation.
wgnsradio.com
· 2025-12-08
During Medicare open enrollment season (October 15 – December 7, 2025), scammers pose as Medicare representatives to target seniors in Rutherford County, Tennessee, using fake calls, phishing attempts, and impersonation schemes to steal personal information and financial details. Common tactics include requesting Medicare numbers or credit cards under the guise of "updating" information, falsely claiming Part D coverage is mandatory, and using scare tactics about benefit cancellation. Seniors should never provide personal information to unsolicited callers and instead verify directly with Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE or use legitimate resources like Medicare.gov or Tennessee's SHIP program for enrollment assistance.
patch.com
· 2025-12-08
The San Diego Seniors Community Foundation and FBI San Diego Citizens Academy are hosting free Elder Fraud Prevention seminars on November 13 and 19 in honor of International Fraud Week, designed to educate seniors and families about recognizing and avoiding scams. The seminars come as elder fraud losses continue to rise, with Americans over 60 reporting $3.4 billion in losses in 2023 (an 11% increase from 2022), with tech support fraud and investment scams being the most prevalent schemes targeting seniors.
wimberleyview.com
· 2025-12-08
A panel of experts presented common scams to the Wimberley Chamber of Commerce, including telephone schemes where scammers impersonated sheriff's office staff demanding bail money, and "grandma scams" using AI-cloned voices to convince relatives to send funds for fake emergencies. Financial fraud schemes included fraudulent bank employee calls redirecting transfers, online loan scams requesting upfront cash, romance scams targeting elderly people on social media, and cryptocurrency conversion schemes, with experts advising recipients to hang up and independently verify requests with their bank or sheriff's office.
amlintelligence.com
· 2025-12-08
FinCEN has issued an alert warning of a rise in fraudulent deepfake schemes targeting financial institutions, and has provided guidance to help companies identify associated red flags. The alert aims to help the financial sector recognize and defend against this emerging threat.
thedailystar.com
· 2025-12-08
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert warning New Yorkers about health insurance scams targeting individuals during the open enrollment period (through December 15) for coverage starting January 1. Common scam tactics include threatening cancellation of Medicaid coverage, offering fake gifts to solicit personal information, using phishing emails offering discounted insurance, and impersonating official state agencies. The alert provides guidance to avoid scams, including free renewal services, verification that legitimate agencies never use the term "Obamacare" or ask for money, and resources available through the NY State of Health website.
anz.com.au
· 2025-12-08
Investment and online shopping scams caused Australian losses of $3.4 million and $125 million respectively from January to September 2024, with fraudsters using professionally-designed websites and promises of quick returns or unbeatable deals to lure victims. One customer nearly lost $50,000 to an unregistered broker operating a crypto scam before intervention. Protection strategies include verifying website legitimacy, checking broker registration with ASIC, avoiding rushed decisions, using secure payment methods, and monitoring accounts regularly.
syracuse.com
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
New York State Attorney General Letitia James issued a warning about health insurance scams targeting residents during open enrollment periods, which spike as New Yorkers seek coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace (open through January 31, 2025). Scammers use fear tactics threatening cancellation of Medicaid or other coverage unless payment is provided, phishing schemes offering gift cards to update accounts, and false claims that fees are required to enroll in state health programs—tactics that legitimate government agencies never employ. New Yorkers are advised to use only official channels like NY State of Health website or 1-855-355-5777 to enroll and to report suspected fraud to the Attorney
spectrumlocalnews.com
· 2025-12-08
The Federal Trade Commission reported $1.4 billion in social media scams last year, with online shopping fraud ranking as the second most popular fraud type. The Better Business Bureau recommends verifying website URLs, using credit cards for purchases, checking reviews before buying from unfamiliar stores, avoiding clicking links in unsolicited shipping update texts, and being skeptical of deals that seem too good to be true, particularly for high-ticket items like electronics.
king5.com
· 2025-12-08
The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office launched a new Economic Crimes and Wage Theft division and held a public presentation on fraud prevention, highlighting warning signs and protection strategies. Key advice included avoiding clicking links from unknown senders, being cautious of AI-altered caller IDs, never sharing personal or financial information unsolicited, and recognizing gift card payment requests as scam indicators, particularly during high-risk periods like the holiday season. Prosecutors emphasized that while identity theft protection can help victims recover losses, fraud has broader economic consequences affecting banks and consumers through increased fees.
fox4beaumont.com
· 2025-12-08
Cyber scams in the U.S. are becoming increasingly sophisticated; Texas reported about $1 billion in cybercrimes losses in 2023, with common tactics including law enforcement impersonation that uses urgency and personal information obtained from data collection sites to intimidate victims into immediate payment. The FBI recommends protecting yourself by opting out of data collection sites, limiting social media sharing, and verifying requests by hanging up and calling back using independently confirmed numbers—particularly important for elderly people who are frequent targets of grandparent scams using voice-mimicking technology.
businessreport.com
· 2025-12-08
I cannot provide a summary for this article as it does not relate to elder fraud, scams, or elder abuse. The content appears to be about Louisiana state tax legislation and corporate tax rates.
For the Elderus database, please provide articles or transcripts specifically covering topics such as financial exploitation, elder fraud schemes, scams targeting seniors, or elder abuse incidents.
americanbanker.com
· 2025-12-08
A retired Navy commander in Virginia had his estate drained of $3.6 million through 74 wire transfers to Thailand while suffering from diminished mental capacity due to a stroke, with his bank failing to prevent the fraud despite an address as suspicious as "165 alley behind the old Phraya Karai Temple Wat." In a separate case, an 84-year-old Los Angeles man and his 76-year-old wife lost $18.5 million of $29.5 million moved from their accounts after scammers convinced them of a data breach, with Bank of America failing to flag the highly anomalous transactions. These cases highlight systemic vulnerabilities in bank oversight
aboutlawsuits.com
· 2025-12-08
This content is a compilation of legal case summaries and does not contain a single article suitable for Elderus summarization. However, the relevant elder abuse item is: The DOJ released its sixth Annual Report to Congress detailing federal progress in combating elder fraud, abuse, and nursing home neglect from July 2023 to June 2024, noting that multiple new and ongoing federal programs have been implemented in partnership with law enforcement agencies to address financial fraud and caregiver abuse affecting elderly Americans.
pressofatlanticcity.com
· 2025-12-08
I cannot summarize this content as requested. This appears to be a list of countries and territories rather than an article about scams, fraud, or elder abuse.
To provide a summary for the Elderus database, please share an actual article or transcript about:
- A specific fraud or scam incident
- Elder abuse case
- General educational/awareness content about elder fraud
Once you provide relevant content, I'll create a concise 2-3 sentence summary following the Elderus format.
khou.com
· 2025-12-08
A Houston couple fell victim to a parking lot scam when an imposter wearing a vest and light posed as a parking attendant and charged them $20 to park near Post Houston. The scam, which is becoming increasingly common in downtown Houston parking lots, also involves fraudsters using fake QR codes to trick visitors unfamiliar with the legitimate payment methods (meters or official apps). City officials acknowledge the problem persists because scammers continue to target the area's high-traffic parking lots and are working with police for better enforcement.
scmp.com
· 2025-12-08
115 Hong Kong residents lost HK$22 million (US$2.8 million) in a week through click farming employment scams, in which victims were recruited via messages and promised commissions to boost online sales by making purchases with their own money. Scammers initially paid small commissions to gain credibility, then persuaded victims to complete additional tasks or register on fake websites and deposit funds before disappearing with the money. One victim, a 52-year-old woman, lost nearly HK$1.8 million after responding to a job offer through WhatsApp.
munsifdaily.com
· 2025-12-08
A victim in Hyderabad lost Rs 2,91,726 in a credit card fraud scheme where a scammer impersonated an HDFC Bank representative, convinced the victim to install a malicious APK file via WhatsApp, and used the compromised phone to make unauthorized purchases on Amazon. The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal's Cyber Crime Unit in Hyderabad quickly identified the malware, coordinated with authorities to block the funds, and secured a full refund from the merchant without requiring court intervention.
au.finance.yahoo.com
· 2025-12-08
Meta received a Shonky Award for failing to protect Australians from scams, as social media fraud losses reached $95 million in 2024, with a Queensland retiree losing $110,000 in a fake celebrity investment scam that remained on Facebook for six to eight weeks. Scams on Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) account for 76% of all reported social media scam losses, and CHOICE found that Meta's response times to reported fraudulent ads were inconsistent, with some remaining live for at least four days. The Australian government has introduced legislation imposing fines up to $50 million on social media platforms and other companies that
cityofmentor.com
· 2025-12-08
The Mentor Police Department is offering a free educational presentation on preventing senior scams on November 13, 2024, at the Mentor Senior Center, covering common scam types, red flags, and protection strategies. The presentation is open to the public and designed to help seniors recognize and avoid fraud targeting their age group.
einpresswire.com
· 2025-12-08
Retired FBI agent John Schwartz, president of The Center for Combating Elder Financial Abuse, launched a comprehensive initiative to protect seniors from financial scams through educational seminars, resources, and partnerships with local organizations. According to a 2023 AARP study, elder financial abuse costs approximately $28.3 billion annually, a figure expected to rise as the senior population grows from 60 million to 70 million between 2025 and 2030. Schwartz, drawing on over 24 years of federal investigative experience, aims to empower seniors, families, and caregivers by educating them on warning signs, prevention strategies, and available resources.
prnewswire.com
· 2025-12-08
The New York StateWide Senior Action Council highlighted misleading marketing practices during Medicare Open Enrollment (October 15-December 7) as its November Fraud of the Month, warning seniors to avoid scammers who request personal information, falsely claim Medicare endorsement, or use high-pressure enrollment tactics. The organization advises beneficiaries to request written information, verify doctor networks, and report suspected fraud to the NYS Senior Medicare Patrol at 800-333-4374, noting that Medicare fraud costs taxpayers over $60 billion annually nationwide.
windsorstar.com
· 2025-12-08
LaSalle police warned of a phishing text message scam targeting seniors that impersonates Service Canada, falsely claiming CPP and OAS benefits have been suspended and requesting immediate response. The scam uses a legitimate-looking CRA phone number and directs victims to click a fraudulent hyperlink that mimics official CRA and banking websites to steal personal and financial information. Police advised recipients not to reply, click links, or provide any information, and recommended verifying sender identity before sharing sensitive data.
jocoreport.com
· 2025-12-08
An elderly Benson man was defrauded by scammers impersonating Geek Squad over a two-year period (2022-2024), losing a total of $40,000. The scam began when the victim responded to a fake text claiming he owed $400 for prior repairs; once he paid, the scammers repeatedly contacted him with fraudulent bills for various services, which he paid believing them to be legitimate. The fraud was discovered by a family member who reported it to law enforcement.
cp24.com
· 2025-12-08
A Brampton woman lost over $230,000 in life savings to a romance scam after a man she met online befriended her, claimed to need money for family emergencies and a business contract, and promised repayment. Romance scams are among the three most common frauds in Canada, with victims collectively losing over $52 million in the previous year, and cybercriminals typically target lonely individuals online before creating false emergencies and making excuses to avoid in-person meetings.