Search
Explore the Archive
Search across 26,669 articles about elder fraud. Filter by fraud type, payment mechanism, or keywords.
9,965 results
in General Elder Fraud
highlandcountypress.com
· 2026-08-08
Abdoul Issaka Assimiou, 38, of Parma, Ohio, was sentenced to 63 months in prison for his role in an international romance fraud conspiracy that targeted elderly Americans from December 2017 to March 2024. Assimiou and co-conspirators used fake dating profiles and social media to deceive victims into sending money via wire transfer based on false stories, with Assimiou retaining portions of the stolen funds and shipping goods to accomplices in Ghana. He was ordered to pay $220,485 in restitution to 15 victims.
ca.finance.yahoo.com
· 2026-08-08
Three male suspects were arrested in July for operating home renovation scams that defrauded Canadian seniors of over $500,000, using high-pressure tactics and urgency to convince victims to pay for work never intended to be completed. The scammers, one of whom impersonated a police officer, are believed to be part of an organized criminal network operating across multiple Canadian jurisdictions. Service fraud remains the third most common scam in Canada, with victims losing an average of nearly $8,000 per incident in 2025, disproportionately targeting isolated seniors.
kioncentralcoast.com
· 2026-08-08
A certified nursing assistant at Concord Post Acute nursing home was arrested and charged with sexually abusing an 85-year-old resident on or about April 30. Arian Mojaddidi faces charges of lewd and lascivious acts with aggravating circumstances due to the victim's vulnerability and the defendant's position of trust as a caregiver. A conviction would require him to register as a sex offender.
lowerbuckstimes.com
· 2026-08-08
Four Newtown Township residents reported large losses to scams within three days in early August 2026, including elder fraud involving impersonated credit union callers, unauthorized credit card accounts, and sophisticated courier scams where callers posed as bank fraud departments and convinced victims to withdraw cash. Three of the four fraud cases were referred to the detective division, while a fifth fraud case that week involved unauthorized charges on a credit card. The incidents reflect a pattern of fraud in the township, with five of six police incidents in the week of July 31-August 7 classified as fraud or identity theft.
aol.com
· 2026-08-08
Scammers targeting seniors across multiple states, including New York, have stolen over $100 million in the past two years using a gold bar scheme that begins with fake pop-up messages claiming financial compromise, followed by impersonators posing as law enforcement who direct victims to purchase gold bars or coins as "protection" for their accounts. Victims are instructed to keep the scam secret and then hand over the gold to couriers, with one notable case involving an 85-year-old man in Washington DC who was targeted for $200,000 before a gold dealer recognized the scheme and alerted authorities. New York's attorney general is warning the public not to call numbers in unsolicited messages, grant remote computer
livemint.com
· 2026-08-08
A 63-year-old retired woman from Gujarat was defrauded of ₹1.91 lakh after complaining about a ₹175 spoiled milk delivery from Zepto. When she searched for Zepto's customer care number online, she contacted a fraudster impersonating a company executive who gained her trust and tricked her into downloading a malicious APK file and transferring money to multiple bank accounts and UPI IDs. Police have registered an FIR and launched an investigation into the scam involving charges related to cheating and violations of the Information Technology Act.
leadership.ng
· 2026-08-08
A Spanish man's investigation into a romance scam targeting his divorced mother led him to Lagos, Nigeria, where he discovered that young men with minimal education were using basic phones and internet access to manipulate lonely Western victims by creating fake online relationships. His mother had been approached by a scammer posing as a U.S. soldier named Brian who claimed to have gold bars and wanted to move in with her, but the investigation revealed the fraud originated in Nigeria. Barragan's journey—meeting over 50 scammers and victims—resulted in his book "The Yahoo Boys" and highlighted how widespread loneliness in Western societies makes people vulnerable to these carefully constructed emotional manipulation schemes.
margatenews.net
· 2026-08-08
I cannot provide a summary of this article as it does not contain information about a specific scam or fraud incident. The document is a news index listing various local news topics from the Margate, Florida area, including government meetings, crime reports, and municipal issues. While it mentions "Crypto ATM Scams" and "Romance Scam" as headline topics, no details about actual fraud cases, victims, or dollar amounts are provided in the content.
huntingtonnow.com
· 2026-08-08
New York Attorney General Letitia James is warning residents about a rapidly growing "gold bar" scam targeting New Yorkers, particularly seniors, in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement and convince victims to liquidate their life savings to purchase gold bars that are then stolen by couriers. The scam typically begins with fake pop-up messages claiming a computer or financial account has been compromised, followed by fake law enforcement officials instructing victims to buy gold and hand it over for "safekeeping" while demanding secrecy. The NYPD has investigated over 100 cases in the past two years with reported losses exceeding $100 million.
capenews.net
· 2026-08-07
Bitcoin and other digital currency scams targeting elderly people have reached epidemic levels, with five victims losing $128,000 at a single Bitcoin ATM location in Haverhill over 24 months. Scammers use various tactics including posing as family members, law enforcement, debt collectors, or financial institutions to pressure victims into sending money via digital payment platforms, gift cards, or Bitcoin. In one Massachusetts jurisdiction, police received 393 elder fraud reports over 21 months but successfully pursued charges in only 15 cases, highlighting the difficulty of tracing assets and prosecuting these crimes.
techtimes.com
· 2026-08-07
President Trump raised the issue of Southeast Asian cyber scam compounds with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a State Department official's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, marking high-level U.S.-China diplomatic engagement on an issue where Beijing has historically prioritized enforcement only when Chinese nationals were victimized rather than Americans. The compounds, which operate across Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar under Chinese organized crime networks and employ trafficked workers, stole more than $12 billion from Americans in cyber scams last year, with pig-butchering cryptocurrency investment fraud being the dominant scheme affecting seniors particularly hard. China's recent crackdowns on these compounds have been "very successful" but appear driven primarily by protection of
cbsnews.com
· 2026-08-07
A certified nursing assistant at Concord Post Acute was arrested and charged with sexually abusing an 85-year-old resident on or about April 30. The worker, Arian Mojaddidi, faces charges of lewd and lascivious acts with aggravating circumstances given the victim's vulnerability and the defendant's position of trust as a caregiver. A conviction would require Mojaddidi to register as a sex offender.
yen.com.gh
· 2026-08-07
FBI Director Kash Patel announced a coordinated interagency effort to combat fraud targeting elderly Americans and children, urging the public worldwide to report information to 1-800-CALL-FBI. The initiative focuses on extraditing suspects and returning seized funds to victims who lost their life savings and retirement accounts to scammers. Law enforcement agencies including the Department of Justice and White House are collaborating to hold perpetrators accountable and restore assets to elderly victims.
pymnts.com
· 2026-08-07
The Senate CLARITY Act compromise draft seeks to regulate digital assets including stablecoins and decentralized finance while balancing industry growth with consumer protections and anti-money laundering provisions. Key revisions include restrictions on stablecoin rewards that resemble bank deposits, expanded protections for software developers and DeFi participants, and Treasury authority to impose civil penalties up to $5 million for violations. A Senate vote is expected in September after the August recess, following Democratic opposition that delayed floor consideration before the recess.
nbcmiami.com
· 2026-08-07
Two men, Santiago Orrego Gomez and Daniel Mauricio Gomez Garcia, were arrested in Colombia and extradited to Miami to face charges in a $50 million money laundering scheme linked to a drug trafficking cartel. The scheme, part of "Operation Count It Up," involved laundering proceeds from drug trafficking, cryptocurrency conversions, and elder fraud across multiple states using wire transfers and ATM deposits to obscure the money's origin.
hoodline.com
· 2026-08-07
Two Colombian nationals, Santiago Orrego Gomez and Daniel Mauricio Gomez Garcia, were extradited to Miami to face charges in a $50 million money laundering scheme that combined narcotics proceeds, cryptocurrency conversions, and elder fraud scam money. The pair, along with four co-defendants, allegedly used wired funds and ATM cash deposits across multiple states to obscure the origins of illicit money as part of Operation Count It Up. Elderly Americans have become increasingly vulnerable to these schemes, losing over $4.3 billion to cryptocurrency-focused scams in 2025, with criminals exploiting fast crypto conversions to move stolen domestic scam proceeds internationally.
aol.com
· 2026-08-07
Three Chinese nationals were arrested in Orlando and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud for operating a $2.2 million scheme targeting elderly victims across 17 states through coercive phone calls and messages directing them to send money to shell companies. The fraud ring, led by Yongbo Li, victimized at least 28 identified seniors, with one victim losing as much as $240,000, though authorities say more victims are being identified daily. Three additional suspects remain at large and are believed to be in China, which lacks an extradition treaty with the United States.
ibtimes.co.uk
· 2026-08-07
A 64-year-old Truckee, California woman lost approximately $500,000 in cash and gold after scammers impersonating US Marshals convinced her that her savings were under investigation and needed to be converted to gold for protection. Two couriers, Anil Kumar and Amit Bhanwala-Singh, were convicted of exploiting an elderly person and attempting to obtain money under false pretenses, with Kumar facing up to 40 years in prison and Bhanwala-Singh having already been sentenced to 35 years. The case is part of a larger fraud trend targeting seniors, with the FBI reporting $219 million in gold-related scam losses in 2
ctvnews.ca
· 2026-08-07
An Innisfil senior lost thousands of dollars after falling victim to a fake promotion scam. The scam targeted multiple victims beyond this individual senior. The article indicates this is part of a broader pattern of similar fraudulent promotion schemes targeting seniors.
hoodline.com
· 2026-08-06
A gold bar scam targeting older New Yorkers has defrauded victims of over $100 million, with individual losses reaching as high as $9 million, according to the NYPD's Financial Crimes Task Force. The scheme begins with fake Microsoft pop-ups that give scammers remote access to victims' computers, after which callers impersonating federal agents convince retirees to convert their savings into physical gold bars for a courier to collect. The scam reflects a broader national trend, with gold courier fraud generating $311.8 million in losses from approximately 725 complaints nationwide in 2025, contributing to a 59% surge in overall financial fraud targeting Americans 60 and older
money.ca
· 2026-08-06
Three male suspects were arrested in July for operating home renovation scams that defrauded Canadian seniors of over $500,000 across multiple provinces. The scammers used high-pressure tactics and fear-based sales tactics to convince victims to pay for services they never intended to complete, with one suspect impersonating a police officer to gain trust. Service fraud is the third most common scam in Canada, claiming $19.5 million in 2025, with seniors disproportionately targeted due to isolation and susceptibility to urgent tactics.
wistv.com
· 2026-08-06
Two Orangeburg County residents lost over $121,000 in separate scams within days of each other: a man in his 70s lost $100,000 after responding to a fake Microsoft alert on his laptop and withdrawing money at the scammer's direction, while a woman lost $21,000 in a social media investment scam. The sheriff's office also reported a case where a 12-year-old lost hundreds of dollars to a scammer impersonating a YouTuber. Authorities are warning residents, particularly seniors, to verify requests through official bank channels rather than responding to unsolicited calls or messages.
yahoo.com
· 2026-08-06
The Midland Police Department is hosting free elder fraud prevention seminars throughout August at three senior centers to educate older adults about scams and fraud tactics. The department has reported an increase in card skimmers at local gas pumps and is working to combat this threat while providing community outreach through presentations offered in both English and Spanish.
firstalert7.com
· 2026-08-06
The Midland Police Department is hosting fraud awareness and education events at three senior centers in August to combat elder scamming, offering presentations in both English and Spanish. The department has also noted a recent increase in card skimmers at local gas pumps and has increased patrols to inspect pumps during nighttime hours.
hoodline.com
· 2026-08-06
A 21-year-old Jacksonville man was arrested for posing as a U.S. Marshal in a scheme that defrauded a 75-year-old Tamarac woman of over $300,000 in gold—her life savings accumulated over 33 years. The scam began with a fake Walmart fraud department call about a fraudulent purchase, escalating to false claims of a federal arrest warrant and narcotics-related charges, after which the victim was instructed to liquidate assets and convert them to gold for a supposed federal investigation. The defendant faces multiple felonies including grand theft of a person over 65 and communications fraud, both carrying up to 30 years in prison
sentineltimes.com
· 2026-08-06
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas is warning residents about an increase in jury duty scams where callers impersonate court or sheriff's office staff, claiming victims missed jury duty and demanding immediate payment of fines up to $1,500 to avoid arrest. These government imposter scams are widespread, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting over 375,000 complaints and $917 million in losses in 2025. Scammers use elaborate stories, fake caller IDs, and official-looking documents to trick victims into paying money or divulging personal financial information.
sequimgazette.com
· 2026-08-05
A free financial scam prevention seminar in Sequim drew seniors to learn warning signs from law enforcement, with Clallam County residents having lost millions to fraud schemes involving impersonation of government agents, gold/Bitcoin conversion, and mailbox theft. Local officials emphasized that prevention is critical since victims are rarely made whole, and cited recent cases including residents losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and one 83-year-old woman losing her home to scammers.
bankingjournal.aba.com
· 2026-08-05
Financial scams exploit consistent psychological levers—trust, urgency, reward, fear, and confusion—that criminals adapt to new technologies rather than fundamentally reinvent. Historical schemes like George C. Parker's bridge sales and Charles Ponzi's investment fraud demonstrate that modern scams are often traditional confidence tricks delivered through faster, more anonymous digital channels such as spoofed communications, fake websites, and synthetic identities. Financial institutions must anticipate how technology and social behavior evolve together to manage fraud risk proactively rather than merely responding after losses occur.
hoodline.com
· 2026-08-05
Three Chinese nationals—Yongbo Li, 36, Huashan Lu, 62, and Yuxiang Zhao, 60—were arrested in Orlando for operating a mail fraud scheme targeting elderly victims through fake calls, emails, and pop-up warnings urging them to send money to local P.O. boxes. At least 28 victims have been identified, and the defendants face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The investigation involved the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Orlando Police Department.
chautauquacountyny.gov
· 2026-08-05
The Chautauqua County Office for Aging Services is hosting a Fraud and Scam Prevention Program on August 27, 2026, to educate older adults about increasingly sophisticated scams targeting seniors through phone calls, emails, text messages, and social media. Common scams affecting older New Yorkers include impersonation scams, fake government agency calls, romance scams, Medicare fraud, tech support scams, and grandparent scams, with criminals often requesting payment via gift cards or cryptocurrency. The program will teach participants to recognize warning signs and follow the "Stop. Verify. Protect." rule: never act under pressure, independently verify callers using trusted phone numbers, and never share personal
primepublishers.com
· 2026-08-05
This article is not about elder fraud or scams—it is a community events calendar for the Bridgewater Senior Center listing August activities such as exercise classes, crafts, meals, and entertainment. The only fraud-related content mentioned is an upcoming educational presentation on August 31st where local law enforcement will provide information about elder fraud prevention to seniors.
napa-net.org
· 2026-08-05
Scammers are impersonating retailers or government agencies and falsely transferring calls to fake Social Security Administration representatives who claim victims' identities have been stolen and promise new Social Security numbers after victims sign documents. The Social Security Administration warns that legitimate agencies cannot transfer calls directly to SSA or its Office of Inspector General, and any such call is a scam. Seniors should report suspected scams to oig.ssa.gov/report and avoid trusting caller ID numbers, which scammers can easily fake.
ground.news
· 2026-08-05
Three Chinese nationals illegally residing in the United States were arrested in Orlando for operating a mail fraud scheme that defrauded seniors across 17 states out of $2.2 million. The scammers impersonated federal agents and used intimidation tactics through email, phone, and text messages to coerce elderly victims into sending money to PO Box addresses in the Orlando and Winter Park areas. Federal prosecutors charged the defendants with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, with potential sentences of decades in prison.
yahoo.com
· 2026-08-05
Following recent impersonation scams in Ludlow, Westfield, and Ware where suspects posed as officials to convince victims to withdraw cash and hand it over to couriers, the Hampden District Attorney's Office is promoting its Education Against Senior Exploitation (EASE) program to help seniors and their families recognize and avoid fraud. The district attorney's office has successfully prosecuted cases involving grandparent scams, identity theft, cryptocurrency fraud, and fake refund schemes, and operates a dedicated Crimes Against Elders and Persons with Disabilities Unit with a prosecutor focused on elder fraud cases. Residents are urged not to send money or assets to anyone claiming to be law enforcement, and should instead hang up and
indianexpress.com
· 2026-08-04
A 56-year-old Pune businessman lost Rs 1.07 crore in an investment scam that used a deepfake video of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lure him into a fraudulent forex trading platform promising SpaceX IPO shares. Over two months (June-July), the scammers systematically built credibility by showing fake profits, crediting Rs 1,000 to his bank account, and eventually displaying Rs 3.98 crore on a fake dashboard before demanding additional payments and cutting off contact. The fraud began with an Instagram advertisement featuring the deepfake video and progressed through 36 transactions to multiple mule accounts before the victim realized
elystandard.co.uk
· 2026-08-04
An elderly woman from Cambridgeshire lost hundreds of pounds in an online romance scam after meeting a man on an over-60s dating website who claimed to be stuck at an airport and needed payment for customs insurance on a gem he intended to give her. The man, who claimed to be based in Kuwait, never materialized and neither did the promised gem. Cambridgeshire Police are warning residents to be aware of romance scammers who target vulnerable elderly people.
yahoo.com
· 2026-08-04
Romance scams cost billions globally annually, with approximately 1 in 10 people age 50 and over reporting they've encountered online romantic connections that requested financial help or cryptocurrency investments. Scammers create fake profiles using stolen photos and celebrity identities to build emotional relationships over months before requesting money, with any financial ask being a clear indicator of fraud. Warning signs include love bombing, pressure for urgency, requests to move communication off social media, and the implausibility of genuine celebrities seeking romantic relationships with unknown internet users.
elon.edu
· 2026-08-04
Scammers posing as Wells Fargo fraud department and federal officials stole over $250,000 from Kaitlin Henze in May 2023 through a three-week scheme involving fake badges, letters, and documents that convinced her to empty her savings, retirement, investment accounts, and max out credit cards. Henze has since become an advocate for fraud victims and financial education, speaking publicly about her experience to help others recognize scam tactics and support fellow victims in their recovery.
moody.senate.gov
· 2026-08-04
Senator Ashley Moody introduced the SWIPES Act to combat gift card fraud targeting seniors through stronger prosecution tools and penalties. Gift card fraudsters employ multiple schemes including stealing physical cards from stores, impersonating trusted figures to trick victims into sharing redemption information, and creating fake websites to harvest card data. The legislation aims to close loopholes exploited by criminals who repeatedly target vulnerable seniors.
columbian.com
· 2026-08-04
Vancouver City Council unanimously supported a resolution to ban cryptocurrency ATMs in Clark County, citing them as a major vehicle for elder fraud schemes. Scammers typically direct older adults to convert cash into cryptocurrency at these unmanned kiosks and send funds to fraudsters, with Vancouver residents losing $15 million to cyber-related crimes in 2024 and Washington state residents losing $204 million statewide. The Elder Justice Center, which developed the resolution, seeks to eliminate cryptocurrency ATMs, mining operations, and related large-scale businesses to protect vulnerable seniors from exploitation.
amac.us
· 2026-08-04
A professional criminal stole money from a victim's account through a scam targeting thousands of Americans, with the outcome depending critically on actions taken within 48 hours. The FBI's Recovery Asset Team recovered $679 million (58% success rate) from nearly 3,900 fraud cases in 2025 by freezing transfers before criminals could cash out, all initiated by victims who reported quickly. The article provides a seven-step action plan including calling the bank's fraud department, reporting to IC3.gov and the FTC, contacting the Department of Justice's National Elder Fraud Hotline, freezing credit, preserving evidence, and avoiding secondary recovery scams.
wfxg.com
· 2026-08-04
Solid Rock Baptist Church and three partner churches are hosting a fraud prevention workshop on August 15, 2026, in Appling, Georgia, to educate seniors about common scams including impostor fraud, online shopping scams, and cryptocurrency investment schemes. Presenters from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, AARP, and other agencies will discuss how scams have escalated dramatically—government impostor scams alone increased from $171 million in losses in 2023 to $789 million in 2024—and how emerging AI technology is making fraudulent schemes harder to detect. The workshop aims to help community members protect themselves and their families from scammers who target seniors' life savings.
yahoo.com
· 2026-08-04
An 81-year-old East Tennessee Navy veteran with a recent dementia diagnosis lost $100,000 to a sweepstakes scam after receiving texts claiming he had won $1 million, a new car, and free gasoline. The scammers used the false promise of winnings to convince him to make repeated payments, with no suspects identified or money recovered. The article highlights how cognitive decline made the victim vulnerable to the scheme and emphasizes that legitimate prizes never require upfront fees.
tampafp.com
· 2026-08-04
Sen. Ashley Moody introduced the SWIPES Act to combat gift card fraud targeting seniors through physical tampering and online schemes, which involves scammers stealing cards, recording redemption details, and draining balances remotely, or using fake websites and phone impersonation to trick victims. The legislation strengthens federal penalties for gift card theft, adds automatic two-year prison sentences for crimes against people 60 and older, and closes legal loopholes, with recent cases involving losses ranging from $20,000 to $11 million. Recent Florida prosecutions include a South Florida grocery store gift card ring and an individual caught with over 6,100 unauthorized cards valued at $1.9 million.
washoelife.washoecounty.gov
· 2026-08-04
A co-defendant in a major fraud ring was found guilty of exploiting an elderly person after conspiring with others to steal nearly $500,000 from a 64-year-old woman through an elaborate phone scam. The scheme involved impersonating a federal agent who falsely claimed the victim was under investigation for money laundering, pressuring her to convert her assets and 401(k) into gold bars and cash that were collected by courier co-conspirators across Nevada and California. Anil Kumar faces up to 40 years in prison at his September sentencing, while his co-defendant was previously sentenced to 35 years.
cleveland19.com
· 2026-08-04
The Lorain County Sheriff's Office is warning of a sophisticated multi-stage impersonation scam where criminals pose as bank employees through spoofed text messages, phone calls, and in-person home visits to trick customers into surrendering debit or credit cards. The scam typically begins with a text from a spoofed bank number asking about a purchase, followed by a call from someone claiming to be from the fraud department who offers to send an employee to collect the compromised card and provide a temporary replacement. Authorities emphasize that legitimate banks never send employees to homes to collect cards or personal information, and urge customers to hang up and contact their bank directly using official numbers rather than responding to unsolicited messages.
heraldandnews.com
· 2026-08-03
A Klamath County elder lost approximately $20,000 in cash after an unknown scammer impersonating GeekSquad claimed the IRS had frozen her assets and convinced her to drive the money to a rest stop in Riverside County, California. The victim handed over the cash to an unknown individual at the remote rest area, which had no surveillance cameras, and the money has not been recovered. Sheriff officials are urging community members to report scams immediately and to verify contact information directly with businesses or agencies rather than trusting unsolicited callers.
missourinet.com
· 2026-08-03
This article discusses Missouri Lt. Gov. David Wasinger's advocacy for seniors at a national conference, focusing on policy solutions rather than reporting on specific fraud cases. Wasinger highlighted challenges older Americans face including financial exploitation and called for stronger state protections such as tougher penalties for elder abuse and fraud, improved resource access, and centralized service portals modeled after Minnesota's approach.
jdsupra.com
· 2026-08-03
In 2025, the FTC received over 3 million fraud reports totaling $15.9 billion in losses (likely $200 billion including unreported cases), with investment scams accounting for $7.9 billion and imposter scams for $3.5 billion. A House Financial Services Committee Republican report attributed the rise partly to fragmented federal complaint systems and lack of coordinated fraud-prevention efforts. The report recommended establishing interagency task forces, harmonizing data collection, strengthening information-sharing among financial institutions, and launching a unified national awareness campaign to combat fraud and scams.
cultofmac.com
· 2026-08-03
An 81-year-old woman with dementia lost thousands of dollars to romance scammers who contacted her via WhatsApp, Facebook, and Apple Messages over the course of a year, exploiting her loneliness following her husband's death. After family interventions and law enforcement proved ineffective, the author enrolled her in Incogni, a data-removal service that scrubbed her personal information from people-search websites and data brokers, which had been making it easy for scammers to target and manipulate her. The article highlights how scammers use publicly available personal data from online brokers to make their cons more convincing, with U.S. fraud losses exceeding $16 billion in