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in Scam Awareness
bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com
· 2025-12-08
The Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department released a report revealing that cybercriminals tailor scams to exploit specific age groups' vulnerabilities: young adults (18-20) are targeted with fake job offers, working professionals (30-45) with investment and crypto scams, and senior citizens (50-70) with digital arrest threats impersonating law enforcement. Karnataka receives 100-200 cybercrime reports daily, with metro cities accounting for 20% of India's cybercrime cases, prompting authorities to intensify awareness campaigns and deploy advanced technological tools to combat the rising white-collar crime.
goldrushcam.com
· 2025-12-08
The Modesto Police Department issued a scam alert warning residents about fraudsters impersonating police officers and calling community members to solicit donations for youth programs. The department emphasized that legitimate law enforcement does not solicit donations over the phone and advised residents to hang up on suspicious calls, never share personal or banking information, and report such incidents to non-emergency dispatch.
hometownnewsbrevard.com
· 2025-12-08
**Event Type:** Educational Resource Expo
Platinum Events Productions is hosting the Viera Boomer Bash, a free senior resource expo on April 24, 2024, featuring scam and fraud prevention workshops, health screenings, and information from medical, financial, and legal representatives. The event includes lunch-and-learn sessions on topics such as scams targeting seniors and protecting medical information, along with memory screenings, fitness demonstrations, and social club information.
chaincatcher.com
· 2025-12-08
Spanish police dismantled a cryptocurrency investment scam ring that used AI-generated deepfake videos of celebrities to defraud over 200 victims of approximately 19 million euros ($21.5 million). The scheme convinced investors to contribute funds to fake crypto ventures and pay additional fees to access their supposed returns. Seven suspects, including the ringleader who was arrested while attempting to flee to Dubai, face charges including fraud, money laundering, and document forgery.
cowboystatedaily.com
· 2025-12-08
Employer impersonation scams and company spoofing fraud are increasingly prevalent in Wyoming, with scammers using stolen logos, emails, and AI-generated content to impersonate legitimate companies like PayPal, Amazon, USPS, and Best Buy's Geek Squad. The scams typically trick victims into clicking malicious links or submitting personal and banking information by exploiting psychological vulnerabilities through fear, emotions, and false job opportunities offering high pay. Experts recommend never clicking links in unsolicited emails or texts and instead verifying directly with companies through their official websites.
forbes.com
· 2025-12-08
Dating app users face increasing risks from romance scams, catfishing, and fraudulent profiles, prompting platforms to implement identity verification technologies. Users can protect themselves by verifying identities through multi-layered verification tools, avoiding profiles that seem too perfect or pressure quick money transfers, keeping personal information private, staying alert to bots, and reporting suspicious activity to the platform. Choosing dating apps with strong safety records and privacy protections is essential for fostering a secure online dating experience.
livemint.com
· 2025-12-08
Criminals increasingly use generative AI to impersonate loved ones in urgent scams demanding money; a Colorado woman lost $2,000 in a kidnapping hoax before discovering her daughter was safe. The article provides nine protective strategies including: locking down social media profiles, blocking unknown callers, establishing family code words, distrusting caller ID spoofing, managing panic through calming techniques, and silently texting the person being impersonated to verify their safety.
fingerlakes1.com
· 2025-12-08
Scammers are stealing Social Security account credentials through phishing attacks and selling full access on the dark web, then rerouting benefit payments to fraudulent accounts—with the SSA reporting cases involving monthly benefits of $1,855 or more being diverted. The Social Security Administration is implementing new in-person identity verification requirements starting April 2025, though this faces criticism due to concurrent staffing cuts of nearly 12%. Protection strategies include enabling two-factor authentication, regularly monitoring accounts, avoiding phishing links, freezing credit, and reporting suspected fraud to the SSA Office of the Inspector General.
kauainownews.com
· 2025-12-08
The Kaua'i Police Department is warning residents, particularly elderly kupuna, about a "pig butchering" cryptocurrency scam in which fraudsters build trust with victims through social media, phone calls, and text messages before convincing them to invest money in fake cryptocurrency schemes and then disappearing with their funds. The scam exploits emotional manipulation and promises of high returns, with warning signs including unsolicited contact from strangers, requests for secrecy, and pressure to use unfamiliar cryptocurrency platforms. Residents are advised to avoid sending money to online-only contacts, be skeptical of unsolicited messages, and consult trusted family members before making financial decisions.
standardspeaker.com
· 2025-12-08
This article is an educational advice column, not a fraud or elder abuse case. It provides seniors with legitimate strategies to reduce auto insurance premiums, including increasing deductibles, adjusting coverage on older vehicles, taking defensive driving courses, reporting low mileage, bundling policies, enrolling in driver monitoring programs, seeking membership discounts, improving credit scores, and comparison shopping among insurers. The advice is aimed at helping older drivers manage rising insurance costs, particularly after age 70 when premiums typically increase.
calgaryjournal.ca
· 2025-12-08
Pamela Nutter, a 75-year-old Calgary resident, nearly fell victim to an e-transfer scam on Facebook Marketplace when selling a vintage dish; the scammer requested her banking information through a fake e-transfer email with a suspicious link, but Nutter refused after questioning the legitimacy. The article highlights that seniors across Canada are frequent fraud targets, with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reporting $638 million in fraud losses in 2024, approximately 10 percent attributed to seniors who may be less technologically savvy and vulnerable to exploitation due to isolation and loneliness. Experts recommend that seniors attend online safety education sessions, exercise caution with unsolicited communications
paymentsjournal.com
· 2025-12-08
Consumers face increasingly common scams such as fake toll bill texts and fraudulent service provider listings, yet many financial institutions fail to adequately budget for scam prevention and detection technology. While the Federal Reserve's free ScamClassifier system helps standardize fraud documentation and tracking, many banks remain unaware of or reluctant to adopt it due to the significant integration costs and legacy system modifications required. The article emphasizes that prioritizing fraud prevention in organizational budgets is essential to combating the growing sophistication and persistence of scam tactics.
patch.com
· 2025-12-08
San Ramon student Adya Gupta founded Impactt Kids, a volunteer-driven nonprofit that provides scam education training to seniors and caregivers to help them recognize and avoid phone and internet fraud. The initiative, inspired by Gupta's grandmother who frequently receives scam calls, has trained seniors at local living centers on identifying scam calls, phishing emails, and fraudulent IRS, Medicare, and lottery schemes, with participants reporting successful fraud prevention as a result. The program plans to expand by integrating AI-powered scam detection tools and establishing a hotline for seniors to verify suspicious calls.
aol.com
· 2025-12-08
Criminals are increasingly targeting older adults by directing them to cryptocurrency ATMs to deposit funds, with the FTC reporting a tenfold increase in losses since 2020 and Rhode Island State Police documenting cases rising from 3 in 2023 to 40 in 2024 and 23 in the first three months of 2025—all victims over age 50, with individual losses ranging from $15,000 to $40,000. Crypto ATMs are attractive to scammers because victims are unfamiliar with them, there are no daily transaction limits, and cryptocurrency's decentralized nature makes funds nearly impossible to recover, unlike
chadronradio.com
· 2025-12-08
Nebraska is experiencing an increase in "pig butchering" scams, a relationship-based fraud scheme where criminals slowly build trust with victims over weeks or months before luring them into fraudulent cryptocurrency investments. These scams can affect anyone regardless of financial sophistication, with the FTC reporting that Americans lost a record $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, including a notable case where a Kansas banker lost $47 million. Warning signs include unexpected contact from strangers, emotional manipulation, requests for financial information, and promises of guaranteed high returns; victims should avoid sharing personal information with unknown contacts and report suspected fraud to authorities.
hastingstribune.com
· 2025-12-08
Nebraska is experiencing increased reports of "pig butchering" scams, a cryptocurrency-based fraud in which criminals build relationships with victims over weeks or months through social media, dating apps, or fake text messages before luring them into bogus cryptocurrency investments. The scam—also called a confidence scam or financial grooming—can target anyone regardless of financial knowledge, and in 2024 Americans lost a record $12.5 billion to fraud and scams overall. Warning signs include unsolicited contact, emotional manipulation, requests for financial information, and exaggerated investment returns; victims should avoid sharing personal information with unknown contacts and contact the Nebraska Department of Banking an
nbcchicago.com
· 2025-12-08
Employment scams are increasing as the job market becomes more competitive, with scammers exploiting job seekers through unsolicited messages offering work-from-home positions. In 2023, 810 people in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin reported employment scams resulting in $2.4 million in losses. Job seekers should be cautious of unsolicited offers, avoid clicking links or sharing personal information, proceed slowly through the hiring process, and look for verified badges on legitimate job postings.
foxnews.com
· 2025-12-08
Insurance companies and law enforcement are warning drivers about a surge in predatory towing scams, with the National Insurance Crime Bureau reporting an 89% increase in such incidents over the past three years across major and small cities nationwide. Scammers pose as insurance company representatives or law enforcement to convince accident victims they will tow their vehicles to approved body shops, then hold the cars hostage for exorbitant fees or steal personal information. Authorities advise rejecting unsolicited tow trucks at accident scenes and waiting for law enforcement before allowing any towing, particularly if a tow truck arrives within minutes of a collision.
wnyt.com
· 2025-12-08
The Better Business Bureau warned consumers about tax scams ahead of the April 18 filing deadline, noting that scammers frequently impersonate the IRS to steal personal information and money. The BBB emphasized that the actual IRS only initiates contact through mail, never via phone, email, or text, and recommended using only reputable tax preparers and reporting suspicious activity to the BBB or FTC.
ksby.com
· 2025-12-08
Since 2021, the BBB has tracked over 16,600 reported scams involving theft of passwords, social security numbers, and driver's license information. The BBB recommends protecting yourself by avoiding sharing personal information with unverified sources, enabling multi-factor authentication, conducting regular credit checks, being cautious of suspicious links and texts, and changing critical passwords frequently—especially for banking, government programs like Medicare, and housing assistance accounts. If an account is compromised, contact your provider immediately.
insurancenewsnet.com
· 2025-12-08
This article provides educational guidance for seniors seeking to reduce auto insurance costs, particularly those experiencing premium increases after age 70. Key strategies include raising deductibles, adjusting coverage for older vehicles, taking defensive driving courses, reporting low mileage, bundling policies, enrolling in driver monitoring programs, leveraging membership discounts, improving credit scores, and comparison shopping across insurers. The article also briefly addresses resources available to "solo agers" (unmarried seniors without children) for planning healthcare and financial decision-making in their later years.
prioritymarketing.com
· 2025-12-08
coinfomania.com
· 2025-12-08
Kauai police issued an alert about "pig butchering" scams targeting elderly citizens, where fraudsters build romantic or friendly relationships online before convincing victims to invest in fake cryptocurrency schemes with fabricated profit screenshots. The scammers, often operating from Southeast Asia, manipulate victims through dating apps and social media, eventually disappearing with their money; one documented case involved a Maryland woman losing over $3 million. Police advise seniors and their families to recognize warning signs—including rapid relationship escalation, crypto investment pitches, and pressure to keep investments secret—and to never send money to online-only contacts without verifying with trusted family members or advisors first.
paymentsjournal.com
· 2025-12-08
The Social Security Administration implemented a permanent anti-fraud program that conducts identity verification checks on phone applications for benefits, with approximately 70,000 of the 4.5 million annual phone claims expected to be flagged for in-person verification. The agency also prohibited beneficiaries from changing direct deposit information over the phone, requiring updates through the website or in-person visits, as phone-based account changes account for about 40% of Social Security direct deposit fraud.
news.trendmicro.com
· 2025-12-08
**Trend Micro Research on Australian Scam Vulnerability**
A Trend Micro survey of 1,072 Australians revealed significant misconceptions increasing scam vulnerability, including beliefs that scams require oversharing (31%), are easily spotted by poor grammar (47%), or that extortion only occurs through explicit photo sharing (32%). Australians lost over $2 billion to online scams in the past year, with investment scams targeting a quarter of respondents, yet only 15% discussed scam response strategies with family and just 9% use verification phrases against impersonation scams. The research recommends staying wary of unsolicited communications, enabling two
digit.fyi
· 2025-12-08
Research from The Alan Turing Institute finds that romance fraudsters are increasingly using AI to create convincing fake personas, automate victim outreach, and refine psychological manipulation through deepfakes, generated audio/video, and language models that improve deceptive scripts. While human scammers still oversee AI-generated content, these tools significantly reduce the time and effort needed to target victims at scale, extracting millions from vulnerable individuals seeking genuine connection. The study notes that current defenses are not keeping pace with rapidly developing fraud techniques, though AI language models may eventually be leveraged to detect fraudulent messaging.
decisionmarketing.co.uk
· 2025-12-08
Romance fraudsters are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create more convincing fake profiles, automate large-scale victim outreach, and refine psychological manipulation tactics through deepfakes, AI-generated audio/video, and large language models that improve deceptive scripts. According to research from The Alan Turing Institute's Centre for Emerging Technology & Security, AI-assisted romance scams are extracting millions from victims while causing both financial and psychological harm, though the same technology may eventually be leveraged to detect such fraud.
aarp.org
· 2025-12-08
A Nigerian-based scammer used fake photos of a German life coach to catfish Liza Likins, a widow in her mid-70s, during a 19-month online romance on Facebook Dating, eventually exploiting her for money. Catfishing—creating fraudulent identities on dating apps and social media to deceive victims—has become the top dating scam, with Meta removing 1.4 billion fake accounts in late 2024 and a Norton survey finding 40% of dating app users targeted by such scams. Scammers typically use stolen photos, AI-generated images, or celebrity identities to build trust before requesting cash or promoting bogus
fox61.com
· 2025-12-08
Romance and friendship scams cost Connecticut residents more money than any other scam type last year and ranked as the third riskiest scam overall. These scams target vulnerable people, build emotional connections through deception and false promises, and often involve cryptocurrency schemes; the BBB documented one victim who lost $100,000 after a scammer posed as a romantic interest and claimed financial need. Red flags include requests for money after establishing trust, inability to meet in person, poor grammar despite claiming local origin, offers involving cryptocurrency, and relationships that progress too quickly.
investopedia.com
· 2025-12-08
This educational article explains romance scams, which involve scammers creating fake dating profiles to build romantic relationships with victims—particularly older Americans—before requesting money for fabricated emergencies or opportunities. Older people are targeted because they typically have more savings, less familiarity with online scams, and may experience isolation, making them vulnerable to the emotional manipulation of promised romantic connections. The article provides guidance for adult children whose parents fall victim, including stopping communications, reporting to authorities and platforms, attempting to recover funds through banks and financial institutions, and protecting against identity theft.
thestar.com
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a plan to protect older Canadians from fraud by imposing fines up to $5 million on banks and telecommunications companies that fail to implement real-time scam detection technology, mandatory reporting, and 24-hour holds on high-risk transactions for seniors. The proposal requires financial institutions to deploy latest anti-fraud tools including automatic flagging of suspicious activity and robocalls, along with mandatory reporting of fraud prevention statistics. This announcement comes as Poilievre trails among senior voters in polling.
ctvnews.ca
· 2025-12-08
I cannot provide a meaningful summary of this content. The article appears to be a political headline about elder fraud protection, but the body text provided contains only unrelated shopping and product recommendation links rather than actual article content. To create an accurate summary for the Elderus database, I would need the full article text discussing Poilievre's specific policy proposals or statements regarding senior fraud prevention.
nationalpost.com
· 2025-12-08
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced plans to introduce the "Stop Scamming Seniors Act," which would impose mandatory scam detection systems on banks and telecom companies, stricter sentences (one to five years depending on fraud amount), and fines up to $5 million for non-compliance. The legislation targets the growing sophistication of senior-targeted scams, particularly "grandparent" scams and AI-enabled voice impersonation fraud, with Canadian authorities reporting that victims lost $638 million to fraud in 2024, though only 5-10% of cases are reported.
conservative.ca
· 2025-12-08
This is a policy announcement rather than a news report of a scam incident. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre outlined a proposed plan to combat senior fraud in Canada, which would require banks and cell phone companies to implement mandatory scam detection systems, real-time blocking of suspicious transactions, and a 24-hour transaction delay for high-risk senior accounts. The proposal also includes enhanced criminal penalties for fraudsters (mandatory minimum sentences ranging from one to five years depending on fraud amount) and substantial fines for financial institutions that fail to implement adequate fraud prevention measures.
cbc.ca
· 2025-12-08
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a proposed "Stop Scamming Seniors Act" that would require banks and telecommunications companies to detect, report, and block suspected fraud in real time, or face fines up to $5 million per violation and criminal charges. The plan addresses seniors as the primary targets of digital scammers using phishing, robocalls, and other tactics, and includes measures such as mandatory AI-powered fraud detection systems, 24-hour holds on high-risk senior transactions, and increased minimum prison sentences for fraud convictions (1-5 years depending on amount defrauded). Additionally, convicted fraudsters would be required to pay fines equal to ten times the amount they de
bnnbloomberg.ca
· 2025-12-08
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a plan to protect older Canadians from fraud by requiring banks and telecoms to implement real-time scam detection technology, with fines up to $5 million for non-compliance, while criticizing the Liberal government for inaction on senior fraud prevention. The proposal includes mandatory suspicious activity flagging, automatic blocks on high-risk transactions, and required reporting of fraud prevention statistics. The announcement came as part of Poilievre's broader tough-on-crime campaign messaging.
cbc.ca
· 2025-12-08
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a proposed "Stop Scamming Seniors Act" that would mandate banks and telecom companies to detect and block fraud in real time or face fines up to $5 million per violation and criminal charges. The plan targets seniors, identified as the primary victims of digital scammers using phishing texts and robocalls, and includes enhanced Criminal Code penalties (minimum 1-5 year sentences depending on fraud amount) and requirements for companies to implement AI-based fraud detection, 24-hour holds on high-risk senior transactions, and quarterly public reporting on fraud prevention metrics.
theglobeandmail.com
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a proposed "Stop Scamming Seniors" act to combat fraud targeting seniors, including mandatory minimum jail sentences (1-5 years depending on fraud amount) and fines of 10 times the amount defrauded, along with penalties up to $5 million for banks and cellphone companies that fail to detect suspicious activity. The announcement highlighted recent scams including "grandparent scams" and fraud schemes involving impersonation of banks, with Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre data showing Canadians lost $638 million to fraud in 2024, though only 5-10 percent of incidents are reported.
ca.news.yahoo.com
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced plans to introduce the "Stop Scamming Seniors Act" to combat fraud targeting seniors, proposing stricter sentences (one-year minimum for fraud over $5,000, five years for over $1 million), fines up to $5 million for non-compliant companies, and mandatory scam detection systems for banks and telecom firms. The legislation addresses the growing sophistication of phone and digital scams, including AI-enabled voice replication schemes like the "grandparent" scam, with Canadian authorities reporting 34,621 fraud victims lost $638 million in 2024, though only 5-10% of victims
wtkr.com
· 2025-12-08
In 2023, Americans aged 60 and older lost over $3.4 billion to fraud, making them high-risk targets due to increasingly sophisticated scam tactics and technological advances. Residents of Lake Prince Woods, a 55-plus community in Suffolk, Virginia, are combating this trend by publishing scam alerts in their neighborhood publication to educate and protect their community members.
sheridanmedia.com
· 2025-12-08
In 2024, Americans lost $12.5 billion to fraud and scams, a 25% increase from 2023, with most scams originating outside the U.S., according to the Federal Trade Commission. Cryptocurrency and investment scams were the most financially damaging, accounting for $5.7 billion in losses.
mitchellnow.com
· 2025-12-08
The Better Business Bureau is warning of a surge in identity and information scams, with federal agencies logging over three million cases in the past year. BBB South Dakota recommends freezing credit with major reporting agencies to prevent scammers from opening accounts or taking loans in victims' names.
newschannel5.com
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
Scammers are using AI voice-cloning technology to impersonate family members in phone calls to elderly grandparents, requesting money in urgent situations. Consumer Reports found that four of six popular voice-cloning apps lacked meaningful consent safeguards, and deepfake technology has become so advanced that even experts struggle to detect it. Protection measures include enabling two-factor authentication on financial accounts, verifying unexpected calls through other means, and maintaining healthy skepticism about requests for personal or financial information.
fedscoop.com
· 2025-12-08
A Government Accountability Office audit found that federal agencies lack a coordinated strategy to combat consumer scams, resulting in a fragmented approach across the FBI, FTC, CFPB, and other agencies with no uniform data collection, common definitions, or comprehensive loss estimates. The FBI reported approximately 589,400 scam complaints totaling over $10 billion in losses in 2023, with scammers increasingly exploiting peer-to-peer payment apps, bank transfers, and cryptocurrency. The GAO recommended establishing a governmentwide scam-fighting strategy led by the FBI director with formal coordination mechanisms, collaborative data collection, and performance metrics to address this growing threat.
dfpi.ca.gov
· 2025-12-08
**Summary:**
Pig butchering is an investment scam in which fraudsters build trust with victims over weeks or months through social media and messaging apps before convincing them to invest in fake cryptocurrency platforms that promise high returns but prevent withdrawals. Scammers use fabricated websites and fake trading apps to collect victim funds, often requesting additional payments for fees or taxes before allowing any withdrawal. Victims should report scams quickly to the DFPI with complete transaction details, wallet addresses, and screenshots to help investigators trace stolen cryptocurrency on the blockchain.
justice.gov
· 2025-12-08
Two Bremerton, Washington women, Heather Marquis and Emily Vranic, were indicted on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft for stealing mail and using personal documents to take over the identities of approximately 278 victims between April 2019 and November 2024. The defendants opened credit cards, lines of credit, and accessed bank accounts in victims' names, transferring funds to their own accounts and using victim accounts to pay their mortgage, resulting in an estimated $620,000 in losses. Both defendants face trial in June 2025, with potential sentences ranging up to 30 years in prison depending on convictions.
examinerlive.co.uk
· 2025-12-08
Zak Coyne, 23, from Huddersfield, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for operating LabHost, a phishing website service that enabled over 2,000 criminals to defraud victims worldwide, resulting in losses exceeding £100 million. The platform, which allowed users to create fake websites impersonating banks, healthcare agencies, and postal services to steal personal data, was shut down by the Met's Cyber Crime Unit in April 2024, leading to Coyne's arrest and subsequent guilty pleas to charges including fraud facilitation and money laundering.
munsifdaily.com
· 2025-12-08
A Maharashtra government employee, Shridhar Mahuli, lost Rs 2 lakh (approximately $2,400 USD) after a scammer impersonating an AU Small Finance Bank representative called claiming a health insurance payment needed to be linked to his credit card. The fraudster obtained Mahuli's card details through the fake call and made multiple unauthorized transactions, highlighting the sophistication of identity spoofing tactics used by modern scammers targeting financial information.
motorist.sg
· 2025-12-08
Since December 2024, scammers impersonated OneMotoring (Land Transport Authority's official portal) through phishing emails and text messages claiming motorists had expired road tax, directing victims to fake payment websites that captured personal and financial data. Thirty-seven victims reported losses totaling at least $407,000 (averaging $11,000 per victim), and authorities advise that legitimate LTA notifications contain no links and are only sent via SMS with "gov.sg" identifier, e-letters through Singpass-protected accounts, or hardcopy mail.
uk.news.yahoo.com
· 2025-12-08
Zak Coyne, 24, from Huddersfield, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for operating LabHost, a sophisticated subscription-based website that enabled over 2,000 cybercriminals to defraud approximately one million victims across 91 countries of at least £100 million (with £32 million from the UK alone). LabHost hosted phishing pages mimicking 185 major banks and commercial websites, allowing subscribers to steal login credentials from unsuspecting victims, and Coyne personally profited around £200,000 in cryptocurrency from the criminal subscriptions before the platform was shut down in April 2024