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Search across 26,669 articles about elder fraud. Filter by fraud type, payment mechanism, or keywords.
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CityNews
· 2024-04-18
A multi-million dollar "grandparent scam" targeting Canadian seniors has been shut down after defrauding over 100 grandparents of $2.2 million. Scammers impersonated police officers, judges, lawyers, and family members, calling seniors on landlines claiming a grandchild needed bail money, exploiting their desire to help family in distress. Fourteen suspects operating from the Montreal area have been arrested and charged in a joint investigation by Ontario and Quebec police.
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NBC New York
· 2024-04-10
An 83-year-old man in Great Neck was scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars after a pop-up appeared on his computer claiming it was locked and instructing him to call a number. The scammers impersonated authorities, falsely claiming he had unauthorized charges ($15,000 and $16,000) on his bank account related to illegal gun purchases and gambling, and pressured him to withdraw cash to "fix" the problem; they also intercepted his phone calls by rerouting them to their own personnel. Two suspects, Zen Shen Yu and Rong Chen, were arrested and pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges, with police capturing video of the pickup attempt.
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WREG News Channel 3
· 2024-04-09
Tennessee has reimbursed over $933,000 to SNAP benefit recipients whose EBT cards were fraudulently used through skimming, cloning, and phishing scams that drained thousands of accounts. Nearly 8,000 people submitted replacement requests since the state began accepting them in fall 2023, with approximately 78% of reviewed claims approved. The USDA reported over 162,000 fraudulent SNAP transactions nationally in fiscal year 2023 totaling $30 million, prompting calls for federal solutions including microchip technology and enhanced security measures on EBT cards.
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CTV News
· 2024-03-29
84-year-old Canadian Mabel successfully resisted two grandparent scams targeting her within a year. In the first incident, a caller claimed to be her grandson arrested with drugs and demanded $7,500; Mabel became suspicious at the bank and did not withdraw funds. In the second attempt over a year later, scammers again posed as her grandson and an RCMP officer requesting $88,000 bail, but Mabel demanded the grandson's last name, which prompted the fraudster to hang up, and she verified her grandson was safe at home.
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NewsNation
· 2024-03-18
"Pig butchering" scams are on the rise, with Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel and other organized crime groups using artificial intelligence, large language models, and cryptocurrencies to execute sophisticated fraud campaigns. Hundreds of victims have been lured through social media and messaging apps, with some trafficked and forced to commit fraud; the scam typically begins with a random contact offering investment opportunities before the victim is manipulated into sending money. These AI-enabled financial crimes and human trafficking schemes are expanding globally across European, Asian, and African criminal organizations.
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FOX59 News
· 2024-03-12
Americans lost $10 billion to scams in 2023, a $1 billion increase from 2022, with investment scams being the costliest at $4 billion (averaging $7,000 per victim), followed by imposter scams at $2.7 billion and social media scams at $1.4 billion. The FTC is responding with increased enforcement actions, including 180 actions against telemarketers and new rules being drafted against impersonation fraud with tougher penalties. Consumers can protect themselves by guarding personal information, avoiding unsolicited links, and using unique passwords across accounts.
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NBC4 Columbus
· 2024-03-08
A former Columbus Bank employee was sentenced to over eight years in prison for stealing approximately $1.8 million from customers through two distinct schemes: accessing customer bank information to wire funds to a PayPal account, and operating online romance scams. The 34-year-old offender pleaded guilty in 2023 and was ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution to victims.
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FOX 13 Seattle
· 2024-02-23
Former Wells Fargo branch manager Brian Davy was sentenced to over three years in federal prison for stealing nearly $1.3 million from elderly customers in Clark County over a five-year period through unauthorized withdrawals, transfers, and fraudulent checks. Davy specifically targeted vulnerable populations including elderly individuals, people with disabilities, and those who spoke different languages, with one victim losing $566,000 from her retirement accounts. Federal prosecutors partnered with the FBI and Wells Fargo to investigate and prosecute the case, highlighting the serious threat of financial abuse by trusted financial professionals.
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Tamron Hall Show
· 2024-02-21
Charlotte Kohls, a financial advice columnist for New York Magazine, fell victim to an elaborate scam that began with a fake Amazon call claiming $8,000 in fraudulent charges on a non-existent business account. The scammer then posed as an FTC agent investigating her for money laundering and financial crimes, ultimately convincing her to withdraw and hand over $50,000 in cash to a stranger. Kohls's experience serves as a warning that even financially knowledgeable individuals are vulnerable to sophisticated social engineering scams.
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KTLA 5
· 2024-02-18
Scammers in Southern California are impersonating LA County Sheriff's deputies to extort money from residents by claiming they have arrest warrants and threatening immediate arrest or jail time. The scammers use caller ID spoofing technology to display official law enforcement numbers, obtain personal information from public voter records and online data brokers, and pressure victims to pay bogus fines via cryptocurrency or wire transfers, with at least one victim losing $1,200 before realizing the fraud. Law enforcement warns that legitimate agencies never call to demand payment and advises residents to hang up and verify claims by contacting the actual agency directly.