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Arkansas seniors suffered $27.25 million in fraud losses during 2024, part of a national epidemic where those over 60 lost $4.885 billion to scams—a 46% increase from 2023. Common schemes targeting older adults include investment fraud, tech support scams, romance scams, and money mule schemes, which succeed because seniors tend to be trusting and may be unfamiliar with reporting mechanisms. The FBI recommends seniors verify unknown contacts through reputable sources, resist pressure to act quickly, avoid unsolicited contact, never share personal information with unverified parties, and report suspected fraud to local law enforcement or IC3.gov.

**Elder Fraud on Rise in Arkansas and Nationally** The FBI reported that seniors over 60 lost $4.885 billion nationally in 2024 across 147,127 fraud complaints—a 46% increase from 2023—with Arkansas seniors alone losing $27.3 million to investment scams, technical support scams, money mule schemes, and romance fraud. Seniors are targeted because they tend to be trusting and may be unfamiliar with reporting channels like IC3.gov. The FBI recommends verifying unknown contacts through legitimate sources, resisting pressure to act quickly, avoiding unsolicited communications, never sharing personal information with unverified parties

Elder fraud complaints increased 46% in 2024, with victims nationwide losing $4.885 billion—a 43% increase from 2023—while Arkansas seniors over 60 alone lost more than $27 million. The FBI identifies investment schemes, technical support scams, romance fraud, and money mule operations as common tactics targeting elderly individuals perceived as more trusting and financially stable. The FBI recommends seniors research unknown contacts, resist pressure to act quickly, avoid sharing personal information with unverified sources, and report suspected fraud through their tip line or online complaint center.

Sextortion cases in Arkansas have already exceeded the total number of incidents reported throughout 2024, according to state police investigators. The scam involves perpetrators convincing teenagers to share explicit images online and subsequently using those images for blackmail, with investigators anticipating a further surge in cases during the summer months.

Scammers have been impersonating Senior Resource Center employees and attempting to sell burial plots to Douglas County residents, prompting the center's director to warn the public that the organization does not sell anything. The FBI reports that cybercriminals stole over $16 billion from Americans in 2024, with people over 60 losing nearly $5 billion; experts recommend the "Stop, Verify and Report" approach—stopping the conversation, verifying legitimacy through trusted sources, and reporting suspected scams to the Kansas Protection Report Center at 1-800-922-5330.

Wendy Hopkins, a 54-year-old Kansas woman, was charged on July 2, 2025, with 48 counts including identity theft, computer crime, theft, forgery, and mistreatment of an elder person in connection with an alleged fraud scheme at Rockhill Women's Care. Patients of the women's care center who experienced financial fraud between September 2022 and November 2023 are asked to contact law enforcement, though specific details about the victims and amounts stolen were not disclosed. Hopkins' bond was set at $500,000.

Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, a 35-year-old, admitted to orchestrating a romance scam that defrauded at least six women across multiple states of millions of dollars by posing as different men (including "Williams Moore" and "Manuel Sykes") claiming to need financial help due to oil rig injuries. Victims from Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Kansas were manipulated into opening cryptocurrency accounts and transferring funds totaling millions, with individual losses ranging from $235,000 to $896,000, which Nwadavid then laundered through his own Bitcoin wallets. The case reflects a broader trend of romance fraud, with the

Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, a 35-year-old married Nigerian real estate worker, pleaded guilty to running a sophisticated romance scam that defrauded six women across Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Kansas of approximately $1.88 million between January and June 2019. Using fake identities, he posed as men working on oil rigs or in overseas positions, love-bombing vulnerable victims and convincing them to send money for medical emergencies or travel expenses, with one victim losing over $896,000. The case reflects a broader epidemic of romance scams targeting older adults, with the FBI reporting nearly 18,000 complaints in 2024

A 35-year-old Nigerian man, Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, pleaded guilty to operating a romance scam that defrauded six women across Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Kansas of approximately $1.88 million between 2019 and 2024. Using fake identities such as "Williams Moore," "Manuel Sykes," and "Edward Nowak," Nwadavid posed as an oil rig worker and other professionals to build romantic relationships with vulnerable women online, then solicited money under false pretenses including medical emergencies and inheritance claims. The case highlights the growing threat of romance scams targeting women over 60, which

The Overland Park, Kansas Police Department warns residents against romance scams, where online romantic partners request money or ask victims to deposit checks on their behalf. Victims who deposit fraudulent checks risk becoming unwitting accomplices and having funds withdrawn from their own accounts. Residents who suspect they've been victimized are urged to report the scam to local law enforcement.

A Chinese actor named Wang Xing was abducted in Thailand and taken to a scam compound in Myanmar in early 2025, sparking widespread concern about fraud operations in Southeast Asia. The incident highlighted the prevalence of "pig butchering" scams—a type of fraud where criminals build fake romantic or financial relationships with victims to manipulate them into large investments, with victims worldwide losing billions of dollars. These scams, typically run by organized crime groups, operate in three stages (hunting, raising, and killing) and can result in devastating financial losses, as exemplified by cases like a Connecticut woman who lost nearly $1 million and a Kansas banker who embezzled $47 million to cover

"Pig butchering" scams are sophisticated fraud schemes operated by organized crime groups that have stolen billions globally, in which scammers build fake romantic or friendly relationships with victims online before pressuring them into fraudulent investments, typically over a few months rather than years. Notable victims include a Kansas banker who embezzled $47 million to cover his losses and a Connecticut woman who lost nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency investments, with scammers exploiting victims' desire for financial gain rather than solely relying on romantic manipulation. The scams operate in three stages—hunting for victims online, building trust, and executing the "kill" by pushing large financial commitments—and are typically run by highly organized criminal

This opinion piece advocates for the bipartisan TRAPS Act (Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payment Scams) to combat the surge in digital fraud, which cost Americans $12.5 billion in losses across 2.6 million fraud reports last year—a 25% increase from the previous year. The author, a former law enforcement executive, argues that payment scams disproportionately target older adults through romance schemes, fake investments, and AI-generated impersonation calls, and that the current fragmented approach leaves victims bouncing between agencies without effective coordination. The proposed legislation would unite the Treasury Department, FTC, Justice Department, FCC, and financial industry leaders

Arkansas is experiencing a rise in SNAP card fraud, with thieves primarily using skimmers at retail card readers to steal benefits from accounts. The state's SNAP cards lack embedded security chips—a feature that has reduced fraud by 76% in credit and debit cards—though the Arkansas Department of Human Services is working with its card issuer to enhance security measures. Attorney General Tim Griffin noted that even with improved card security, scammers will continue using impersonation and phishing tactics to compromise cardholders' information.

A Kansas City man discovered someone had attempted to fraudulently sell his undeveloped property after a realtor contacted him about a suspicious transaction. The scammer used convincing forged documentation including a fake driver's license, but the scheme was stopped before the property changed hands. Real estate professionals report this type of identity theft and property fraud is increasing, and recommend property owners watch for red flags such as sellers who only communicate virtually and use apps, and consider enrolling in county land sale alert programs.

Jordan Vales, 21, of Trumann, Arkansas, was arrested on charges of Medicaid fraud after submitting false claims for services he never provided as a fraudulent employee and caregiver at First Choice Home Care between June 2022 and December 2023. The scheme resulted in $96,711.68 in fraudulent Medicaid payments. Attorney General Tim Griffin praised the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Special Agent Laura Glover for their investigation and arrest of Vales on the Class A felony charge.

The Kansas Department of Transportation warned of a text messaging scam falsely claiming to be from KDOT or the Kansas Department of Motor Vehicles demanding payment for unpaid traffic tickets. KDOT clarified that it does not collect payments via text message and urged recipients not to click links or share personal information, instead reporting suspicious messages to the FTC or Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The Arkansas Department of Commerce is warning of phishing scams targeting former unemployment insurance claimants, in which scammers impersonate the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services via email to steal personal information like Social Security numbers and dates of birth through fake Wix websites. To avoid the scam, residents should verify that emails come from official @arkansas.gov addresses, avoid clicking suspicious links, and only enter information on official government websites including ezarc.arkansas.gov, arknet.arkansas.gov, login.gov, and launch.arkansas.gov.

Cyber criminals are increasingly using malicious links hidden in emails, PDFs, and other documents rather than attachments to steal passwords and install malware, with over 3 billion such attacks reported. Emerging threats include "ClickFix" scams (fake error messages), QR code phishing (4.2 million attempts in early 2025), and "pig butchering" romance scams where criminals build trust with victims before pressuring them into fraudulent investments—including a 2023 case where a Kansas banker lost £34.6 million and received a 24-year sentence. Security experts warn these attacks exploit human psychology by using trusted brands and familiar technology rather

A patient at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita, Kansas received multiple scam calls on her husband's hospital room phone attempting to sell various insurance products (Medicaid, life insurance, and auto insurance), with six calls arriving within two hours and continuing into nighttime hours. The hospital acknowledged that room phone numbers can be reached by robocall technology, though they reported no widespread scam call issue at their facility; the problem affects hospitals nationwide despite federal legislation like the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act passed in 2019. Hospital staff advise patients to hang up on suspicious calls and never share personal, financial, or medical information over the phone

This is an obituary for David Raymond Brockish, an 80-year-old Air Force veteran from Kansas who passed away on August 9, 2025. While not itself a scam or fraud incident, the obituary notably directs memorial contributions to "End Elder Fraud," suggesting the family's commitment to combating elder fraud awareness and prevention.

Baxter County, Arkansas is experiencing a rise in scams targeting residents, prompting local law enforcement to host a public call-in program with Sheriff John Montgomery to educate citizens on fraud prevention. The initiative follows recent arrests of three men accused of acting as "money mules" for overseas scam operations; common schemes affecting residents include government impersonation, tech support fraud, fake sweepstakes, romance scams, and home repair fraud using phishing emails, robocalls, and spoofed numbers.

A 26-year-old certified nurse assistant in New Mexico, April Guadalupe Hernandez, was charged with 19 counts of misconduct including nursing without a license, identity theft, abuse of a resident, and fraud for falsifying nursing credentials and stealing identities of nurses from Texas, California, and Kansas. Over one year, Hernandez worked at three hospice centers using different name variations, claiming to hold higher nursing credentials than she possessed, and made a potentially fatal medication error (an overdose of morphine) that was caught before administration; she has an arraignment scheduled for September 8th.

April Guadalupe Hernandez was indicted by a Bernalillo County grand jury for assuming the identities of licensed nurses and illegally providing hospice care, including mis-transcribing a medication order that nearly resulted in a fatal morphine overdose. Hernandez, a certified nurse assistant, allegedly stole the identities of three nurses from Texas, California, and Kansas to gain employment at three healthcare facilities over 18 months, defrauding them of approximately $40,000. She faces 19 charges including identity theft, nursing without a license, elder abuse, and violations of the Nursing Practice Act, with a potential sentence of up to 27.5 years in prison

The Arkansas Department of Health warned SNAP users about circulating scams targeting SNAP benefits in Arkansas and other states. The department recommends updating account information, changing PIN numbers, watching for card skimmers, and verifying phone numbers to prevent fraud and to report stolen funds promptly.

A scammer impersonated a pastor at NorthRidge Church in northeast Kansas by sending emails to church members requesting gift card purchases with claims of urgency, though no one fell for the scam due to misspellings in the fraudulent email. The Seneca Police Department warns of this impersonation tactic, noting that Americans lost $1.1 billion to impersonation scams in 2023, with gift card scams being a common method where scammers pose as government officials, tech support, family members, or other trusted sources.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported that U.S. consumers lost $8.9 billion to scams in 2024, more than tripling from $2.6 billion in 2020, with investment scams and imposter fraud accounting for 60% of losses. Investment scams experienced the most dramatic growth with losses increasing nearly twelvefold, while scammers shifted to more effective digital contact methods like social media and mobile apps, and increasingly use cryptocurrency (40% of investment fraud payments) and bank transfers. Financial institutions and payment providers are urged to develop tools that quickly identify and intercept scam payments before they reach fraudsters.

The Arkansas Securities Department reports a substantial increase in financial fraud targeting elderly Arkansans, with older Americans nationwide reporting $4.885 billion in losses from 147,127 complaints in 2024, including 1,063 Arkansas victims who lost $27.25 million. Common schemes include social media scams, romance fraud, and "pig butchering" scams that build trust before encouraging cryptocurrency investments, with seniors being targeted due to accumulated savings, higher trust levels, and social isolation. The ASD advises elderly investors to avoid unsolicited investment opportunities claiming guaranteed returns, secrecy, or low risk with high returns, and encourages reporting suspected fraud to 800.981.4

A 60-year-old Kansas woman lost $14,694 in a romance scam after meeting a man on Facebook in November 2023 who claimed to need money for various emergencies, including being detained at a Malaysian airport. The scammer also manipulated her into receiving and redistributing funds through her accounts, compounding the financial damage. Salina police confirmed the report as part of ongoing elder fraud investigations.

A Kansas sheriff's deputy, Richard Fatherley, was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the July 2024 death of 50-year-old Charles Adair, a jail inmate who sustained broken ribs and a sternal fracture after an altercation with jail staff at the Wyandotte County detention center. According to the autopsy, Adair died from complications of mechanical asphyxia (obstructed breathing) when an officer knelt on his back while he was being removed from his wheelchair. Fatherley, who was not a certified law enforcement officer, is on paid administrative leave, and the prosecutor has requested an

Fraudsters in Arkansas and nationwide are increasingly targeting seniors by offering free medical equipment in exchange for their Medicare numbers, then billing Medicare for devices the seniors never ordered or needed. This scheme not only costs Medicare millions but can deny seniors legitimate coverage when they actually need medical care. Seniors should verify any medical orders with their doctors, return unsolicited items, contact Medicare to dispute fraudulent claims, and report suspected fraud to the Arkansas Attorney General or by calling 1-800-Medicare.

A Clay County man lost $120,000 over seven months in a romance scam initiated by someone claiming to be a woman named "Lisa" on TikTok who later moved communications to the encrypted Telegram app. The scammer built an emotional relationship with the victim and repeatedly requested money for various emergencies and expenses, including taxes on a house sale, before the man's family member identified it as a scam. The Clay County Sheriff's Office warns the public to never send money to individuals met only online and notes that cryptocurrency transfers are nearly impossible to recover.

A Clay County man reported losing approximately $120,000 in a romance scam after being contacted by a TikTok user claiming to be a woman named "Lisa" who eventually moved the conversation to the encrypted messaging app Telegram. The scammer fabricated emergencies requesting money for car repairs, gas, and back taxes, which the victim sent via CashApp and Bitcoin machines in the Kansas City area. Authorities note that cryptocurrency transactions make recovery unlikely and warn that romance scam victims often remain secretive about communications due to emotional attachment to the perpetrator.

A Kansas City area man lost approximately $120,000 in a romance scam that began in March when a woman named "Lisa" contacted him on TikTok and gradually moved their conversation to the encrypted Telegram app. Over time, "Lisa" created various emergencies—car repairs, gas money, and eventually back taxes on her mother's house—to solicit payments via CashApp and Bitcoin, which the victim sent until a family member recognized the scheme. Law enforcement advises never sending money to people met only online and warns that cryptocurrency transfers are nearly impossible to recover.

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