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local3news.com
**Disaster Relief Donation Fraud Prevention**
Following natural disasters like Hurricane Helene, scammers exploit donor generosity by creating fraudulent charities and fake donation campaigns. To donate safely, use official websites of established organizations (American Red Cross, Samaritan's Purse, The Salvation Army), verify charity legitimacy through Give.org or Charity Navigator, avoid debit cards and unsolicited solicitations, and use credit cards or checks for better fraud protection. When using crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe, verify campaigns are reviewed by the platform and conduct reverse image searches to confirm legitimacy.
finance.yahoo.com
In 2023, scams targeting adults 60 and older resulted in $3.4 billion in losses—twice the amount of any other age group—with fraud losses increasing 14% from the previous year. Older adults face heightened vulnerability due to greater accumulated wealth and lower technological literacy, making them targets for common scams including grandparent scams, tech support fraud, sweepstakes/lottery schemes, government impersonation, fake checks, and banking account takeovers. Protective measures include staying informed about common fraud tactics, setting up account alerts, and utilizing resources like the AARP Fraud Watch Network.
justice.gov
Raj Vinodchandra Patel, a 34-year-old New Hampshire resident, was sentenced to 51 months in prison for his role in a wire fraud scheme targeting elderly residents. Patel served as a courier for an operation originating from India that used fake pop-up messages and impersonated federal agents to convince victims their Social Security numbers were compromised, then instructed them to purchase gold bullion for "safekeeping"; he was caught on October 7, 2023, when the FBI conducted a sting operation after an Alexandria, Louisiana victim reported the fraud, resulting in an intended loss of approximately $514,000 across multiple victims.
cnbctv18.com
**Digital Arrest Scam Advisory**
On October 27, the Prime Minister's office issued an advisory warning the public about "digital arrest" scams, clarifying that no investigative agency—including the CBI, police, customs, or ED—conducts arrests via phone or video call. These scams involve fraudsters impersonating government officials who claim victims are involved in illegal activity and demand payment of fines or penalties to avoid arrest; notable victims include an NBCC official who lost ₹55 lakh and businessman SP Oswal, 82, who lost ₹7 crore after being held in a state of virtual "arrest" for two days
dundalkeagle.com
**Summary:**
Police service officer Debby Chenoweth presented on common scams targeting older adults at a community meeting, detailing tactics such as ordering pizzas or cabs to elderly persons' homes to gain entry into conversations, classic computer virus scams, and sophisticated impersonation schemes involving fake bank and credit monitoring representatives. Chenoweth emphasized that scammers will go to extreme lengths to reach victims and that fraud can also come from family members, advising people to be skeptical of unsolicited requests for money or personal information and to report suspected scams to police and the FBI.
thewash.org
A gold bar investment scam in Montgomery County has defrauded approximately 25 seniors, with individual losses ranging from $100,000 to $973,000. Scammers use fake pop-up ads and impersonation of government officials to convince victims to convert assets into gold bars for "safekeeping," then dispatch couriers to collect the gold, with the scheme originating from India and China and targeting women particularly. The State's Attorney's office is conducting public awareness campaigns at senior residences and currently has four criminal cases involving five defendants under investigation.
womansworld.com
Five individuals were arrested and charged with wire fraud conspiracy after stealing at least $8 million from older victims across ten states through a tech support scam that included gold bar purchases. The scammers contacted elderly victims claiming their financial accounts were compromised and directed them to transfer funds, open new accounts, and purchase gold bars that couriers then collected; one 82-year-old Missouri woman lost approximately $250,000 in the scheme. To protect against such scams, authorities advise victims and their families to report suspicious activity immediately to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
kttn.com
Five individuals were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for operating a tech support scam that defrauded elderly victims of at least $8 million across ten states. The scheme involved scammers posing as computer support representatives, convincing victims their financial accounts were compromised, and persuading them to transfer funds and purchase gold bars, which couriers and handlers then collected; one 82-year-old victim from St. Louis lost approximately $250,000. All five defendants face up to 30 years in prison and $1 million fines, with charges involving wire fraud conspiracy investigated by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.
hollywoodreporter.com
Computer security company McAfee identified the top 10 celebrities whose identities are most frequently exploited in online scams, with Scarlett Johansson, Taylor Swift, and Johnny Depp leading the list. Scammers use these celebrities' names and likenesses without permission across various fraudulent schemes including fake product endorsements, cryptocurrency investments, ticket scams, deepfake videos, and malware distribution designed to steal financial information or enable identity theft. As AI tools make fraudulent content increasingly convincing, experts warn consumers to exercise caution and verify authenticity before engaging with celebrity-related online offers.
firstalert4.com
An 82-year-old St. Louis woman was targeted by scammers posing as computer software support who convinced her that her financial accounts were compromised and persuaded her to wire money overseas and purchase approximately $250,000 in gold bars. Federal prosecutors charged five individuals, including 22-year-old Dariona Lambert and 51-year-old Chintankumar Parekh, with wire fraud conspiracy after Lambert was arrested attempting to collect the gold bars from the victim; prosecutors allege the group stole at least $8 million from elderly victims across at least 10 states.
sfist.com
Scam artists in San Francisco placed fraudulent QR-code stickers on parking meters near Fisherman's Wharf, Beale Street, and the Embarcadero, directing users to fake websites designed to steal parking fee payments. The SFMTA discovered at least five affected meters and disabled the fraudulent URLs, warning the public that the city's actual parking meters do not use QR codes or external websites. It remains unclear how many people were defrauded by this sophisticated scam.
sg.news.yahoo.com
A new email extortion scam uses photos of victims' homes obtained from Google Maps and data breaches to threaten exposure of alleged compromising videos, demanding Bitcoin payment to prevent release. The scam exploits personal information to create fear and urgency, though scammers typically have no actual footage or access to victims' computers. Victims can protect themselves by verifying images against Google Maps street view, checking email authentication details (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), examining sender addresses for legitimacy, and avoiding clicking unfamiliar links.
brand-innovators.com
Tinder launched a romance scam prevention campaign featuring reality star Rob Rausch to educate users about avoiding online dating fraud, which caused $1.1+ billion in losses across digital platforms last year. The campaign includes social media videos, in-app safety reminders, and educational content about suspicious behaviors like requests to move conversations off-platform, overly rapid emotional escalation, and avoidance of in-person meetings. Tinder's parent company Match Group invests $125 million annually in safety measures, including ID verification features and machine learning systems to detect fraudulent activity.
weny.com
The Elmira Heights Police Department is hosting a community awareness presentation on November 11th at Village Hall to educate residents about common scams targeting older adults, including impersonator scams, tech support scams, charity scams, virtual kidnapping scams, and romance scams. The event is being organized in partnership with the Upstate Elder Abuse Center at Lifespan of Greater Rochester.
paymentsjournal.com
The UK has implemented new regulations requiring banks and payment firms to reimburse victims of authorized push payment (APP) fraud—where people are tricked into sending money to criminals—up to £85,000 within five business days. The rules aim to incentivize financial institutions to invest in fraud prevention technology and systems that identify scams before transactions occur, with experts noting this represents a significant consumer protection advancement that other countries may eventually follow.
justice.gov
Five individuals were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for operating a tech support scam that stole at least $8 million from elderly victims across at least ten states. The scheme involved fraudsters falsely claiming victims' bank accounts were compromised and coercing them to transfer funds, sometimes through gold bars purchased by victims and collected by couriers; one 82-year-old St. Louis victim lost approximately $250,000 before law enforcement intercepted a courier attempting pickup. The defendants had differentiated roles as couriers and handlers coordinating the collection and transportation of stolen assets across multiple states.
alternet.org
Truth Social users, predominantly older Americans, lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to scammers using "pig butchering" schemes and romance scams, according to FTC complaints obtained by a tech reporter. Victims included a 60-64-year-old from Minnesota who lost $500,000 to a cryptocurrency investment scam, a septuagenarian who lost $21,000 in a romance-based scheme, and a 70-74-year-old from Oregon who lost $120,000 in a fake gold trading scam. Scammers typically build trust on Truth Social before moving victims to other platforms and convincing them to invest in fake cryptocurrency, stock, or precious
etvbharat.com
During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, cybersecurity expert Mohit Yadav shared key strategies to protect against evolving cyber threats, including "digital arrest" scams where fraudsters pose as law enforcement to extract sensitive information like Aadhaar numbers. Common threats include fake telecom company calls promoting malware-infected apps, deepfake extortion schemes (one case resulting in losses exceeding one crore rupees), and phishing emails with deceptive links and misspelled sender addresses. Key protective measures include using strong passwords with eight+ characters and mixed case/numbers/symbols, enabling two-factor authentication, carefully verifying email sources, and avoiding clicking unsolicited links
union-bulletin.com
Long Leaf Trading Group, a Chicago-based boiler-room operation announced in 2020, cold-called unsuspecting customers to promote a fraudulent commodity-trading scheme promising 6%-12% annual returns, resulting in nearly all customers losing money while insiders collected $1.2 million in commissions. The article contextualizes this relatively straightforward scam within the broader modern fraud epidemic, where AI-enhanced voice cloning, personalized targeting using social media and data breach information, and imposter schemes have driven consumer fraud losses to a record $10 billion annually, with law enforcement struggling to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated technology-enabled cons.
tag24.com
Truth Social users, predominantly those over 60, have filed numerous FTC complaints alleging they were scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through schemes including "pig butchering" (fake investment cons) and romance scams, with individual losses ranging from $120,000 to $500,000. The platform's parent company claims to actively monitor for and remove scammers, but FTC complaints obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request reveal the scams have persisted over at least a two-year period.
thedailybeast.com
Truth Social users, particularly retired older adults, have lost thousands to millions of dollars in scams on the platform over the past two years, with complaints to the FTC documenting "pig butchering" investment schemes, cryptocurrency fraud, and romantic scams that exploited victims out of amounts ranging from $21,000 to $500,000. The scams typically involved fraudsters creating fake investment accounts showing fictitious gains to lure victims into larger contributions, or posing as romantic interests to extract money for supposed emergencies or investment opportunities. Truth Social's parent company stated it has a team actively searching for and removing scams and bots from the platform.
cleveland.com
Employment scams ranked among the top five most common fraud schemes in 2023, with median losses exceeding $2,000 per victim, often targeting job seekers through fake job listings via text, email, or phone calls that request personal information like Social Security numbers or bank account details. Common tactics include fraudsters impersonating real companies, sending fraudulent checks for "supplies" then requesting refunds, and pressuring victims into communication on unmonitored platforms like WhatsApp. Job seekers can protect themselves by verifying company contact information, watching for unrealistic job offers, maintaining records of applications, and avoiding sharing personal information until directly confirming employment with the actual company.
grandforksherald.com
Long Leaf Trading Group, a Chicago-based boiler-room operation announced in 2020, cold-called victims to promote a commodity-trading scheme that promised 6%-12% annual returns; nearly all customers lost money while the company collected $1.2 million in commissions. The article contextualizes this case within a broader fraud epidemic, noting that consumer fraud cost Americans a record $10 billion in the previous year, with AI-enhanced scams using voice cloning, personalized data, and imposter tactics now replacing older low-tech fraud schemes and making it increasingly difficult for law enforcement to combat modern scammers.
readthereporter.com
The Tipton community celebrated National Senior Center Month in September with a 50+ Lifestyle Expo (150 attendees, 42 exhibitors) and Senior Games (100+ participants), both organized by the Encore Center to promote wellness, social engagement, and lifelong learning among seniors. The events featured health resources, presentations on scams and fraud prevention, fall prevention education, and recreational activities, with attendance up 56 percent from the previous year.
latimes.com
A woman named Jane fell victim to a phishing scam when, while emotionally distressed, she received a fraudulent email appearing to be from her bank and unknowingly granted scammers remote access to her smartphone. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, adults over 60 have lost more to tech support scams than all other age groups combined, with some victims remortgaging homes or depleting retirement accounts to cover losses. Wise & Healthy Aging offers a free support group called "Seniors Against Scammers" to help scam victims and provides educational resources and workshops on recognizing and preventing elder fraud and abuse throughout Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Jay Shooster, a Florida State House candidate and consumer protection lawyer, revealed that scammers used AI voice cloning technology to impersonate him in a call to his father, claiming he had been in a car accident and arrested for DUI and needed $30,000 for bail. The scammers likely obtained a voice sample from Shooster's recent television appearance, and the fraud was ultimately detected when the callers refused card payment and made suspicious claims. Shooster emphasized the effectiveness of such scams despite his professional expertise and urged public awareness, while noting that voice-cloning technology creates a troubling secondary effect: the difficulty of verifying loved ones' identities during genuine emergencies.
kalingatv.com
Florida State House candidate Jay Shooster's parents nearly fell victim to a $30,000 voice cloning scam in which fraudsters used just 15 seconds of audio from his TV appearance to impersonate him and claim he had been arrested and needed bail. Despite Shooster's prior warnings to his family about such AI-driven scams, his father almost sent the money before learning it was not his son. Shooster has since advocated for stricter legislation and recommends families use secret pass phrases to verify identities during emergencies.
cnbc.com
Revolut criticized Meta on Thursday for inadequate fraud prevention measures, arguing the tech giant should directly compensate victims of scams originating on its platforms rather than simply sharing data with banks. Revolut's report found that 62% of fraud reported on its platform originated from Meta services (39% from Facebook, 18% from WhatsApp), and the company contends that social media platforms lack incentive to combat fraud since they bear no financial responsibility for victims. New U.K. regulations effective October 7 will require banks and payment firms to compensate authorized push payment fraud victims up to £85,000, but Revolut maintains that Meta and similar platforms must also share in reimbursement
techradar.com
Travel booking scams have surged dramatically, with Booking.com reporting a 500-900% increase in travel scams over 18 months and Lloyds Bank noting a 7% spike in holiday purchase scams, where victims lost an average of £765. Scammers use social engineering tactics including vishing (voice phishing), smishing (SMS phishing), and AI-powered impersonation to trick travelers into revealing sensitive personal information such as payment details, passport numbers, and one-time passwords. Security experts recommend two-factor authentication and call for travel brands to prioritize mobile app security, as nearly 70% of working adults have encountered vishing attacks that exploit human psychology an
clintonherald.com
The Iowa Department of Public Safety warned of an emerging trend in which scammers are demanding gold bars, coins, and bullion as payment instead of traditional methods like gift cards or cryptocurrency. Common scam types—including government impersonation, tech support, and romance scams—have shifted to this new payment method, with one central Iowa resident losing $305,000 in gold and silver to a fake Microsoft representative in June 2024, and the FBI reporting $55 million in precious metals losses nationwide during the second half of 2023.
news.trendmicro.com
Contrary to the stereotype of elderly victims, research shows younger people report losing money to scams more frequently than older adults, with those under 21 experiencing the largest surge in online fraud losses and 18-24 year-olds losing a median of $200 per scam. However, older adults suffer larger individual losses, with those aged 70-79 losing a median of $800 and those 80+ losing $1,500, reflecting how scams are tailored to different generations—younger people are targeted primarily on social media (40% of cases for ages 18-29) while older adults are targeted via phone (40% for those 80+). Different age groups face distinct
foxnews.com
Americans over age 60 lost more than $3.4 billion to scams in 2023, with 101,000 complaints filed—a 14.5% increase from 2022. Tech support scams were the most common fraud type, while data brokers' sale of personal information increasingly enables criminals to target seniors. The article recommends protective measures including monitoring financial accounts, using strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, limiting personal information sharing, and considering data removal services.
dhs.gov
HSI arrested two men in Rhode Island in connection with elder fraud schemes targeting seniors through online pop-up scams. Jirui Liu, 22, of Canada was charged after allegedly defrauding a 79-year-old man of $30,000 in cash and $130,000 in gold bars by impersonating federal authorities and falsely claiming his assets were compromised; a 72-year-old victim lost nearly $200,000 in a similar scheme involving Kush J. Patel, 22, of Connecticut, who posed as an FTC agent directing the victim to purchase and deliver gold bullion.
arynews.tv
A Florida man's parents nearly lost $30,000 to an AI voice-cloning scam in which fraudsters impersonated him using only 15 seconds of audio from a TV appearance, falsely claiming he had been in a car accident, injured, and arrested for DUI and needed bail money. The scam demonstrates the effectiveness of AI technology in creating convincing voice replicas, prompting the man to advise families to establish secret passphrases or other identity-verification techniques to confirm the authenticity of callers during emergencies.
indianexpress.com
This article is not relevant to the Elderus fraud research database. It is a humorous viral video about ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode mimicking a fake tech support scam, rather than reporting an actual fraud incident, scam warning, or elder abuse case. While it references the Microsoft tech support scam as a joke, it does not document real victims, financial losses, or provide elder fraud prevention guidance.
indiatoday.in
A retired Brigadier from Panchkula, Haryana, lost Rs 4.2 crore after downloading a phishing app from a WhatsApp link promising stock market investment opportunities; he and his wife were deceived into transferring funds across multiple accounts before being asked to pay an additional Rs 65 lakh commission to withdraw their money. The investigation revealed the scam was orchestrated by an international network based in the United States and United Kingdom, which used Indian bank accounts from rural border villages to launder the stolen funds, compensating account holders with small commissions.
metro.co.uk
Co-operative Bank experienced a widespread outage of its mobile app and online banking services beginning around 1:30pm, preventing customers from accessing their accounts and prompting complaints on social media; the bank apologized and stated it was working to resolve the issue. The article also covers unrelated banking news including proposed government measures to extend fraud investigation time for suspicious transactions to 72 hours to better protect consumers from scams like romance fraud.
cnbc.com
Meta announced an expanded information-sharing partnership with U.K. banks NatWest and Metro Bank to combat fraud on its platforms, leveraging its Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE) system to detect and remove scamming accounts. The collaboration has already resulted in the removal of 20,000 accounts involved in a concert ticket scam targeting U.K. and U.S. consumers, with additional banks expected to join the initiative. The partnership addresses longstanding concerns from financial institutions about fraud and scams proliferating on Meta's platforms, including unauthorized push payment fraud and financial schemes.
theguardian.com
Meta has partnered with Australian banks through the Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (Fire) program to combat celebrity deepfake investment scams, removing over 17,000 fraudulent pages and scam posts in its first six months. Australians reported $43.4 million in social media scam losses to Scamwatch from January to August 2024, with nearly $30 million attributed to fake investment schemes featuring manipulated images of public figures. The initiative enables direct information sharing between Meta and seven major banks to identify and block scams more rapidly, though the program's impact remains limited compared to the overall volume of reported losses.
bitdefender.com
**Summary:**
Global online scams resulted in $1.026 trillion in losses in 2023, affecting approximately one in four people worldwide. Bitdefender launched an AI-powered Scam Protection platform featuring real-time threat detection, a scam identification chatbot, regional scam wave alerts, and enhanced SMS protection across all devices to help users identify and defend against evolving scam tactics including phishing, malicious texts, and fraudulent websites.
thewesterlysun.com
Two individuals, Jirui Liu (22, Canada) and Kush J. Patel (22, Connecticut), were charged with wire fraud and money laundering in separate but similar schemes targeting Rhode Island seniors. Liu's scheme defrauded a 79-year-old victim of $35,000 in cash and $130,000 in gold bars through fake pop-up warnings about illegal activity, while Patel's scheme extracted approximately $363,090 in gold bullion from another victim using the same tactics; both defendants were arrested when law enforcement arranged controlled deliveries of counterfeit items.
aol.com
A 39-year-old San Francisco man was arrested after attempting to scam a Grass Valley, California elderly woman out of $32,000 through a fake "Microsoft Windows error" tech support scheme. The scammer gained remote computer access, falsely claimed criminal activity on her account, and convinced the victim to withdraw $32,000 from her bank; however, the victim's family intervened and contacted law enforcement, who arrested the suspect when he arrived to collect the money. The suspect was charged with attempted grand theft, obtaining money by false pretense, conspiracy to commit a crime, and elder theft.
kiro7.com
A 68-year-old South Sound woman lost nearly $140,000 to a Microsoft tech support scam in which a scammer gained remote access to her computer, faked an overpayment error, and instructed her to send two $69,000 cashier's checks to Georgia. According to the FBI, tech support scams are the number one reported cybercrime among seniors 60+, with 18,000 victims losing $3.4 billion last year, and victims often experience shame and hesitation to report the crime due to societal blame rather than receiving the empathy given to violent crime victims.
yahoo.com
A 68-year-old South Sound woman lost nearly $140,000 to a Microsoft tech support scam after a remote access scammer convinced her to send two $69,000 cashier's checks to Georgia under false pretenses. The victim delayed reporting the fraud due to shame and fear of judgment, highlighting how cybercrime victims experience different treatment than victims of violent crime. According to the FBI, tech support scams are the top reported cybercrime among seniors aged 60+, with 18,000 victims losing $3.4 billion in the past year, and resources like AARP's Fraud Watch Helpline (877-908-3360) are available to provide
legalreader.com
Abdul Mohammed, 31, of Des Plaines, Illinois, has been federally indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme targeting elderly victims. Mohammed and co-conspirators posed as FBI and Department of Justice agents, falsely claiming victims' information was compromised and instructing them to withdraw savings and retirement funds as cash or gold bars for "protection," with one elderly victim defrauded of at least $125,000 across multiple transactions. Mohammed is currently a fugitive, and if convicted, faces up to 60 years in federal prison.
lawyer-monthly.com
Wire transfer scams cost Americans $343.7 million in 2023, with fraudsters impersonating trusted contacts to redirect payments to their accounts through compromised emails, fake documents, or intercepted communications. Wire transfers are nearly impossible to reverse once processed, making them the scammer's preferred method; one victim lost his entire $900,000 life savings intended for a home down payment when scammers hijacked his email conversation with his real estate agent. Common wire transfer scams include real estate fraud, advance-fee loan schemes, fake checks, family emergency impersonations, rental fraud, tech support scams, and business email compromise attacks.
mashable.com
In the first six months of 2024, Americans lost $65 million to Bitcoin ATM scams, with losses increasing nearly 10-fold since 2023. Scammers use various tactics—such as impersonating law enforcement and threatening arrest—to manipulate victims into depositing cash at Bitcoin ATMs; one Houston man lost nearly $60,000 after being told he had an active warrant. The median loss across all ages is $10,000, though consumers over 60 are more frequently targeted, and the FTC warns that if anyone directs you to use a Bitcoin ATM, it is a scam.
ktvz.com
U.S. consumers lost $10.3 billion to fraud in 2023, with seniors (ages 60+) among the most vulnerable populations targeted through tech support scams, romance scams, investment scams, and credential stuffing attacks. OnPoint Credit Union released a 2024 cybersecurity eBook highlighting emerging threats including deepfake phishing, AI-enhanced scams, and smart device vulnerabilities, recommending consumers verify sender information, monitor accounts closely, and remain vigilant against unsolicited communications.
fox19.com
A senior couple in Boone County, Kentucky nearly fell victim to a cryptocurrency scam initiated by a pop-up message on their computer that directed them to call a number claiming their accounts were compromised. When they called the provided number, scammers instructed them to withdraw money and convert it to Bitcoin at a local vape shop, but an alert vape shop employee and the couple's own suspicions prompted them to contact the sheriff's office before completing the transaction. The Boone County Sheriff's Office successfully recovered the couple's funds, with deputies noting that recovering money in such scams is exceptionally rare.
good.is
A 70-year-old Australian woman nearly fell victim to a romance scam when she attempted to withdraw funds from her Westpac Bank account to pay for her online "boyfriend's" overseas prison release. Alert bank teller Mariana Karbowski became suspicious during the transaction, conducted a reverse image search that revealed the man's photos were stolen identities, and guided the woman to report the fraud to police before any money was lost. The incident highlights the importance of bank employee training in recognizing and preventing elder financial exploitation.