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in Scam Awareness
wfmz.com
· 2026-09-17
Employment scams targeting college students have doubled in 2025, with approximately 32 percent of Gen Z job seekers reporting they've fallen victim to these scams compared to 15 percent of Gen X. Scammers use realistic-looking job postings and professional recruiter communications to lure victims, then request personal information like Social Security numbers, bank details, or upfront payments for background checks or equipment. To protect themselves, job seekers should verify positions directly on company websites, confirm recruiter email addresses match the actual company, and remember that legitimate employers never ask candidates to pay for a job.
ftc.gov
· 2026-09-17
The FTC and Washington state reached a $225 million settlement with Amway and its affiliates—the largest monetary recovery ever obtained against a multilevel marketing company—for using deceptive tactics to recruit members and pressure them to buy unsellable products while misrepresenting earnings potential. Amway deceived Independent Business Owners (IBOs) by falsely claiming they could profit from selling consumer products, when the actual scheme focused on recruiting new members and requiring purchases regardless of resale ability. The settlement requires Amway and its affiliates to change their practices and will provide redress primarily to IBOs recruited through two major affiliate groups who lost money.
ftc.gov
· 2026-09-17
FleetCor Technologies (now Corpay Inc.) and its CEO agreed to pay $100 million to settle FTC charges that they charged small business customers hundreds of millions of dollars in undisclosed and unauthorized fees while falsely promising fuel card savings. The company deceived tens of thousands of small business customers by hiding fees in invoices, delaying when charges appeared, and misrepresenting gas savings and fraud-control features associated with their fuel cards. A federal court found FleetCor violated the FTC Act, and the settlement will provide redress to affected business customers.
nbcmiami.com
· 2026-09-17
Florida's Attorney General introduced the Florida Anti-Spam Communications Act to combat rising scam calls and texts targeting residents through spoofed government agencies, fake jury duty notices, and fraudulent payment demands. The proposed legislation aims to establish tougher penalties for scammers and the "phone farms" and "SIM farms" that blast thousands of numbers, addressing gaps in current law. Victims cited in the announcement lost amounts ranging from $190 to $700, with the state's Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit having recovered nearly $10 million from scammers to date.
news4jax.com
· 2026-09-16
FBI data shows elder fraud complaints surged 59% year-over-year with nationwide losses reaching nearly $8 billion, with Florida seniors losing approximately $710 million—the second-highest state total. The spike in fraud targeting seniors includes various scam types targeting aging parents' financial accounts. Authorities recommend families take protective measures to safeguard vulnerable elderly relatives from scammers.
legis1.com
· 2026-09-16
The House passed the GUARD Act (H.R. 2978) with overwhelming bipartisan support by a 414-7 vote on September 15, expanding federal grant funding for state and local law enforcement to investigate elder financial fraud and "pig-butchering" schemes—confidence scams involving cryptocurrency investment fraud. The legislation also authorizes federal agencies to assist in using blockchain technology for fraud investigations and requires the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to report to Congress on fraud trends, with an estimated implementation cost of $128 million through fiscal 2031.
wrnjradio.com
· 2026-09-16
The U.S. House passed the bipartisan GUARD Act (H.R. 2978), which allows state, local, and tribal law enforcement to use federal grant funding to investigate elder financial fraud, cryptocurrency "pig butchering" scams, and other financial crimes targeting older Americans. The legislation provides resources for investigators to hire analysts, obtain specialized training, and access blockchain-tracing tools to track stolen money and identify perpetrators operating across transnational networks. The bill now moves to the Senate and would also require federal agencies to report to Congress on the scope and losses from financial scams targeting seniors.
usatoday.com
· 2026-09-16
OpenAI and AARP are launching a 10-city educational tour starting September 16 to teach older Americans how to use ChatGPT to identify and prevent online scams, with plans for an expanded mobile "Digital Discovery Lab" tour in 2026. The initiative follows an OpenAI report showing that 24.7 million people worldwide use ChatGPT weekly to check for potential scams, though adoption is lower among adults over 64 (1.9% of that age group) compared to those 45-64 (3%). The report notes that online scams targeting people over 60 have risen significantly, with Florida losing an estimated $7.7 billion annually to sc
quiverquant.com
· 2026-09-16
The House passed H.R. 2978, the Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act (GUARD Act), by a vote of 414-7, which authorizes state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies receiving federal grant funds to investigate financial fraud targeting vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly. The bill covers various fraud types and requires law enforcement to submit annual reports detailing their investigative efforts and outcomes. The legislation also mandates comprehensive reporting from the Treasury Department on the state of financial fraud and related crimes, and allows federal law enforcement to assist local agencies using blockchain tracing tools for fraud investigations.
rsc-pfluger.house.gov
· 2026-09-16
The House of Representatives passed the GUARD Act (H.R. 2978), legislation designed to combat financial scams targeting seniors by providing state, local, and Tribal law enforcement with federal grant funding to investigate elder fraud schemes, including "pig butchering" scams where fraudsters gradually convince victims to invest in fake cryptocurrency investments before stealing their funds. The bill aims to strengthen coordination between law enforcement agencies and support the use of blockchain tracing tools to recover stolen assets, with lawmakers citing examples such as North Dakota's $14.4 million in reported fraud losses in 2024 affecting vulnerable seniors.
gottheimer.house.gov
· 2026-09-16
The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan GUARD Act (H.R. 2978) on September 15, 2026, to combat elder fraud costing Americans billions annually by empowering state, local, and Tribal law enforcement with investigative tools and resources to track scammers, recover stolen funds, and protect seniors from financial fraud schemes. The legislation, co-led by Representatives Josh Gottheimer, Zachary Nunn, and Scott Fitzgerald, now moves to the Senate for consideration. Supporters including credit unions, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and AARP emphasized the act addresses the epidemic of sophisticated scams targeting retirees' life savings.
ottumwaradio.com
· 2026-09-16
The U.S. House passed the bipartisan GUARD Act 414-7, which provides state and local law enforcement with resources and tools to investigate financial fraud and "pig butchering" scams targeting older Americans, including blockchain tracing technology to recover stolen funds. According to the FBI, Iowans lost $96 million to fraud in 2025, an 85 percent increase from the previous year, with scammers using social media, email, text messages, and phone calls to lure retirees into fake investment schemes. The legislation, led by Representatives Zach Nunn, Josh Gottheimer, and Scott Fitzgerald, now awaits Senate consideration.
aba.com
· 2026-09-16
This document is a policy memo from the American Bankers Association to Congress regarding proposed legislation and does not describe any fraud, scam, or elder abuse incident. It is not appropriate for an elder fraud research database as it contains no information about victims, perpetrators, scam methods, or financial losses related to fraud.
foxnews.com
· 2026-09-16
A woman lost nearly $1 million over two years in a LinkedIn romance scam involving a man using the stolen identity and photos of a real person named Brian Haugen. The scammer built trust gradually through compliments and conversation before requesting money, and crucially returned some initial payments to establish credibility before escalating to larger financial demands. The scammer exploited the victim's connection to a mutual LinkedIn contact to lower her guard and used information from her social media to craft a convincing approach.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-16
Thousands of users, mostly men in their mid-to-late 30s, were catfished on a network of approximately 28 fraudulent dating apps that used AI personas and hired gig workers to impersonate real women seeking connections. The scam, uncovered by Anthropic researchers, involved AI chatbots generating most conversations while occasional interactions with real paid workers created false credibility, with the apps falsely marketed as platforms for meeting genuine people. While the specific financial losses were not detailed in the available reporting, the scheme represented an industrial-scale operation using multiple AI providers to deceive users over an extended period.
tvsourcemagazine.com
· 2026-09-16
This article contains entertainment news about television and streaming releases, premieres, and renewals—not information about scams, fraud, or elder abuse. It is not appropriate for an elder fraud research database summary.
surfshark.com
· 2026-09-16
Users reported losing $425 million to WhatsApp scams in 2025, according to FTC data, as scammers exploit the app's intimate nature and direct messaging capabilities to conduct social engineering attacks. Common scams include verification code theft (risking full account takeover), wrong number schemes that build trust before promoting fake investments or cryptocurrency trading, and family emergency impersonations requesting urgent money transfers. Red flags include suspicious links, requests for verification codes or personal information, and unsolicited messages from unknown contacts claiming urgent situations or investment opportunities.
finance.yahoo.com
· 2026-09-16
Suze Orman advises surviving spouses to avoid making major financial decisions immediately after a partner's death, as grief impairs judgment and large life insurance payouts attract scammers targeting vulnerable bereaved individuals. Fraud losses among adults 60 and older surged from $600 million in 2020 to $2.4 billion in 2024, with investment and romance scams being particularly prevalent, though the actual toll may reach $81.5 billion when accounting for unreported cases. Orman recommends couples prepare in advance by establishing legal documents, sharing financial knowledge, verifying beneficiaries, and coordinating Social Security strategy to prevent the surviving spouse from facing urgent decisions without crucial information
ghanaiantimes.com.gh
· 2026-09-16
This article discusses the psychological and environmental factors that motivate employees to commit occupational fraud within organizations, identifying perceived pressure, opportunity, rationalization, perceived unfairness, and greed as key drivers. The piece emphasizes that Ghana faces significant fraud risks including investment scams, romance scams, identity theft, embezzlement, and misappropriation of public funds, which pose major threats to economic growth and organizational reputation. The article argues that management can prevent internal fraud by creating favorable work environments with strong ethical cultures, robust internal controls, and fair treatment of employees.
malwarebytes.com
· 2026-09-16
Scammers are using AI to create convincing fake antivirus renewal pages that impersonate brands like Avast to trick victims into providing personal information such as names, email addresses, and phone numbers. A Belgian-targeted scam site claiming a €129.99 Avast Premium renewal showed signs of AI generation, including polished design, grammatically correct but vague copy, and code comments suggesting contractor work. These collected details are then used for follow-up scam calls where perpetrators pose as support staff to convince victims to install malware or reverse non-existent payments.
orlandosentinel.com
· 2026-09-16
Travel scams have become increasingly sophisticated, with scammers using AI tools to create fake websites and exploit real reservation data stolen from hotels and airlines to impersonate legitimate companies. Common scams include reservation hijacking (fraudulent payment requests using actual reservation details) and fake flight cancellation alerts that pressure victims into rebooking through malicious links. The FTC reported Americans lost $3.5 billion to impostor scams in the past year, with experts recommending travelers verify communications by calling official company numbers directly rather than using contact information from suspicious messages.
channel3000.com
· 2026-09-16
Scammers in Dane County, Wisconsin are using publicly available jail booking information to contact families and demand bail payments via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards, impersonating sheriff's office officials with spoofed phone numbers. Three victims have been targeted in the past three weeks. The Dane County Sheriff's Office warns that legitimate bail payments are only made in person at the jail, never by phone or alternative payment methods.
rte.ie
· 2026-09-16
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission warned of online scams impersonating Dublin Zoo on social media, offering free gifts or back-to-school packs with a €2-3 postage fee to lure consumers into providing payment details. Scammers use fake Dublin Zoo-branded content and clone websites to deceive busy consumers, and the CCPC advised people to verify websites before paying and contact their banks immediately if defrauded. The commission emphasized that consumers should be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true and report suspected scams to local gardaí.
globalinitiative.net
· 2026-09-16
Chinese-origin scam syndicates operating industrial-scale compounds in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia have expanded globally with significant operations in South Asia, particularly affecting India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka through trafficking for forced criminality and cyber fraud operations. Since 2025, multiple countries including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia have escalated crackdowns through sanctions, indictments, and law enforcement cooperation, though responses have been hampered by focusing narrowly on Southeast Asia rather than recognizing the syndicates' global reach. The convergence of Chinese cybercrime groups with South Asian recruitment networks, trafficking operations, and regional crime groups represents major security challenges, with regulatory gaps—especially in Sri Lanka—enabling cross
fox59.com
· 2026-09-16
Indiana University police warned students about four recent online scams involving fraudulent job offers with fake checks and sextortion attempts. The fake job scam used a common tactic where victims were sent fraudulent checks and asked to send money back via Cash App, while the other three cases involved sextortion where scammers threatened to share intimate images unless victims paid them. Police attributed the rise in sophisticated scams to artificial intelligence platforms making it easier for scammers to create convincing fake profiles and job offers.
rstreet.org
· 2026-09-16
Government impersonation scams surged 87% in 2025, with Americans losing $920 million to criminals posing as agencies like the IRS and toll authorities, up from $789 million in 2024. A Gallup survey estimates the actual problem is far larger—roughly 15 million Americans (6% of adults) lost about $68 billion to all scam types in 2025, though only 13% reported their victimization to federal authorities. Without stronger enforcement against scam operations and the communication channels enabling them, eroding public trust in government will further undermine legitimate government communication.
ww2.kqed.org
· 2026-09-16
A man named Daejon Love catfished women on dating apps by falsely claiming to be an NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers, a deception that circulated widely on social media during the summer. The scam involved Love presenting himself with fake credentials and professional football player status to deceive potential romantic partners. While specific financial losses are not detailed in this excerpt, the scheme represents a common catfishing fraud targeting women through dating platforms using false identity claims.
law.georgia.gov
· 2026-09-16
Ogechi Urenna Udunka of Decatur, Georgia pleaded guilty to theft and money laundering for her role in a Business Email Compromise scam that defrauded an agricultural company of $158,000 in June 2021. She received the stolen funds through fraudulent wire transfers and then conducted financial transactions to conceal the money's source before disbursing it to herself and others. Udunka was sentenced to 10 years with 90 days in prison and the remainder on probation, and ordered to pay full restitution and perform 200 hours of community service.
therecord.media
· 2026-09-16
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan GUARD Act, which would redirect existing federal grant funding to equip local law enforcement with tools to investigate financial scams, including blockchain technology training and cryptocurrency tracing software. The legislation addresses a critical gap in scam investigations, as cases typically don't reach federal thresholds while local police lack resources to pursue them, particularly targeting the vulnerability of seniors to fraud schemes operated by overseas criminal groups. Cryptocurrency-related losses for Americans reached a record $11.4 billion in 2025, with investment fraud accounting for $8.6 billion of that total.
prospect.org
· 2026-09-15
Political consultants and Democratic Party operatives have built a sophisticated text message fundraising campaign that targets elderly donors with alarmist messages about Social Security ending and election crises, collecting hundreds or thousands of dollars from small numbers of frightened and sometimes mentally unwell seniors. According to political scientist Adam Bonica, this practice has grown substantially over the past decade and can be characterized as elder fraud, funneling money from vulnerable elderly donors into party operations and consultant pockets. The research documenting this scheme was reportedly spiked by The New York Times after months of fact-checking due to pressure from political consultants.
quiverquant.com
· 2026-09-15
Representative George Whitesides introduced H.R. 10350, the Protecting Elders from Wire Fraud Act, which would require financial institutions and professionals to report suspected elder financial exploitation within 5 days, temporarily freeze suspicious transactions for up to 30 business days, and notify trusted contacts of potential fraud. The bill aims to strengthen federal protections for older adults by mandating specific reporting procedures, transaction holds, and information-sharing protocols among financial institutions, law enforcement, and adult protective services. The legislation would take effect 180 days after enactment and would not override stronger state consumer protection laws.
avpress.com
· 2026-09-15
The Protecting Elders from Wire Fraud Act, introduced by Representatives Whitesides, Salazar, and Davis, would require financial institutions to place holds up to 90 days on suspicious wire transactions from senior accounts to prevent financial exploitation. According to the FTC, seniors lost $334 million to fraudulent wire transfers in 2025 alone, with the actual amount likely much higher due to underreporting. The legislation would also require banks to contact trusted contacts when placing holds and provide legal protection for institutions acting in good faith.
prevention.com
· 2026-09-15
Approximately 73% of U.S. adults have been targeted by online scams, with email phishing being a primary attack method, according to Pew Research Center data. Common email scam tactics include impersonating government agencies or legitimate companies, using suspicious sender addresses, creating artificial urgency, requesting personal or financial information, and employing spelling errors or AI-generated text that appears robotic or overly formal. The FTC and CISA recommend carefully scrutinizing unexpected emails for red flags such as generic greetings, requests to claim prizes or refunds, and threats of account closure or action consequences.
myvillager.com
· 2026-09-15
Minnesota seniors lost $111.4 million to financial scams in 2025, with common schemes including romance scams, law enforcement impersonation, and extortion. A payment processing industry worker advocates for Congress to pass the TRAPS Act, which would establish a comprehensive federal task force to coordinate with local law enforcement in combating these crimes and recovering victims' funds, particularly those sent overseas.
tvinsider.com
· 2026-09-15
Emmy Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller goes undercover in a new National Geographic documentary to expose the $1 billion romance scam industry, posing as a dating app user to understand the tactics and psychological manipulations scammers use. An estimated one in seven American adults has lost money to romance scammers, with victims experiencing devastating consequences including home foreclosures, and the scams have become increasingly sophisticated with the use of generative AI to impersonate celebrities and public figures. Van Zeller investigates one scammer posing as a military general, partnering with a hacker to identify and confront him, while also interviewing victims whose lives have been upended by these crimes.
newsroom.kbc.com
· 2026-09-15
KBC has launched "guardian angel," a new security feature now available to over 4 million customers in Belgium that allows them to appoint a trusted person to review and approve suspicious payments before execution, specifically designed to combat human takeover fraud and manipulation scams. The feature was developed following a successful pilot with 2,000 users and demonstrated its effectiveness in one case where a daughter was able to stop fraudsters from stealing her father's savings after detecting suspicious activity. KBC is also making the technology available to other financial institutions to help combat the rising trend of fraud schemes that exploit trust and emotions rather than hacking bank systems.
unite.ai
· 2026-09-15
The article discusses how AI-generated deepfakes have made traditional dating safety advice obsolete, with a 2025 study showing 99.9% of people cannot reliably distinguish real from synthetic images and deepfaked selfies rising 58% in 2025. Rather than relying on users to spot fakes, platforms should use AI to analyze patterns of user behavior across multiple signals—device information, location, account activity—since while individual elements can be faked, maintaining consistency across all signals simultaneously becomes prohibitively expensive for fraudsters. Romance scams alone cost $1.5 billion in 2025, with global online-scam losses estimated between $88.3-114.1 billion,
finance.yahoo.com
· 2026-09-15
This article is not about a scam or fraud. It is a press release announcing Perscivo, a new decision intelligence platform designed to help dating app users analyze conversation patterns to identify whether online connections are progressing authentically. The platform addresses concerns about romance scams (which cost consumers $1.14 billion in 2023) but is itself a legitimate analytical tool, not a scam report.
incrypted.com
· 2026-09-15
MetaMask has launched a fraud detection feature that analyzes transactions in real-time to identify potential "romance" and investment scams, using Blockaid's security checks to flag suspicious recipient addresses and prompting users with warning questions before funds are sent. The feature acts as a "speed bump" rather than blocking transactions outright, helping users recognize warning signs of social engineering schemes that the FBI linked to $7.2 billion in crypto losses in 2025. The protection is now available in MetaMask Mobile 8.11+ and Extension 13.48+ across all EVM-based networks.
salemreporter.com
· 2026-09-15
The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation warned investors about fraudsters using artificial intelligence to create sophisticated-looking investment pitches, websites, and videos, including deepfakes impersonating celebrities or trusted individuals and AI-generated romance scams. The agency urged consumers to verify investments independently, avoid pressure tactics, and remember that offers sounding too good to be true likely are scams. Suspected victims can report fraud to Oregon's Division of Financial Regulation at 1-888-877-4894 or the Federal Trade Commission.
foxbangor.com
· 2026-09-15
Research from Malwarebytes analyzing threat data from April-July 2026 found that scammers strategically time fraudulent messages to maximize engagement, with scam text volume peaking around 12 p.m. ET (874% higher than at 1 a.m.) and increasing throughout the week, reaching peak levels on Fridays. Different scam types favor different platforms—job scams via email, romance scams via social media, and tech support scams via phone calls—while phishing websites remain the leading delivery method with Malwarebytes blocking approximately 500,000 fake pages daily. The data suggests scammers deliberately target busy times when victims are distracted and more likely
kptv.com
· 2026-09-15
A statewide Oregon survey of 1,828 adults found that nearly half experienced unfair or illegal treatment in the past year, with scams and fraud being the most common issues, with roughly half of fraud victims reporting being targeted via text, phone call, or email. The survey revealed significant financial vulnerability among Oregonians, with most unable to cover a $400 emergency expense, and identified food costs, housing, and utility bills as leading sources of financial stress. Approximately half of those surveyed encountered scam attempts but managed to avoid losing money or personal information.
fox4news.com
· 2026-09-15
An elderly Frisco resident who lost $30,000 to an international gold theft ring assisted police in capturing a courier, helping authorities dismantle a scheme that defrauded over 200 victims of more than $250 million. Scammers posed as federal agents to convince seniors to withdraw cash and gold, which was melted into jewelry or converted to cryptocurrency and funneled overseas. Central figure Muzamil Ahmed was arrested at JFK Airport attempting to flee the country, with over 40 indictments issued and more than $130 million in gold seized.
finance.yahoo.com
· 2026-09-15
Scammers are using AI to identify widows from publicly available obituaries and targeting them with tax evasion scams, with one widow losing $7,000 after being told she needed to pay to preserve her inheritance from her late husband's alleged tax scheme. The FBI reports that Americans aged 60+ lost $7.7 billion to internet and cyber-enabled crimes in 2025, up 59% from 2024, with an average loss of $38,500 per case. AI enables fraudsters to quickly extract personal information from obituaries, create convincing fake communications, and target grieving widows who are vulnerable while managing financial and administrative tasks following their spouse's death.
kttc.com
· 2026-09-15
Scammers in Olmsted County are sending phishing emails impersonating county employees, using fake domains like "@usa.com" instead of official "@olmstedcounty.gov" addresses, and targeting contractors, businesses, and property owners with requests for money or personal information. The fraudsters are pulling real project details from public meeting agendas and signing emails with actual county employee names to appear legitimate. Officials advise recipients not to click links in suspicious emails and to report them directly to the planning department.
alachuachronicle.com
· 2026-09-15
During Medicare Open Enrollment (beginning October 15), scammers impersonate Medicare representatives or licensed agents to target beneficiaries by using official-looking materials, promising unrealistic benefits, and pressuring them to quickly provide Medicare numbers or personal information through suspicious websites and advertisements. Red flags include unsolicited contact, requests for immediate enrollment decisions, and offers to reveal "new Medicare benefits" in exchange for personal data. Seniors can protect themselves by using free, unbiased counseling from Florida's SHINE Program and reporting suspected fraud to Medicare, the Florida Attorney General, or the FTC.
aol.com
· 2026-09-15
This article discusses Senator Ashley Moody's Senate Judiciary Committee testimony focusing on federal crime reduction efforts rather than reporting a specific fraud incident. While the article mentions elder fraud as a policy concern, it does not describe an actual scam, victims affected, or financial losses—instead covering legislative proposals like the STOP Scams Against Seniors Act and the SWIPES Act aimed at combating senior financial abuse.
creators.yahoo.com
· 2026-09-15
A man impersonating an Adams County Sheriff's Office sergeant attempted to scam the author with a police-impersonation scheme, claiming a legal matter required immediate attention and falsely stating he was calling from the "Adams County Sheriff's Department" (the correct name is "Sheriff's Office"). The scammer, who identified himself as "Sgt. Don Davis," was part of a known fraud operation targeting people with claims of missed jury summons or legal issues to extort money, though the author detected the deception through basic fact-checking and independently verified the call was fraudulent.
foreignaffairs.house.gov
· 2026-09-15
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast and Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar sent a letter to federal officials requesting investigations and potential sanctions against foreign persons linked to online scam centers in Southeast Asia that have defrauded Americans of tens of billions of dollars annually. The scams, primarily operated by Chinese transnational criminal organizations, include "pig butchering" cryptocurrency investment schemes and romance cons that exploit victims through psychological manipulation. The lawmakers are supporting the Trump Administration's enforcement efforts and promoting legislation like the Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act to strengthen the U.S. government's response to these criminal operations.
yahoo.com
· 2026-09-15
Romance scammers stole over $1 billion from American victims in 2025, with the scam industry increasingly using AI-generated identities and deepfakes to manipulate targets. Emmy Award-winning journalist Mariana Van Zeller investigates these tactics in the new National Geographic special "Super Scam Me," premiering on Disney+ and Hulu on October 17, where she creates a fake dating profile to infiltrate scam operations and confront perpetrators. Victims featured in the investigation include a woman who lost her home through foreclosure after being deceived by a scammer impersonating Jon Bon Jovi.