With the aging of the population in the United States and the advancement of technologies such as artificial intelligence, scammers find it easier than ever to commit fraud and evade justice, leading to an escalating trend in this criminal issue.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at AARP’s Fraud Watch Network, stated that internet and phone scams are growing exponentially, overwhelming law enforcement and prosecutors, while the number of criminals caught and convicted remains relatively low.
Victims often struggle to recover their money, with many elderly individuals losing their lifelong savings to romance scams, grandparent scams, tech support scams, and other common fraud schemes.
Stokes highlighted the crisis of social fraud, stating, “We are in a moment of social fraud. Many people join this industry because it’s easy to commit fraud. They don’t have to follow any rules. You can scam a lot of money, and the likelihood of being caught is low.”
In a recent case in Ohio, an 81-year-old man became the target of scammers, resulting in a fatal outcome that posed a challenge to law enforcement. The man mistakenly believed an Uber driver was involved in a plot to extract $12,000 bail money for a relative, leading him to fatally shoot the driver, who was actually a victim of the same scam, assigned to pick up a package at the man’s residence between Dayton and Columbus.
Homeowner William Brock was charged with murder in the case of the fatal shooting of Lo-Letha Hall on March 25, with the scammer behind a series of tragic events still at large after over three months.
Internet and phone scams have become so prevalent that law enforcement agencies and adult protective services lack sufficient resources to keep up with the escalating issue.
Former FBI agent overseeing elder fraud investigations, Brady Finta, compared the situation to drinking from a fire hose, emphasizing the overwhelming challenge law enforcement faces in addressing the rampant fraud activities.
Investigating such fraud can be complex, especially when the scams originate from overseas, as stolen funds are quickly converted into untraceable cryptocurrencies or transferred to foreign bank accounts.
Paul Greenwood, who spent 22 years prosecuting elderly financial abuse cases in San Diego, noted that some police departments do not take financial fraud as seriously as other crimes, leading to discouraged and demoralized victims.
Greenwood pointed out that unless the fraud reaches a certain threshold amount, federal prosecutors typically do not intervene.
The Department of Justice in the United States has stated that it does not set a total financial threshold for prosecuting elder financial abuse, but individual federal prosecutor’s offices may establish their own thresholds to prioritize cases with a higher number of victims or larger financial impacts. Each year, federal prosecutors bring hundreds of cases of elder fraud and financial abuse.
The Federal Trade Commission in the US mentioned that the vast majority of fraud cases go unreported, as victims often hesitate to come forward.
Recently, a 74-year-old woman was accused of robbing a credit union in northern Cincinnati, with her family indicating she was a victim of an online scam. Authorities believe the woman was deceived by scammers, although there are no records indicating she formally reported to the police.
Sergeant Brandon McCroskey of the Fairview Township, Ohio police force investigating the robbery case stated, “These people are very good at their jobs. They are very good at deceiving people and prying money from them. I have seen people almost ready to fight with police and bank tellers because they… truly believe they need to get that money out.”
As a demographic with more wealth, the elderly are prime targets for scammers. Due to many victims being past their working age and having limited time to recover losses, the impact can be devastating.
According to a recent FBI report, complaints of elder fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center increased by 14% last year, with losses rising by 11% to reach $3.4 billion.
Estimates suggest the annual losses are much higher.
A study by AARP in 2023 calculated that Americans aged 60 and above lose $28.3 billion annually to fraud. The Federal Trade Commission attempted to account for unreported losses and estimated that scammers stole a staggering $137 billion in 2022, with $48 billion coming from elderly victims. The study’s authors acknowledged a “significant degree of uncertainty.”
In San Diego, 80-year-old William Bortz described how criminals stole nearly $700,000 of his savings through elaborate schemes involving a non-existent Amazon order, a fake Hong Kong “refund processing center,” altered bank statements, and instructions for Bortz to create a “synced bank account” to reclaim his money.
The scammers relentlessly pursued Bortz, harassing him with incessant phone calls and even taking control of his computer at one point.
Despite being a victim of the crime, Bortz continues to struggle with self-blame.
“I now understand why so many cases of elder abuse fraud are never reported. Because when you look back, you think, ‘How could I be so foolish?'” Bortz’s daughter Ave Williams shared, mentioning that local law enforcement and the FBI have been working tirelessly to track down overseas scammers and recover the funds, but faced multiple dead ends. Williams added that the banks overlooked several warning signs, facilitating several large wire transfers for her father in just eight days. The bank denied any wrongdoing, and the family’s lawsuit against the bank was dismissed.
Williams stressed, “Scammers are getting smarter and more sophisticated. We need our law enforcement to have the tools they need, and we need our banks to do better because they are the first line of defense.”
The Department of Justice in the US believes the industry needs to do more and stated that the US cannot prosecute its way out of the issue.
In a statement to the Associated Press, the agency expressed, “The private sector – including technology, retail, banking, fintech, and telecommunications industries – must make it harder for fraudsters to defraud victims and launder gains.”
Banking industry officials informed a Senate subcommittee in May that they are heavily investing in new technologies to prevent fraud, some of which show promising potential.
The American Bankers Association mentioned that the association is developing a plan to coordinate real-time communication between banks, better flag suspicious activities, and reduce the movement of stolen funds.
However, industry officials highlighted that banks cannot combat fraud alone and emphasized the need for a comprehensive national strategy to fight scammers, criticizing the current disjointed efforts by the federal government.
Former FBI agent Finta stated that law enforcement agencies and industries need to come together to combat fraud more quickly and effectively. He launched a nonprofit organization called the National Elder Fraud Coordination Center to facilitate better cooperation between law enforcement agencies and major companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Google.
Finta reiterated, “There are very, very smart people, and there are very powerful, wealthy corporations, and all of them want to stop this behavior. So, I do believe we have the ability to have a greater impact and help our brothers and sisters in law enforcement fighting this fraud tsunami.”