(NationalUSNews.com) — The director of fraud prevention at AARP’s Fraud Watch Network, Kathy Stokes, says that America is experiencing crisis levels of fraud.
As the population ages and technology like artificial intelligence makes fraud easier and more effective, more people are drawn to easy money and low-risk criminal enterprises. Even when police manage to catch these perpetrators, very few are convicted. Each year, tens of billions of dollars are stolen from Americans, with internet and telephone scams becoming more and more common. Many target the elderly, who sometimes suffer devastating financial losses they can’t recover from.
In one recent case out of Ohio, 81-year-old William Brock allegedly killed an Uber driver who he mistakenly believed was part of a scheme to extort $12,000 from him. Brock was arrested for murder but has pleaded not guilty, as he said he was in fear for his life. The scammer who started the situation with threatening phone calls to Brock remains free. According to authorities, the driver was also a victim of the scammer, as he had been the one to send her to Brock’s home to pick up a package for delivery.
Former FBI agent Brady Finta has launched a nonprofit called the National Elder Fraud Coordination Center. He hopes they can improve cooperation between law enforcement and major corporations like Amazon, Google, and Walmart. He stressed the enormity of the issue, commented that there is so much fraud that fighting it is like “drinking from a fire hose.”. Paul Greenwood spent 22 years prosecuting elder financial abuse cases in San Diego and says that some police departments don’t take financial scams as seriously as other crimes. He now travels around the country, teaching police how to spot fraud.
The FBI reported a 14% increase in fraud-related complaints last year, with losses reaching $3.4 billion. However, other estimates suggest that annual losses could reach as high as $137 billion. Many people who have been defrauded are confused or ashamed and don’t report it. When victims do report being scammed, the money is very rarely returned to them. There are many who are calling for a more coordinated national strategy as well as greater industry involvement to effectively combat this growing wave of fraud. In the meantime, there are many online resources to help people understand and avoid being scammed.
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