---

Due to reading article after article in “AARP” publications (American Association of Retired Persons) about fraudulent activity in the United States, I decided to write my fourth article for HSJ Online related to a very disturbing situation. The FBI released that there was a 33% increase in fraudulent cases in 2024 from 2023 with 16.6 billion dollars stolen. There were many complaints received by the FBI with an average loss of $19,000 with some victims not reporting. Unfortunately, older Americans took a larger hit with an average loss of $83,000. Such stats unfortunately and sadly continue to increase. One must wonder what will be the final statistics in 2025! It is difficult to take into account what scammers do to individuals emotionally and financially who fall prey to their schemes as well as their families.

I would like to think we all have watched shows about how there are major fraudulent networks with people well coached and trained who are extremely convincing and well versed in using whatever strategy that will work, including extreme scare tactics. All financial companies have excellent Fraudulent Departments that stay very busy trying hard to protect their customers. It is important to contact the right people immediately, not after the fact, with any concerns whatsoever of tampering efforts.

My first article was about walking in on my elderly mom finding her on the phone and emotionally distraught while being informed a grandson was in trouble after an automobile accident, and he needed monetary assistance immediately. As soon as I got on the phone, the scammer hung up likely hearing me in the background telling Mom it was a scammer. My second article was about a bogus email floating around for us informing our contacts that we were in need of money for a niece's birthday because we were traveling. Ha! It took us forever to resolve the email issue. My third article developed after talking to a good friend whose parents were cleverly tricked into thinking they needed to make account changes due to questionable debits from Jacksonville, Florida amounting to $500. Fortunately, my friend stepped in and immediately called his parent's credit union.

Following, you will find several other examples:

My dad, years ago, always trusting others, agreed on a cold call for someone out of state to come to our farm to discuss an investment opportunity. After a family discussion, we felt uneasy; however, we did not have a phone number to cancel the appointment. As soon as he approached our front door, I met him and told him we were not interested.

A friend purchased a vehicle, and the dealership would not accept a personal check, only a cashier's check or credit card with a 3% fee on the total. Bogus checks have been a concern for years, but this case seemed out of line since my friend had a long working relationship with this particular dealership. I suspect they had to make the rule for all due to trusting a scammer with a bad check. I have heard of even bogus cashier checks.

We have received alarms going off on our computer suggesting we needed to take some type of action but have always turned off our computer and then restarted. Most computer fraud results while using it and downloading suspicious files or clicking malicious links. We received notifications from Microsoft, without alarms, that we needed to upgrade from Windows 10 to 11. The notification was legitimate, but I know the importance of being cautious responding via computer to any thing and contacted Mach 1PC in Shelbyville to assist us in that change, a business we have called upon often.

Parker Carison for “WISH-TV” reported that someone posing as an employee of U.S. Department of Treasury and FBI scammed elderly people from several states, including Indiana, of large amounts of money. He was thankfully caught just before leaving the U.S. with a stash of cash in his vehicle and luggage.

I am hearing and reading about how AI is being used to imitate voices. In fact, the U.S. Department of State is aware of cases of impostors using AI to impersonate high-level officials according to an article in “The Associated Press” by Matthew Lee. If happening at that level, then all of us need to be concerned So, be aware that you may not be talking to who you think when considering important decisions. Hang up and call your financial institution directly. Better, go directly there to make absolutely sure.

We received a letter stating there was a data security incident that possibly could cause us problems in the future; however, the company offered access to twelve months of credit monitoring at no cost through another company. I immediately checked to make sure the letter came from a legitimate company. This is not the first time to receive such a letter and offer, an offer I typically accept. It makes us wonder, though, if anything is totally secure.

A friend was quite upset after being told her electric would be turned off immediately on a hot day unless paying her late bill. If questioning whether or not it was true, she could call his manager. Ha! Fortunately, my friend did all the right things to determine it was definitely a scammer who was very convincing.

And, it seems I am getting more texts from someone representing a company praising my credentials and requesting a call if interested. Now, I have been retired from education for 15 years. Why would I be receiving such texts? I went to the company's website and found that they are indeed sending out such texts but to be careful in responding due to recruiter impersonators. Oh my!

We all need to be extremely careful paying attention to cold calls, texts, and emails. And we should be in communication with family and friends when we become aware of something unusual and suspicious. Fraudulent activity increases in the months of November and December during the busy holiday season.

Please don't be thinking it can't happen to you! Please have a plan if it does!