Elder fraud is on the rise. It's costing older people billions of dollars nationwide, and it's hitting seniors hard in Central Florida, too.
In response, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office has formed a new, three-person financial fraud unit. The sheriff and detectives give presentations to senior groups on how to avoid scams.
Recently, Sheriff Mike Chitwood seized on the new movie “Thelma” -- a comedy about a 93-year-old grandma who was scammed -- as an opportunity for fraud awareness and education. He said the group of 140-plus seniors at the free movie in Port Orange -- which was followed by a question-and-answer session -- was the biggest presentation yet.
One of the seniors waiting to watch the movie was 90-year-old Lefki Demopoulos. She had come on a bus with others from the CountrySide Lakes senior living community.
Like many in the audience, Demopoulos had her own experience with fraud.
A caller claiming to be her son told her he had been injured in an accident and was at the police station, Demopoulos said. "I said, 'Honey, it doesn’t sound like you.' He says, 'My nose is broken. That’s why my voice is not good.'"
Then, Demopoulos said, his supposed lawyer pressured her to hand over $10,000 for a cash bond.
All that is almost identical to the scam featured in "Thelma." The main character, played by June Squibb, mailed the cash and then went on her own "Mission Impossible" to recover it.
For her part, Demopoulos suspected fraud and told the fake lawyer to call back in 10 minutes so she could check with her bank, she recalled. "So I called my son, his cell phone, and I said, 'Nick, where are you?' He said, 'Home Depot.' So I knew it was a scam."
After watching "Thelma," Demopoulos was impressed by the similarities.
"Word by word. They have the script, I think. They all use it," she said. "The movie literally brought the whole thing back to me. It was unbelievable."
Demopoulos thinks it's going to wake up a lot of people
"[Y]ou hear it in the news, it doesn't register," she said. "But seeing it, it will register with them. And they will think about it when they get that call. They'll say, 'Oh, that's a movie. Thelma went through that.'"
Demopoulos said she was proud of herself that she didn't fall for the scam but the experience left her shaken.
Targeting seniors
Scammers target seniors because they're trusting and polite and they often have money saved, own a home and have good credit, according to the FBI. And the list of scams is long. There are tech scams that gain access to personal information and romance scams that exploit a hunger for companionship. There are government impersonation scams that threaten arrest if you don't pay up now and investment scams, the most costly of all.
As for investment scams, the FBI said the number of older victims and the amount being lost has skyrocketed in the past three years. The dramatic increase -- more than any other kind of fraud -- is tied to the use of cryptocurrency.
Overall, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported double-digit increases in elder fraud losses and victims last year. Those losses -- for people 60 and older -- came to $3.4 billion.
And they're on pace for even more this year.
A focus in Volusia
In Volusia County, the Sheriff's Office said scam victims -- mostly seniors -- lost about $4.6 million over the past year. But Sheriff Chitwood said that's not the full picture "because 65 and above are less likely to report than other age groups because they don't want to lose their financial independence to their family."
He said scams are "probably the most common thing we deal with now.”
Five hundred seventy-five fraud cases were reported to the agency between June 2023 through June 2024.
Detectives were able to recover about $760,000.
"If you don’t know the phone number, don’t answer it," Chitwood said. "If you don’t know the text, don’t respond to it. That’s the big thing. That’s how you really keep yourself out of trouble. And if you’re in doubt, call us or call a neighbor."
Detective Bill Weaver with the new financial fraud unit said older people are targeted in part because they often don’t see through the scam like 20-somethings would.
He emphasized the importance of not letting yourself be pressured by a bogus sense of urgency.
"Criminals are going to make you think you have to do something about this right now," he said. "You don’t."
He recommended a healthy skepticism about what you see on the internet and what you hear from a caller on the phone.
After watching the movie with his daughter, 97-year-old George Bernardo, of Port Orange, said he liked it. He thought it was funny and full of good information. He said that just about all the people he meets at the area Council on Aging have had experiences with scams and some have fallen for them.
A few years ago, Bernardo said, he was targeted with the grandparent scam. The caller said his grandson had been arrested and needed $1,500.
He thought that was odd because his grandson is "a pretty good kid," Bernardo said. "And I says, 'Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. He's just come in the door now.' You want to speak to him?’ And the guy hung up."
Protect yourself
The FBI's Elder Fraud Resource Page has these tips:
- Recognize scam attempts and end all communication with the perpetrator.
- Search online for the contact information (name, email, phone number, addresses) and the proposed offer. Other people have likely posted information online about individuals and businesses trying to run scams.
- Resist the pressure to act quickly. Scammers create a sense of urgency to produce fear and lure victims into immediate action. Call the police immediately if you feel there is a danger to yourself or a loved one.
- Be cautious of unsolicited phone calls, mailings, and door-to-door services offers.
- Never give or send any personally identifiable information, money, jewelry, gift cards, checks, or wire information to unverified people or businesses.
- Make sure all computer anti-virus and security software and malware protections are up to date. Use reputable anti-virus software and firewalls.
- Disconnect from the internet and shut down your device if you see a pop-up message or locked screen. Pop-ups are regularly used by perpetrators to spread malicious software. Enable pop-up blockers to avoid accidentally clicking on a pop-up.
- Be careful what you download. Never open an email attachment from someone you don't know, and be wary of email attachments forwarded to you.
- Take precautions to protect your identity if a criminal gains access to your device or account. Immediately contact your financial institutions to place protections on your accounts, and monitor your accounts and personal information for suspicious activity.
