Every year in San Diego County, senior citizens are scammed out of $100 million by bad actors who trick the elderly into believing any number of scenarios. It’s an astonishing figure, but the sad fact is that it’s probably even higher. Many people who lose their life savings to a scam are so ashamed that they never report it.
With this in mind, our office works day and night to protect vulnerable citizens from falling prey to liars trying to steal their money. Through our Elder Justice Task Force, public education and through prosecution, the District Attorney’s Office is leading the way in the effort to halt scams before they wipe out bank accounts.
The San Diego Elder Justice Task Force is made up of local and federal law enforcement partners, who work collaboratively to hold perpetrators accountable in state and federal prosecutions. Creating this task force has allowed our prosecutors and investigators to connect dots among statewide and federal criminal rings that target senior citizens.
A popular scam to which many San Diego County seniors have fallen prey involves bad actors tricking victims into thinking their computer has a virus or has been hacked and that the victim needs to allow “Microsoft” or some other company remote access the victim’s computer to protect them. Once the bad actor has access to the victim’s computer and financial information, they devise ways for the senior citizen to part ways with their cash or victims are instructed to purchase gold, under the guise that the bad actor is safeguarding the money.
The most common method for thieves to obtain the victim’s cash is by sending a courier to their front door to pick it up. Our office has prosecuted many of these couriers working on behalf of criminal organizations.
Banking institutions are mandated to report this type of suspicious activity to police. For example, if a bank or financial institution employee is aware of a senior citizen removing large sums of money and the employee suspects the senior could be getting scammed, by law the employee must alert police.
I come back to this topic over and over because it is a serious problem in San Diego that robs senior citizens of their wealth and their dignity. I want these warnings to be clear in the minds of San Diegans who have elderly or unsavvy loved ones who could fall a scam like this.
Keep these tips in mind and discuss them with the people you care about:
Never allow anyone to install remote access software on your computer or to download apps on your phone.
Never disclose your home address or agree to meet with unknown individuals to deliver cash or precious metals.
Do not click on unsolicited pop-ups on your computer, links sent via text messages, or email links and attachments.
Do not contact unknown telephone numbers provided in pop-ups, texts, or emails.
Do not allow unknown individuals access to your computer.
If anyone asks you to pay for something or to secure your money by wiring money, using crypto currency, Bitcoin, gift cards or to pay large sums of cash or buy gold, end contact with that person immediately. You are being scammed.
Immediately talk to someone you trust.
Never believe anyone who tells you that you will get into trouble if you tell someone else about a situation that involves your money or financial accounts.
Government officials and legitimate businesses will never request you purchase gold or other precious metals.
If you suspect that you have been the victim of fraud, report it or any suspicious activities to the FBI IC3 at www.ic3.gov as quickly as possible and also report this to your local police agency. Be sure to include as much transaction information as possible including:
The name of the person or company that contacted you.
Methods of communication used, including websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
Any bank account number to which you wired funds and the recipient’s name.
The name and location of the metal dealer company and the account to which you wired funds, if you were instructed to buy precious metals.
If you have been the victim of elder abuse, report it to Adult Protective Services: (800) 339- 4661.
