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Brian Lehrer: It's the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. In this part of the show today, we're going to talk about scams that may be targeting you this summer, and what you can do about them. A new Federal Trade Commission report shows Americans lost more than $12 billion to fraud last year, a 25% increase, they say, from 2023. The spike suggests that scammers are operating in ways that outpace law enforcement. Whether it's a text, an email, a phone call, or even someone approaching you on the street, they say fraud has become more prevalent and harder to identify. Some claim you owe money for unpaid tolls. Have you gotten that one? I have. Others offer fake job opportunities, or tell you your bank account's been compromised. The tactics keep evolving, getting smarter, sneakier, and more targeted. How do you protect yourself? Which ones are most current? Who do scammers tend to target most, and what can be done systemically, especially when so many scammers reach you easily, by text, by phone call, or by the Web? With us now, Amy Nofziger, director of victim support at AARP's Fraud Watch Network. Amy, welcome to WNYC. Hi.

Amy Nofziger: Hi, Brian. Thanks for having me.

Brian Lehrer: Listeners, help us report this story and help other people avoid these scammers. Have you been targeted by a scam? Blow the whistle on one you think is going around. Or, maybe you have questions about a message or a call you've received recently. Call or text us at 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692 with Amy Nofziger from AARP, but obviously not just about scams targeting seniors. 212-433-9692. I see you work with people who've been targeted by scams. What are some of the most common right now?

Amy Nofziger: Right now, what we're hearing about on the Fraud Watch Network helpline are certainly business and government imposter scams. That's where the criminal will pretend to be from a large company, like Amazon, Walmart, Microsoft, and tell you that there's a problem with your account. Additionally, with the imposter scams, the government imposter scams, that's where you'll receive a text message, phone call, email from a criminal pretending to be from whether the FBI, or saying that you missed jury duty, or, like you even mentioned, the toll road. Now they're saying they're with the DMV, and because you didn't pay that toll, now your license is going to be suspended.

All of those requests have a request for personal information or money. Additionally, what we're hearing about on the helpline is what some call pig butchering, or it's a cryptocurrency investment scam. This is where people will be contacted via a text message, or they'll find someone on social media, like Facebook, saying that they have this incredible opportunity for you to learn about crypto investing.

It looks like you're actually making money because they'll send you false statements. You'll see a Harbor false app. Then, when you try to remove that money from your account, they'll say, "No, sorry, you have a tax. You have to pay $10,000." You think, "Well, I already earned 50,000. Fine, I'll pay 10,000, I'll get my 40,000 out." Nothing but a scam.

Then, finally, the other one that is so devastating, not just financially, but emotionally as well, that we're hearing a lot about are romance scams. This is where you'll meet somebody online, maybe it's just even a new friend, and you met them in a Facebook group. There's an emergency, they need your help, and the next thing you know, they're asking for tens of thousands of dollars.

Brian Lehrer: How do scammers find your information or figure out who to target and how? By coincidence, I happened to be with somebody recently when they got a scam call from somebody representing themselves as being from that person's bank. They had the right bank. Eventually, my friend figured it out and hung up on them, but they had the right bank. Was that a coincidence?

Amy Nofziger: It could be, but also, this is the criminal's job is to learn about their targets. Wherever you're located geographically, there might be a more popular bank that people are using. They're going to do their research and try to spearfish you with all of the information possible. That's a really good thing to pay attention to is if you are reached out to by a bank that you don't do business with, 100% a scam.

Even if you're reached out to by the bank that you bank with, know that that's usually not how banks contact us. Always hang up the phone, delete the text, and then call your financial institution at the phone number you have for them, that is the verified phone number, and you can find out if there's an issue with your account. We all have to remember that our personal information is out there, our phone numbers are out there, because we put them out there. Criminals have access to that, and that's how they target us.

Brian Lehrer: We have a few people calling in with what I might call true confessions about having fallen for scams recently, but, of course, they're calling as a public service to warn other people about them. We were just talking about a call from your bank "scam," and I think Taylor in Huntington has one of those. Taylor, you're on WNYC. Thank you for calling in.

Taylor: Hi, Brian. You're the best. Long time, first time. How are you?

Brian Lehrer: You're very nice. Thank you. Hi.

Taylor: It was a busy Friday. I was frazzled, running around, a little bit stressed. I consider myself somebody who's pretty savvy at knowing a scam when I see one. Long-time New Yorker. [chuckles] My phone rang, and on the caller ID, it said JPMorganChase. When I picked up the phone, there was a nice, well-spoken gentleman. He said, "Hi. I'm calling from the fraud department. We recently saw two transactions out of your account through Zelle, which is attached to the Chase Bank accounts, to a woman in Alabama." He said the name. He said, "Did you make these transactions?" I said, "No, absolutely not."

I immediately get stressed out. I'm annoyed. I really think I'm talking to Chase. My first instinct is like, "Yes, let's--" He says, "Well, we should open up a case." He starts giving me a case number, and he tells me to write down these case numbers for the transactions. Then he tells me that he's going to put me on with the "Zelle rep" for Chase, who he transfers me to, who's another gentleman who's well-spoken. I give him the case numbers and things.

I'm completely oblivious at this point. I think I'm talking to Chase Bank. As this guy starts walking me through how to "retrieve the money and open up a fraud case," I realized I'm basically sending money. It was a very interesting way. He was walking me through setting up a Zelle ID, and it was just very sophisticated. Before I could realize--

Brian Lehrer: Transfer money into another account on the lie that it would be safe there, right?

Taylor: Yes, but the name of the account was Refund Zelle Fraud. It was name, something that sounded like I needed to do it. I'm pretty tech savvy, but Zelle and all these things are new, and I don't use them all the time, so I was being stupid. By the time I realized it, they got $1,200 from me. [chuckles] Chase did not help me at all. I called them, I let them know that this was happening, and I basically was out of luck. It was a terrible feeling, and I felt really dumb, but it's nice to hear your program going over this stuff because people need to be aware.

Brian Lehrer: Taylor, thank you for telling that story. You know what, Amy? That was the exact thing that my friend got that I was listening in on, the transferring the person to somebody else. Then there's another person. Oh, and they're in the Zelle fraud department. I don't know. Anything to say about that one before we go on to another one with another example?

Amy Nofziger: Certainly. Thank you, Taylor, for sharing your story. A couple of things that he said that I think we all need to remind ourselves of. He said it was a busy Friday, he was frazzled, and he was stressed. If this had happened an hour later or an hour before, he might have been like, "Nope, I know you're a scam," but the scammers, I swear, they know how we're feeling emotionally at that time. They use that to their advantage, and they get you even more so.

They get you more stressed, and then you're not thinking cognitively. You're not thinking, "This doesn't make sense. Why would my bank reach out to me? Why wouldn't I just go to my online bank account and dispute the charge?" What I say to people is, if your bank is calling you unsolicited like this, stop, take a deep breath, and say, "I'm going to do my own research. I'll call you back or I'll go online and handle it," because the majority of the time it's not your bank.

Brian Lehrer: Listener writes in a text, "When you get a call from your bank, hang up and call your bank directly."

Amy Nofziger: 100%.

Brian Lehrer: Good advice there. Joe in Westchester, you're on WNYC. Hi, Joe.

Joe: Hi. How are you? Utility companies, Con Ed, to be specific, they're notorious to call you to say that you have an open balance. Utility company, they're on their way to cut off your power, and you need to send this payment now. Obviously, it's in the form of a credit card or gift card. I had a business partner of mine that [inaudible 00:10:05]

Brian Lehrer: Oh, and your line is breaking up, but I guess the point there, Amy, is it's not actually Con Ed.

Amy Nofziger: It's not. We see these utility scams spike in seasonal weather. Right now, because it's hot everywhere, the scammers are calling and saying they're going to cut off your electricity. You're thinking, "I can't survive without my AC." Or, in the winter, they're going to cut your heat. Of course they'll do you a favor. They'll cut the cost of the balance you owe if you can take care of that payment today.

Again, this is one of those things where you need to take that deep breath and say, "I paid my utility bill, but let me call Xcel," or whomever, Con Ed. "Let me call them and make sure that this is legitimate." It's really taking that step back, doing your own research, and maybe even asking a friend, saying, "Does this seem right to you?" Then, verifying at the source.

Brian Lehrer: Liz in Pelham has one. Liz, you're on WNYC. Hello.

Liz: Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my call. I just wanted to let listeners know because this happened to me. If your credit card gets stolen and someone has set up a merchant account, you will get the new card number from the bank, and you activate it. Then it goes live with whoever has stolen it on those have. It's really important to try to figure that out. Then the other thing is that there are card readers that can scan through your purse or your pocket or whatever. I now keep all my cards in these little-- they're like little envelopes for your cards so that they can block someone from getting the number.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you for those tips. Amy Nofziger from AARP, what about that whole category of people getting your credit card numbers?

Amy Nofziger: If someone gets your credit card number, whether you lost your purse, someone stole it, or even if you still have that credit card in your possession, you're going to want to report it to your credit card company immediately, and you're going to want to find again the legitimate phone number for that credit card. A lot of times when you lose your credit card, you're under stress, so you might go online and do a search for your credit card company's phone number. Funny enough, there are the criminals there as well. They'll place fake customer service phone numbers. Again, you think you're doing your due diligence calling the credit card company, and you're actually meeting a scammer.

I tell people, use the number on the back of your card if you had it. Use the number on your latest statement, or go directly to the website of the credit card company and find the "contact us" page. Additionally, there is a lot of identity theft happening right now. I do recommend people check their credit reports to make sure that there's no accounts on their credit reports that they did not authorize, and if there's not, perhaps consider putting a freeze on your credit report. That is a great consumer protection tool that is available to everyone for free and that will eliminate anyone, including yourself, to be able to open new credit in your name.

Brian Lehrer: You are with AARP, and so it's no surprise, I think, to our listeners already that senior citizens are often the targets of scammers. Is there a reason for that? Is it because if maybe older people are not as caught up on every piece of the latest technology, then the scammers stay ahead of them in that way? My parents, not that long ago, told me they got the, "Hi. This is your grandson. I'm in trouble, and I need you to send me some money." My mom was savvy enough to say, "Oh, you're my grandson. What's your name?" The person couldn't answer it. Are older people especially vulnerable?

Amy Nofziger: All of us are vulnerable. Wherever there's a dollar, there is a criminal, but older adults do hold the majority of wealth in the United States. The criminals, they'll steal from my 21-year-old son, but they'd rather steal from my mother, because she worked hard her whole life, and she owns her home, and she accumulated a nice retirement. They're going to go where the money is.

Now, older adults did grow up in different time where a handshake and a promise was how you did business, but let's be clear, criminals will steal from anybody. The latest data is actually showing that younger people are reporting victimization more often because maybe they're online more, they're on social media more, they're meeting more people online, but when someone loses money, an older adult loses more money because they have more money to lose.

Brian Lehrer: Yes. In fact, here's a recent example of a scam that's made the news this summer here in New York City. Maybe you know about this, maybe some of our listeners already know about this. It targeted teens enrolled in the city's summer youth employment program. The Department of Youth and Community Development had issued about 30,000 payment cards to workers from ages 14 to 24.

Within just three days, from what I read, scammers drained ATMs across the city to the tune of over $17 million. Some teens were even encouraged to sell their cards on TikTok. When a scam like this spreads on social media and targets teenagers in a city-run program, what does it tell us about how scammers operate, or again, how to defend yourself?

Amy Nofziger: What it tells me is that scammers follow the headlines. They probably knew, whether by reading about this program, hearing about this program on social media, that there was going to be an influx of money out there. Even before those cards were probably issued, they were finding a way to target those payment cards and to steal from those hardworking teenagers. This goes for any headline that's out there, whether it's a natural disaster, a new change in law. The scammers are following those headlines to craft and create better messages to target all of us.

Brian Lehrer: Here's an interesting one. Listener writes, "I'm an artist, and I regularly get emails from people telling me my work is so beautiful, and they'd like to buy NFTs of my work at any price I set. Total scam. From what I understand, if an artist bites, then they tell you all you have to do is open an NFT account, which, of course, has a startup fee." Have you heard of that one?

Amy Nofziger: I've heard variations of it where artists or singers or any creative types are reached out to on social media. Of course, it's going to feel fantastic that someone's complimenting your work. Usually, what we hear is they'll say, "I'm going to send you a check first. Once that check is deposited, you can go buy your materials or send me back or pay for the shipping," whatever it is. It turns out that the check they sent is fake, and you then essentially sent your good money, and you might not even know for a couple of weeks that that check was fake.

My best advice for any artist or anybody out there on social media that has a talent that people might be reaching out to is just always verify. Do so much research on this opportunity on this person, and if you hear anything like cryptocurrency, like prepaid gift cards, or check, it's a scam. As much as you want to sell that artwork, you want to keep it than lose your money.

Brian Lehrer: Let's get one more story here. Tara in Metuchen, you're on WNYC. Hi, Tara.

Tara: Good morning. Can you hear me okay?

Brian Lehrer: Yes, we got you.

Tara: Okay. I have several. My father's been scammed so many times, my elderly father, I feel like he's at the top of the elder scam opportunity list. He had one that I haven't heard mentioned, where somebody called him, and in the course of that scam phone call, they asked him to enter some code, some numbers, into his phone. He did as he was told, thought it was something real. It turned out that they had him punch in numbers that forwarded his phone line to them.

Then, when the bank called him to provide some code that they needed to get into his account, or whatever, that information went directly to the scammer. He did not know this happened. I couldn't understand why I couldn't reach my father for days. Finally, I figured out, it's because his phone had been forwarded to someone else.

Brian Lehrer: Tara, that's a frightening story, and I'm glad you told it so people can be alert to that kind of thing. As we start to run out of time, after you get a text or a call on your cell, and you've decided that it's a scam, let's say they've left a message, does it help to hit the delete and report junk button? Does that do anything?

Amy Nofziger: Absolutely. Same with your email when you send it to spam or junk. The companies take the information that was included in there to set up better algorithms to protect you in the future. People will ask me a lot, "I wasn't a victim of this scam, but should I still report it?" I say, "Absolutely, yes," because this is a criminal attempt, and we report criminal attempts. You can certainly report it to us on the Fraud Watch Network helpline. It's a free resource for anyone of any age, but we actually use that information that we get to then put out early warnings to the community to warn them to say, "Hey, this scam is in your community right now. Watch out, and here are the red flags."

Brian Lehrer: How do people see your Fraud Watch Network?

Amy Nofziger: You can go to aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork, or you can call us on the helpline. That number is 877-908-3360. Again, it's a free resource for anyone of any age, and you don't have to be an AARP member.

Brian Lehrer: Give the phone number again.

Amy Nofziger: 877-908-3360.

Brian Lehrer: Amy Nofziger is director of victim support at AARP's Fraud Watch Network. Thanks so much for sharing all this information with us. Thank you.

Amy Nofziger: Thank you.

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