The U.S. Justice Department is taking up the fight against schemes to defraud older Americans.
News13’s Alexandra Limon reported the department will announce significant enforcement actions against “elder fraud.”
Elder fraud is a massive and growing problem, according to U.S. Attorney General William Barr.
“And, it’s despicable because the people involved are vulnerable,” said Barr.
Scams targeting seniors are so wide spread that William Webster, a former FBI and CIA director, and his wife, Lynda, were targeted.
Scammers called the Websters claiming they’d won the lottery, but needed to pay $50,000 in taxes first.
“Older people are uncertain about taking these matters in their own hands, wish it were true that they were winning money,” William Webster said.
Tech support scams are the biggest problem, according to the DOJ.
Scammers pretend to work for companies like Microsoft or Apple, and convince seniors to spend large amounts of money to fix their computers.
Attorney General Barr held a round table with tech company executives about this problem.
The DOJ says it’s working hard to stop these criminals, announcing a crackdown.
Officials want younger people to keep an eye on seniors, who may be victimized and say seniors should just hang up if they get unsolicited calls. And, everyone should report suspicious activity.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is joining the movement to raise awareness of tech support scams, especially those that target the elderly.
