What? Another article about fraud? Yes. And it won’t be the last. With the growing use of AI, scams are getting more sophisticated and harder to detect.

Pasadena Village received a grant, a “keep seniors safe against fraud” initiative. The scope of this grant goes beyond helping Villagers; it extends to informing and arming seniors in the entire community with information to keep them safe.

Pablo Ortiz-Morales, our Village Program Manager, is responsible for getting this effort off the ground. While his role has expanded since, he continues to oversee this initiative. One part of that work is identifying programs we can offer. Another part is recruiting Villagers so it remains member-driven.

One of the organizations Pablo has partnered with is San Diego Senior Foundation who gave a series of two fraud presentations. The one in March was at the Collaboratory in Altadena, and the one in May was on Zoom. Lisa Carroll, a certified fraud examiner who consults for the FBI, gave both presentations.

One of the big takeaways is how AI is now being used for fraud, making it much harder to detect. For example, when you get that call from your grandson who is stuck without money and needs your help, the voice on the phone will now sound exactly the same as your grandson. Exactly the same.

Another frightening example is property demand letters from legitimate law firms targeting fire victims. Who would question a letter from a known lawyer at a known law firm? Yet, we are learning we must question everything. With today’s technology, it is a simple matter to create a letterhead or copy a logo that looks like the real thing. To help counteract such events, Ms Carroll provided information on how homeowners can sign up for notifications in case someone tries to take out a loan or sell the property supposedly on the homeowner’s behalf.

It’s becoming harder and harder to recognize fraud. Ms Carroll described some of the warning signs and things to pay attention to:

Scammers are very complimentary. The flattery can be subtle. This especially targets people who are isolated and live alone.
Let’s say you play online games like Words with Friends; only you play with strangers. After a while, you and the other players friend each other on social media. And it goes on from there; these players may actually be playing you.
Scammers scan print and social media for news they can exploit. Obituaries are a big one. This gives them an opening to reach out to the family members of the recently deceased.
Some seniors use AI Chatbot for companionship. The conversations seem very real and therefore have a certain comfort, but always remind yourself that they are indeed not real.

The topic of scams, fraud and AI is not going away anytime soon. Pasadena Village will continue to host fraud awareness presentations in the coming months, so please be on the lookout for those on our community events page!

In his role as Program Manager, Pablo is learning more and more about how critical it is to help aging adults protect themselves against devastating consequences. He is available to field any questions regarding scams and fraud and can be reached through the Village office.

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