‘Spike’ in elder scams across Las Vegas Valley, FBI officials warn

By Molly McBride

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — FBI officials have issued a warning to Las Vegas Valley residents of a “spike” in scams targeting the elderly.

It’s not unique to the Las Vegas Valley. FBI Las Vegas Division’s Special Agent in Charge, Rafaik Mattar said the number of scams are increasing nationally. But, in the valley, the number of retirement communities open the door for scammers to prey on the vulnerability of elders.

“In our community here, since there’s a lot of the retirement demographic, we see more of the elder focused scams where they’re trying to prey on the elderly. We’ve really seen a spike in that in our community specifically,” Mattar said.

Mattar said reporting a scam is the number one line of defense.

“Even if it’s a small amount, we then could look at it and see if there is a pattern. Is there a certain actor that keeps popping up that we can now investigate more thoroughly?” Mattar said.

Sun City Summerlin resident, Joyce Cordon, said embarrassment could prevent someone from filing a report.

“You don’t want to be the sucker that somebody’s going to take advantage of,” she explained.

Cordon was a victim herself years ago when a bad actor got a hold of one of her checks, and “washed” it, pulling money out of her account.

Now, she worries a scammer could come to her front door, especially because her husband has dementia.

“He’s always been a gregarious person, and you know somebody of his age, our age, the doorbell rings, you answer it,” she said. “It just makes me angry that they feel that they can take advantage of people in our age group.”

To protect yourself, Mattar suggests looking at email addresses closely, and not responding to unknown senders or clicking on links. Be reluctant to share any private information, and ask a loved one if you’re unsure if something is legitimate.

“You could always reach out to the FBI and ask those questions of ‘Hey, does this seem like it’s a scam?’” he said.

Victims are encouraged to report scams online, or by calling 1-800-CALLFBI.

To find more information from the FBI about elder fraud, go to https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/elder-fraud