Metro DA’s office helps elderly victims of scams
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – From email to romance scams, the elderly are a prime target for scams. According to FBI numbers , fraud complaints targeting the elderly rose 14% in 2023. In our special reports, Protecting Parents, News 2 talked with the a Metro Nashville team dedicated to investigating scams that target this vulnerable group.
"Elderly abuse and scams has been a problem and continues to be," said Mary Griffin.
Assistant District Attorney Mary Griffin leads The Vulnerable Adult Investigative Protection Team in Metro's district attorney's office.
"The financial abuse, especially after COVID, has skyrocketed," said Griffin.
According to new FBI numbers , elderly Americans lost more than $3.4 billion to scammers in 2023 using the latest technology to lure new victims.
"No longer do they sound like they have a foreign accent. They are using AI voices, artificial intelligent voices to sound like somebody from Georgia, somebody from New York. And they are telling people that they are going to be arrested if they don't wire them money," said Griffin. "The biggest tactic that is used is pressure."
Griffin says the scammers might use different methods – get you to click an email link, call you on the phone saying they are law enforcement, or show up at your door – but their motivation is the same: They want your personal information, such as a bank account number. And, the new payment apps are becoming popular avenues to get that information.
"If you do desperately want to spend money on something, at least do a check or even better a credit card when you have 30 days to fix it."
Fortunately, Griffin says Tennessee has these strong punishments on the books for scamming the elderly: If the victim is over 70 years old, the felony is elevated, making a class E crime a class D; the crime can not be wiped from the record; the scammer must pay a $1,000 fine; And, have their name listed on an adult abuse registry.
"I think it's absolutely appropriate and they got that law right. You took advantage of somebody vulnerable. Vulnerable to crime. And therefore your penalty should be worse."
But Griffin says there is sometimes one twist to prosecuting elderly scams. The elderly victim – lonely and isolated – sees the scammer as a friend. And the money as a gift. Those are some of her toughest cases.
"They paid to have a friend. Yes," said Griffin.
"That has to break your heart."
"It does make me want to cry. It really does. And I'm pretty tough. I just can't bear the thought that we have people sitting in their own homes so lonely that they know they have fallen victim to a scam... "They also say they don't want to come to court, they don't want to prosecute because they don't want the stigma. They say that they feel shamed."
Metro's Vulnerable Adult Protection Team recommends an online tool you can use if you think you have fallen victim to a scam.
