BILLINGS — Elder fraud scams are taking the nation by storm.
Last year, the FBI reported that over 147,000 elderly Americans lost more than $4.8 billion in elder-abuse related scams.
Here in Billings, those scams are prevalent as well. One 85-year-old Billings woman has become the victim of a PayPal scam, resulting in the loss of $130,000 over a month.
Learn virtual scam prevention tools and methods in the video below:
The alleged scam began in April after one Billings woman, who requested to remain anonymous, received a mysterious email claiming that her PayPal account had fraudulent activity.
"It seemed that there had been fraudulent activity and I wanted to unwind it, so I just did what he said," she said.
According to the victim, the email had a phone number listed. When she called the number, a man by the name of Mark told her $14,000 had been placed into her PayPal account, and she was to pay him back.
"To this day, I do not remember setting up a PayPal account. I think this bad guy Mark is the one who set it up," said the victim.
The case is ongoing, and the victim hopes the perpetrator, Mark, can be identified and charged. Currently, Private Investigator Michael Toth is working on the case.
Toth founded and works as the lead investigator for Elite Investigations in Billings.
According to Toth, the alleged perpetrator made it hard for the victim to say no to his demands. For instance, the victim said she could write a check for the money in the PayPal account, but the suspect said the money had to be cash. When the victim explained she was elderly and lived in an independent living facility, he said he would send a car to take her to a nearby bank ATM.
"They neutralize, say 'Hey, you can't tell anybody. I'm the only one you can trust. There's a lot of money involved here. We're trying to credit you back your money,'" said Toth. "These seniors grew up at a time where you were polite to everybody, and you know, it's hard for them to hang up the phone on somebody."
According to the victim, an older woman by the name of Kathy picked up the victim at her independent living facility and took her a nearby bank ATM. This happened multiple times. At the ATM, the victim would withdrawal sums of $10,000 to $14,000. Between the ATM withdrawals and cyber-hacks to her personal accounts, the scammers received over $130,000 of the victim's money.
"(Hypothetically), now she can't pay for let's say, for the retirement home that she's in," said Toth. "She could've been forced into homelessness."
In retrospect, the victim said she was embarrassed and ashamed looking back at the situation. However at the time, the victim felt like she could trust the scammers.
"They were so sweet and kind, and wonderful. This guy, Mark, I mean, gave me all kinds of compliments. I mean, every compliment a man has ever given a woman, he gave to me," she said. "He sounds like a real business man and had all the right lingo for business."
The victim now wants to spread awareness to other senior populations, so that they aren't in a similar situation.
"Don't ever let your guard down when it comes to money. When it comes to any account you have, anywhere, stay on top of it," she said.
"These people that call and scam are very professional. I mean, they do this for a living," Toth said.
After 15 years as an investigator, Toth has become familiar with virtual scams, like this one.
Because of his experience, Toth, along with other professionals, will be holding scam prevention workshops at MorningStar Senior Living in Billings starting in October.
According to Jordan King, the executive director of MorningStar, society tends to perceive senior and elderly communities as more vulnerable, and therefore easier to take advantage of. Because of that misconception, King wants to bring awareness to the seniors living at the facility about possible scams.
"We don't want our residents taken advantage of. It's not something that anybody wants, but we do what we can to prevent it," she said.
King said staff at MorningStar have been proactive in educating their residents about technology and possible cyber scams, even hosting weekly TechGizmos workshops, which teaches senior residents tips and tricks when using their cellphones.
"I think that it's just really important to remember that scams are so real. They're prevalent. I think they are mostly targeted at seniors, but not only seniors," said King.
"Your Defense Against Fraud" scam prevention workshops occur from October to December, and are free and open to the public at MorningStar on the west end of Billings.
To sign up to participate in the workshops, either call the front desk at (406) 747-8756 or email Billings.DCR@MStarLiving.com.
MTN asked Toth and King tips for elderly and senior populations to avoid getting scammed in the future.
"If you are questioning anything, don't answer it. Don't click the link, just better safe than sorry," said King.
Similar to MorningStar's approach at educating its residents, Toth believes advocacy and awareness is important, as well.
"If you're younger, check on your parents. Check on your relatives, your aunts, your uncles, your elderly. Make sure they're okay," he said.
