Most Seniors Are Not That Lucky

Two days ago, a woman in her nineties in Sedona, Arizona was standing in her front yard, on the phone with someone she believed was from Wells Fargo. She had been told her accounts were compromised and that she needed to act fast. She was moments away from losing everything when an Uber driver pulled into her driveway by mistake, looking for a different passenger. He was a retired police officer. He recognized what was happening, intervened, and the scammer hung up. She later said, “I think the good Lord sent him there to stop me.”  Most seniors are not that lucky.

Arizona leads all 50 states in elder fraud — seven reports for every thousand seniors, more than anywhere else in the country. Last year alone, Arizonans lost more than $631 million to scams and cybercrime. The FBI says the real number is far higher, because most victims never report it. They are too ashamed. They blame themselves. And nobody was there to warn them before it happened.

That is what World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is for. Every June 15, communities around the world pause to recognize that seniors are being targeted — not because they are foolish, but because scammers are sophisticated, relentless, and very good at what they do. A phone call that sounds like your bank. An email that looks exactly like Microsoft. A voice on the other end of the line that is patient, convincing, and in no hurry. These are not amateur operations. They are organized criminal networks that study human psychology and prey on trust.

I know what this feels like from the inside. My wife Sharon and I lost more than $250,000 to a scammer posing as a cryptocurrency representative. We did everything we were supposed to do — we asked questions, we tried to be careful — and it still happened to us. That experience broke something in me, and then it built something new. I started Scam-Proof Senior because I wanted to be the person that nobody was for us.

Three things you can do today

1.  Share this article with one person you care about — a neighbor, a friend, a family member who lives alone.

2.  Visit scamproofaz.com and take the free lessons. No account needed, no credit card, no catch.

3.  If you or someone you know suspects a scam is happening right now, call the Arizona Attorney General’s hotline at 1-800-352-8431 or report it at ic3.gov. Do it today, not tomorrow. Scammers count on hesitation.

The woman in Sedona was saved by accident. Let’s make sure the people we love are saved on purpose.

Pete Miller is the founder of Scam-Proof Senior, a free digital safety resource for seniors in Sun City and the West Valley. Visit scamproofaz.com or call (623) 428+++