Date: June 13, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov In observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day June 15, 2024, the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Charlotte Field Office is promoting fraud awareness to senior citizens in the community and their families. "From IRS imposter scams to investment schemes that seem too good to be true, the best line of defense to avoid becoming a victim is to be able to recognize financial exploitation and scams as they occur," said Special Agent in Charge Donald "Trey" Eakins, Charlotte Field Office. Financial crimes against older adults continue to rise. In recent years, seniors have increasingly become the target of a wide variety of online scams and schemes. According to the FBI’s 2023 Internet Crimes Report, individuals 60 and above filed the most complaints totaling 101,068, and sustained $3.4 billion in losses, showing tech support scams, government impersonation, phishing, and romance scams continue to disproportionately impact older adults. Eakins said the IRS uses a multitiered approach, consisting of education, criminal investigations, and public-private partnerships to promote fraud awareness and help minimize the impact of fraud against the elderly. "CI works with its law enforcement partners to actively pursue financial predators and hold them accountable for their actions," he said. Scammers use a variety of approaches to separate elderly from their money. Below is a partial list. Scams Targeting Seniors: Bogus Sweepstakes/Lottery Scam: Seniors are tricked into paying fees to claim fake winnings. Charity Scams: Solicit donations for fake charities, or by altering or “spoofing” caller IDs to show the name of a real charity on the phone. Debt Collection Scams: Victims threatened with arrest and jail time if payment for a ‘fake’ debt is not made immediately. Grandparents Scam: Con artists pretend to be a grandchild in need, convincing grandparents to wire money. Victims might also be tricked into thinking their grandchildren or other relatives are in trouble and need money right away for bail or another emergency. Home Repair and Construction Scams: Scammers offer fake repairs and demand payment upfront. Investment Scams: Seniors are targeted with deceitful investments and unregistered securities. IRS or Social Security Scams: Scammers impersonate government officials, coercing personal and financial data. Money Mule/Money Laundering Scams: Convince victims to use their existing or new bank accounts to quickly move funds in and out of those accounts. Generally, the transferred funds are proceeds of other criminal schemes (such as romance schemes) and victims are unwittingly being used to launder the ill-gotten funds. Romance Scams: Lull victims into believing they are in an online romantic relationship, and they claim to need money to pay for a visit to the U.S. or for some other purpose. Tech Support Scam: Fraudsters pose as tech support to gain access into computers and steal personally identifiable information or convince victims to pay for non-existent problems with the computer. While these schemes run the gamut from lottery scams to so-called grandparent and tech-support scams, they all have the potential to result in substantial monetary losses, causing financial hardship and emotional distress to the individuals impacted. In June 2022, Lindsey Allison Kerns was sentenced to 45 months imprisonment for stealing more than $1 million from two elderly clients in her care in Asheville, N.C. Kerns owned and operated a home health care business and arranged to provide home health care services to two elderly clients. Over the course of the scheme, she defrauded the elderly victims by overbilling them for inflated services or services never provided; double billing them for other services either not provided or were provided by caregivers during hours already billed; and by billing at a higher rate than agreed upon. In May 2023, Shawn Edward Good was sentenced to 87 months in prison for carrying out a $7 million dollar investment fraud scheme. Good was employed as a registered representative and investment advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC in Wilmington, N.C., when he executed a scheme to obtain money through an investment Ponzi scheme. He solicited investments from business clients and others for purported real estate projects and tax-free municipal bonds, touting opportunities as low-risk investments that would pay returns of between 6 and 10 percent over three- or six-month terms. IRS CI participates on 20 Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Forces, worked through the U.S. Department of Justice. These strike forces provide dedicated resources to identify the most harmful elder fraud schemes and to bring perpetrators to justice. Remaining vigilant and informed about these scams can help protect taxpayers from financial loss and identity theft. The IRS and partnering federal agencies urge everyone to be cautious, especially when dealing with unsolicited communications concerning taxes. Additional information on tax scams and consumer alerts can be found on the Tax scams and Consumer alerts page. In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice introduced the National Elder Fraud Hotline to address fraud targeting elderly Americans and support affected individuals. If an individual has fallen victim to elder fraud, they can contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311). The hotline operates Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and services are available in English, Spanish, and other languages.
