S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. Elder scams are on the rise. The district attorney , though , tells us how to spot them and how to avoid them all together. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. It's the holiday season , which is prime time for scam artists , especially those who target the elderly. But it's really a year round problem. Over one year over a one year period , seniors in San Diego were scammed out of more than $130 million. That's according to the county's elder Justice task Force. And the San Diego District Attorney's Office is educating seniors and their families on how to spot a scam and avoid them. Joining me is district attorney Summer Stephan da. Stephan , welcome back to midday.
S2: Thanks for having me.
S1: Glad to have you in here. Okay , so set the scene for us.
S2: And the scammers are getting better and better at it and more sophisticated. So , you know , we now have the final numbers in. And for San Diego County , we knew it was over 130 million. We now know it's $149 million. And these are just reported scams. We know that when we talk to our seniors , they feel such a shame for falling for these scams when we know that it is , there's nothing for them to be ashamed about. So many go unreported , and one of the things that we wanted to do is to take the stigma away , to take the shame away , to focus Things where they need to be. Because we know crime really thrives in stigma and in shame. And to say that anyone can fall for this. We've had people with multiple degrees with patents and they still fall for it because the scammers are that good. We've also , through our Elder Justice Task Force , which I'm very excited to have helped form five years ago. Have been able to track.
S1:
S2: That's when you're on your computer. And many seniors , more seniors are than ever since Covid learned to be on their computer. And so this is exactly where scammers go. Where there's a pop up that says your computer has been compromised , you're going to lose all your information. Sometimes it comes with bells and whistles like sound , like an emergency sound that gets your attention. There's also a big warning do not turn off this computer , otherwise you'll lose all your data. Um , and the way they do it is so sophisticated. This is the most common pattern. You see the pop up , because this is a case we prosecuted and it tells you to call a number. It's a support. Tech support. That's why we call it the tech support. And it claims to be Microsoft. So sounds reliable. You call the number someone very professional with an Oscar winning script tells you that they're going to help you , you know , clean up your computer. They need access. So now they go in their little mouse , and when they have access , you get another call from someone claiming to be from your bank who tells you there is unusual activity. We suspect someone from the bank might be involved. So again , secrecy. Don't tell anyone. Come and get your money out and we'll put it somewhere for safekeeping. That is the most common scam. And people go for it because it is so well done. And there's sometimes two sources that are coming at you. It's actually the same scam operation , but you don't know that. So you assume and you're very quiet when you go to the bank. You don't tell anyone because you're worried it's an inside job. You withdraw money , and literally a courier will show up at your doorstep to take your money.
S1: Now , these scams , they're pretty sophisticated , right ? It's not like these are just a it's just a couple of people in a basement somewhere. I mean , this , it's run like a business.
S2: It's exactly what we discovered. So before 412. Police agencies are all treating it like a one off. And once we realized through the Elder Justice Task Force , we broke a big case with search warrants and we fought to form it. It's because we realize this is all organized crime , and it 100% of it so far , is originating out of country internationally , with launderers and local operatives that work with the international syndicate to accomplish this. And sometimes the callers are also victims. It's part of a human trafficking ring where they use people to and they they have to meet a quota of how many people they can trick. So they're incentivized by their own victimization. So this is very serious. And I've advocated for a whole nation approach on this because we're doing our best here in San Diego and we're a model. But it's not enough. We need more. Wow.
S1: Wow.
S2: And it the place where we worry about it the most is the grandma grandpa scam. Because now they can take just a minute , a snippet of your actual grandchild's voice , and put it together with a sentence that says , I need help , I need you. No money , I'm in trouble. They'll put that sentence together. And so when someone is calling you , it's no longer just a stranger reporting that your grandchild is in trouble. It's actually your grandchild's voice. And we're watching for this new scam where different artists , they were using their voices to , um , get money for a charity or to claim there's free tickets for you , but they need certain private information. So at the end of the day , really , we we felt that prevention. We haven't done enough to educate and prevent. And that's why this campaign , where we're using the bad guys and gals money to fund a campaign to be able to tell the public , let's talk about it in the holidays. Let's not treat it as taboo. Let's discuss all the ways scammers operate. But the number one way is they're going to ask you to do something with your money. That's what's going to happen at the end of the day. So when that punchline drops , we want people to stop , hang up and tell someone.
S1: In talking about and educating people in this. One of the first things that is good to know is why you're being targeted.
S2: Not at all. It's because if you're a criminal , you're going to not waste your calls on a 20 year old who can't pay for their rent. You're going to go for a population that has saved all their life , a much better target for you , because you're going to get more money. Because people have worked hard , they've saved , they have disposable income , so they just make a better target for criminals and nothing to do with their intelligence , but rather with their ability to spend money.
S1: What kind of an impact does that have on a seniors financial livelihood and well-being ? Devastating.
S2: We we have had. This is why we take it so seriously. And I've advocated , um , to essentially nationally that this is not just an economic crime. We've had seniors contemplate suicide because they feel that now they're going to be a burden on their family. They've lost everything and they feel ashamed. And we have to treat it like it is , which is a really sophisticated crime that affects the dignity and the economy of our seniors.
S1: You alluded to making this more of a national coordinated effort. Your your office is working with other agencies like the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office to really address this problem. Talk to me about how you're all collaborating and what's come of it so far.
S2: It's an excellent collaboration because we can go after your district attorney's office and do your local state , you know , county wide criminals. But we can't work with the international aspect , and we need everybody to work on it. And also , we find that the people who are taking the money are also their own syndicates. And the money leaves our county and goes across. That's where we need the US attorney. So we realize we need the task force model to work with everybody. And we log all the information in a law enforcement coordination center so we know the trends and we can focus on the trends.
S1:
S2: And it's very exciting because , uh , you know , when someone reports immediately , that's why part of the campaign is to tell someone to report , we have a chance to recover your money once time passes , the money has left our nation. So , uh , these operations , like this one woman told her son. So we asked her to actually pretend that she's going along with the next deposit. And the task force was there. And it was a beautiful thing because they were able to get the person and then use the technology against them to look at using search warrants. Who are the shot callers in the organization and go up the chain ? But again , what we're really looking for is Australia and the United Kingdom. I talked to an expert on this , have lowered their scams , and they've done it through private public partnerships , meaning their social media companies , their platforms block a lot of it for I'll give you one example. Our somebody internationally can call you and can make it look like a local number that you're going to trust. That shouldn't be happening. That should be that's a lie to the public , and it should not be permitted by the actual providers. So a lot can be done with innovation and technology to block these scams before they happen using algorithms , and that's what I'm looking for forward to , is really upping our game and protecting our seniors.
S1: Getting some legislation on the books. You know , this campaign is really about raising awareness about elder scams in the region.
S2: We have a video that we're trying to get into , the different hospitals where people are just waiting for their appointment , and they see a positive prevention message. We've done that before and then working with our banking industry because they are often an intersection , and we do want them to do more and to be more vigilant. At least hand somebody a palm card with that information about the campaign.
S1: And , you know , it's also important to share this information in multiple languages. Um , talk about that and how you're reaching every community.
S2: That's very important. So of course , you know , we have Spanish. We have to garlic. We have uh , also Vietnamese. So we try to target our most common languages in our region. But as we get requests from communities , we're willing to translate further to reach every community , because victims come. This doesn't discriminate. Really ? Yeah.
S1:
S2: That is their number one trick creating urgency and creating a trust. So by just slowing down and assuming and I tell , I use this little advice to every senior in my life Never respond to anything that you did not initiate. Meaning an unsolicited call from IRS , from Social Security , from your bank , from Amazon , unsolicited , just hang up and then you yourself can initiate the call based on a trusted number you know , for that agency , and you'll learn quickly. That was a scam. A really well done scam. Wow.
S1: Wow. How can you know ? Family members or caregivers help to deter this.
S2: Well , have a conversation during the holidays. This is a good time to begin talking about it. Become educated yourself on the tech support scam , the grandma grandpa scam , the impersonation scams. And let's not forget the romance scam because if you're a senior , there's still people you know. Of course everybody wants love and there are people that really work on that emotion , that isolation. I would say this is a good time to reconnect with the loved one in your life. Um , you know , everybody needs warmth. They need connection. The holidays is a great time to do it. Because by establishing that connection. Talking about the scams , you're taking away the shame and creating an atmosphere where seniors will feel empowered to really stop and hang up and to tell you about it. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , I know that you your office is working on on many cases. Before we go , though , I've got to quickly ask about the case of Kanoa Wilson , who was shot and killed by an officer earlier this year. The city will now pay out one of the largest public settlements in history for his death. Your office is still deciding whether or not to file charges. Can you talk a bit about where you're at in that process.
S2: Yeah , that. That is a heartbreaking loss for Noah's families , only 16 years old and for the community. And we take life very , very seriously. So we have a specialized unit , that special operations unit that that's their their experience. And they work on these very difficult cases. The decision they have to make is not whether something went wrong , but whether it rises to a crime that this was a murder by the officer , a criminal event , and that is a different standard than the civil standard. So this case is still under review. We recently received the autopsy report , and we need every piece of evidence to make sure we don't miss anything important in making the right decision , which is always very difficult.
S1: All right. I've been speaking with District Attorney Summer Stephan. Da. Stephan , thank you so very much.
S2: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today.
S3: I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
