Representative Image. / iStock photo

A batch of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, whose members are now 65 years of age, received a message of desperation on their WhatsApp group. One of the batchmates, Raju Reddy, was in financial trouble, and in need of immediate help. Just as they were thinking, how incredulous this message was, and scrambling to get their credit cards, one of the members of the group pointed out that the phone number from which the message was being received was different from the one listed for their friend and batchmate. Someone had infiltrated the group and was pretending to be Raju Reddy.

With AI, the ability to fool people is multiplicative

Artificial intelligence has already been used for fraudulent purposes, for example to imitate people's voices and faces in videos and pictures. Billionaire Warren Buffett warned about the potentially harmful effects of technology.

"These campaigns are so contextualized that they make it harder for victims to distinguish between what is real and what is fake," says Pradeep Yadlapati, senior vice president of Innova Solutions.

"When you think about the possibilities of cheating people... if I were interested in investing in cheating, it will be an all-time growth industry," said Buffet commenting on artificial intelligence matters at the annual general meeting of the investment company Berkshire Hathaway. 

A study conducted by McAfee said that Indians are the most vulnerable group to such scams. As many as 83 percent of Indian targets end up losing money, it claimed.

Scammers stole over $3.4 billion in one year

According to the FBI data, scammers stole over $3.4 billion from victims over 60 years of age last year. And I want to give one more number, said Robert Tripp, special agent in charge of the Adult Protective Services Unit, FBI's San Francisco field office at an Ethnic Media Services briefing on June.6. 

The nationwide number of victims that filed reports with the FBI's clearinghouse for addressing these kinds of crimes was 101,000. Sadly, California leads all other states in both the dollar loss and the number of victims to this crime.

Agent Tripp recalled a case that had touched him deeply early in his career that made this cause dear to his heart.

“I recall very distinctly early on in my career sitting across the table from a victim of a scam, a lottery scam in this case,” began agent Tripp. “He was a retired school teacher. He worked his entire life to save for his retirement, to provide for himself and his spouse. He was very interested in leaving a legacy for not only his spouse but also his children. A scammer took advantage of that. Unfortunately, he did not leave that financial legacy but worse than that, he was left destitute. Destitute by what these people did to him. And I've never forgotten that victim’s testimony and the impact this crime had on that victim's life. So for me personally, it's an important issue. But for the FBI, it's certainly an important issue as well, because this is big business.”

The helplessness of the elders fuels the anger experienced by the authorities when faced by these scams. 

An unsolicited email or phone call, a casual text which starts with a harmless question can start the conversation that can lead the lonely elder down this path. An opportunity to get rich investing, a shoulder to lean on, an opportunity for romance or interaction with a person of high standing, can lure an elder. 

“We see here in the Bay Area, cryptocurrency is very often put forth as a very lucrative investment opportunity. But there is no cryptocurrency. It's merely a scam,” said agent Tripp. “Other types of scams that we see here are tech support scams and impersonation scams.”

Danielle Arvanitis of Gilroy, CA, wrote on Nextdoor: “A friend recently got relieved of a large amount of money in a “tech support” scam. Dealing with the bank was such a nightmare that he gave up trying to get his money back. Very disturbing. Protect yourself,” said Arvanitis to Elizabeth Martin, a resident of Palo Alto, CA, who had written, “I am tired. They call me every 15 minutes.  I have to put my phone on silent.  I blocked too many numbers already.”

“What it is is that these folks look like you. They talk like you. They may come from the same region that you might come from so you let your guard down because they are able to communicate with you in your own language,” said Tony Flores, Sergeant-Inspector, Special Victims Unit, SF Police Department, at the briefing.

“You are just vulnerable at that moment and that's what these folks look for is this vulnerability.”

A scam message received by the author of this article. The phone number showed up in her address book as a contact. / Ritu Marwah

Shame keeps the elderly from reporting these crimes

The scammers are persistent and very skilled at what they do. They have technical support, said Officer Tripp. “They practice day in and day out. This is their full-time job and they're experts at psychological manipulation. There is no shame in being a victim. There is no shame in losing money. But that shame intimidates people into keeping silent.”

Beyond the financial toll, victims of these scams can lose their independence and experience, reduced quality of life and poor health outcomes. Scams targeting Bay Area, monolingual elders have had devastating consequences.

Counties are holding sessions for public awareness

As online and telephone scams are increasing, and scammers keep finding new ways to take advantage of innocent people, the local library and counties like Aviendas and Santa Clara County Library District are hosting special programs to talk about how people can protect themselves and their loved ones, especially young adults and older adults. 

How can one determine if a voice is cloned or real?

Stay calm in the face of panic-inducing calls and verify. Hang up and call back. Use another phone to call the family member being impersonated. 

“If the caller says you must pay money immediately. That is a definite red flag,” says Tripp. “If you don't understand something you shouldn't feel pressured to say yes. If you don't understand what you're being asked or why you have to do something, say no and slow things down. Last thing I want to say, as I said before, it's so important that people report their experiences. If they feel they've been a victim of the crime, they should call their financial institution. And then they should call law enforcement.”

“We ask people to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or file a report online at the Internet Crime Complaint Center.”