Stuart Saunders, N.C. special deputy attorney general, shares information at the clubhouse.

Elder fraud typically involves scams, and most of them are based overseas, Saunders said. Scams involve dishonest schemes to obtain money or possessions from unsuspecting victims.

Although the N.C.  Elder Fraud Unit does not have authority to file criminal charges, the group works with victims and their families, often seeking creative ways to help the victims understand they are being scammed.

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Elder scams are so pervasive and often effective, they even impacted his own family, Saunders reported.

“My dad got scammed in 2016, and he lost his life savings,” he said. “It was a lottery scam, and it was all over in about three weeks. We didn’t see the warning signs in time.”

“You should know the warning signs and keep your eyes peeled,” he advised.

Saunders described several scams that prey on elders:

Cryptocurrency scams convince victims to place money in cybercurrency, where it ultimately vanishes or becomes inaccessible, he said.

In these schemes, a scammer often contacts a victim through a messaging app and builds a relationship, he explained. Then the scammer offers an opportunity to “invest in crypto,” promising large returns on investment. The scammer convinces the victim to wire money to a legitimate exchange, and then the money is converted to crypto.

When the victim opens an account on an “investment platform,” the money appears to grow rapidly. But when the victim tries to withdraw the earnings, the scammer demands more fees. By this time, “the crypto is gone, likely overseas,” he said.

Compounding the injury, victims often go online trying to recover their losses, only to spend thousands of dollars on “recovery companies” and lose that money, too, he said.

“In order to recover, you need to go to a criminal law enforcement agency,” he added.

Cryptocurrency kiosks, often located in convenience stores, usually separate victims from their money, Saunders said, noting an Iowa investigation found 95% of transactions conducted on cryptocurrency kiosks in the state were connected to scams.

“This industry exists to facilitate scams,” he stressed. “Cryptocurrency can be traced but rarely recovered.”

Saunders’ office has subpoenaed records from cryptocurrency kiosk companies, and the state legislature is working on apparently bipartisan legislation to regulate kiosks. His office also partners with law enforcement to post warning signs on cryptocurrency kiosks.

One such cryptocurrency kiosk scheme is known as a tech support scam, he said. A message appears on a victim’s computer screen, and the scammer convinces the victim to provide access to the computer. The scammer claims an irregularity has occurred in the computer and sends the victim to a cryptocurrency kiosk, where the victim deposits funds to pay for “repairs.”

Last year, 26 North Carolina victims of tech support scams lost a total of $1,078,691.

In jury duty scams, a scammer tells a victim he or she missed a summons to jury duty and must pay fines through a cryptocurrency kiosk, which channels the money to the scammer or a partner.

Grandparent scams or family emergency scams prey on elders’ concern for their families. Typically, a scammer pretends to be a senior’s grandchild — often using artificial intelligence to imitate the grandchild’s voice. The scammer claims to be overseas and has caused an accident and needs money. Then the scammer sends the grandparent to a kiosk to transfer the money.

“The scammer will be on FaceTime with the grandparent, talking them through how to operate the kiosk and send the money,” he said.

Last year, North Carolina victims of family emergency scams lost an average of $12,078.

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In romance or friendship scams, predators contact victims through social media and dating apps, Saunders said. Sometimes, they peruse obituaries and reach out to people who recently lost spouses.

“They prey upon loneliness and build a relationship with the victim,” he noted. Eventually, they typically promise to come visit the victim and say they need money to travel. Then they take the funds the victims send but never make the trip. Sometimes, they also claim various forms of distress and ask the victims for help.

In 2024 in North Carolina, 25 victims of this type of scam lost $1,833,047, he said.

Saunders’ father lost his savings in a sweepstakes scam. In these schemes, the scammer contacts the victim, claiming the victim won a lottery but needs to prepay taxes and other fees in order to claim the winnings.

“A scammer told my dad he won the lottery and a Mercedes” and he had to pay fees, Saunders said. “His bank tried to warn him this was a scam, but he said no. The bank finally refused to participate when he tried to take out a second mortgage on his home. … But my dad lost his life’s savings, and his scammer was in Jamaica.”

Last year, 53 North Carolina sweepstakes scam victims lost $3,526,606, he said.

In-home scams take various forms, he reported. They may involve door-to-door sales of solar panels or alarm systems, or they may involve contractors who take money but don’t do the work, claim to find a “problem” that needs to be fixed, or show up with extra materials and offer to use them to do extra work but don’t complete the job or charge exorbitant prices.

“In North Carolina, your bank must report suspected elder financial fraud,” Saunders said. The fraud must be reported to a list of “trusted contacts” — often potential victims’ children or family members — and to law enforcement if the victim is disabled or an older adult. Banks also must report to Adult Protective Services if the victim is a disabled adult.

For more information or to report elder fraud, Saunders invited Courtyards at Southpoint residents to contact him directly.