Attorney General Ashley Moody hosted a Senior Scam Seminar in Marion County, Florida, where she introduced a new resource aimed at protecting seniors from scams. The event was attended by over 500 seniors and focused on educating them about cybercrime, cryptocurrency schemes, financial crimes, and exploitation.
At the seminar held at the On Top of the World Cultural Center, Attorney General Moody released "Scams at a Glance: Grandparent Grifts." This resource is designed to help seniors identify and report grandparent scams. These scams involve imposters posing as grandchildren who claim to be in emergency situations and request money.
Attorney General Moody stated, “Today, we held a Senior Scam Seminar to educate hundreds of older Floridians about common and emerging scams. During the seminar, we released our Scams at a Glance: Grandparents Grifts. This new resource explains grandparent scams and provides tips to help older Floridians spot and avoid these imposter scams."
Speakers at the event included Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods and representatives from various law enforcement agencies such as the State Attorney’s Office from the 5th Judicial Circuit and Marion County Sheriff’s Office’s Fraud Team. Members of Attorney General Moody's Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit also participated.
Grandparent scams typically begin with a call from someone pretending to be a grandchild in distress. The scammer may use information found on social media to make their story credible. Victims are often urged to send money through gift cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfers.
To combat these schemes, "Scams at a Glance: Grandparent Grifts" advises seniors to verify claims directly with family members before acting on any requests for money. It also warns against sending funds through unconventional means like gift cards or wire transfers.
Since taking office in 2019, Attorney General Moody has secured nearly $700 million in Consumer Protection recoveries including relief for seniors. She launched initiatives such as the Senior Protection Team and Scams at a Glance outreach program which provides easily accessible information on avoiding frauds.
Moody's efforts also include advocating for technological solutions like STIR/SHAKEN to curb robocalls and participating in coalitions aimed at investigating illegal communications practices.