FBI Pittsburgh gives presentation on financial fraud
HARMONY — A pair of special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s branch in Pittsburgh were in Harmony on Thursday night, Dec. 12, to discuss financial fraud and cyber crime at Scenic Ridge senior community.
Leading the presentation were special agent Brooklynn Riordan and community outreach specialist Felicia Trovato.
According to Debbie Cook, who recently retired but had started the speaker series at Scenic Ridge, it was her idea to bring the FBI for the presentation after recent events in the community.
“One of our residents was scammed and another former co-worker that I know was scammed,” Cook said. “So those two people led me to want to give people the information on what they can do to protect themselves.”
Riordan said that one of the most common crimes she and her division encounter is tech support scams.
“Those work mainly by pop-ups on your computer indicating there might be a problem, or you could get a phone call and they’re just trying to get you to engage with somebody who pretends to be with Microsoft or some other kind of computer support,” Riordan said. “The more information they get out of you, the more they may be able to scam you.”
According to the 2022 FBI Elder Fraud Report, elder financial fraud resulted in 88,262 filed complaints and $3.1 billion in losses — about $35,101 per complaint.
Prior to the presentation, the agents showed a video by the FBI and Highmark Health, illustrating the dangers of financial fraud over the internet.
Riordan and Trovato also told the audience about some novel types of financial fraud which have begun to crop up, including one where the victims are compelled to purchase large amounts of gold and have them couriered to the perpetrator in lieu of cash.
Riordan mentioned one case where a woman was told that illegal purchases had been made in her name and she would have to empty her PNC Bank account, which contained roughly $100,000.
“When the bank would not permit her to do so, they switched and decided to say, ‘OK, how about you purchase gold, and we’ll come pick that up from you?’ — I kid you not,” she said. “We are seeing that across Western Pennsylvania quite a bit right now, where people are taking their money, they’re taking cashier’s checks, they’re going to a gold store, and they’re buying gold, and couriers are coming.”
Many scammers today, Trovato said, use what’s called “social engineering,” trying to “hook” their victims using information which is publicly available through their social media profiles, web searches or other means.
“They look at your profile and they say, ‘Oh, you have a grandson named Brian?’” Trovato said. “They social engineer themselves to make themselves marketable. That’s why with social media … you guys should always Google yourselves. Always see what is on there about you and what people can use against you.”
The speakers took questions and heard some stories from residents, many of whom had their own instances about being scammed, or coming close to it.
One woman reported having her information stolen on Facebook, which led to the thief going through all of her accounts. Eventually, her email, phone number, credit card information and even her home security system were tampered with, and she effectively had to start her technological life from scratch.
“I was fighting for my life the whole time,” she said. “It has been a nightmare.”
Riordan admitted that she herself was victimized by a scam when she was trying to purchase a pair of Rothy’s shoes over the internet.
“I was on Facebook, and it’s popping off, ‘Buy one, get one, 50% off Rothy’s.’ I was like, ‘Sweet,’” Riordan said. “It looked like the Rothy’s website. So I bought a blue pair and a black pair.”
But Riordan realized it was too good to be true when she received an email in broken English saying her order was on its way, from a domain that definitely wasn’t Rothy’s.
“I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ And I realized I went to an illegitimate site,” Riordan said.
In a world where new scams pop up seemingly every day, Riordan has some advice for everyone, both old and young.
“Just be cognizant of what’s out there,” Riordan said. “Take some time to think about who you’re talking to what kind of information you’re sharing.”
If someone becomes the victim of financial fraud online, it can be reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, as well as the local law enforcement agency.
