GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — With elder fraud cases in Arizona surging by 36% from 2022 to 2023, Green Valley residents gathered today at the Desert Hills Green Valley Recreation Center for Fight Fraud Day, an event hosted by the Green Valley Council.
The council invited the Pima County Sheriff’s Department's Financial Crimes and Fraud Division to deliver a talk (PCSD) aimed at arming the community against the latest scams.
Green Valley, known for its large retirement population, has become a prime target for scams, making the need for awareness and prevention all the more urgent.
The PCSD Financial Crimes and Fraud Unit delivered an informative presentation that exposed the range of scams targeting residents, including new schemes involving voice cloning, number spoofing, and romantic scams, which have become one of the most prevalent fraud types in the area.
Detective Tyler Rivas of the PCSD Financial Crimes Unit emphasized the global reach of these scams.
“These people who are doing these scams can be in all parts of the world now,” Rivas said. “We just want to give awareness and try to prevent any sort of scams and becoming a victim.”
Green Valley resident Mary Lehman shared her experiences with these relentless scam attempts, noting the emotional toll of receiving multiple scam calls daily.
“I have now been contacted five times that I am the winner of the Publisher’s Clearinghouse lottery,” Lehman said with a laugh. “I get ten to twelve calls a day. It’s a terrible way to have to live.”
She’s not alone in feeling targeted. The Green Valley Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers (SAV) assist local law enforcement in the area and often hear about these scams as they evolve, many involving credit cards and checking account fraud.
The organization has a decided Scam Squad to root out these various scams in the area.
Chuck Carter, Director of Business Relations for the Green Valley Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers, noted the frequency of scam reports.
“There’s usually two or three attempts a day that people call in to report,” Carter said. “Anything from attempted telephone scams to cases where they’ve actually gotten into people’s checking accounts.”
The presentation also offered a demonstration of voice cloning by having an attendee read a story, with their voice used to train a mock voicemail message purporting that he needed money from the receiver. PCSD’s demonstration was intended to show how the voices of family members can be used to trick unsuspecting victims.
The issue of AI, such as popular tools such as ChatGPT being used to concoct false stories that attempt to establish a relationship with those being targeted.
The PCSD officers provided practical tips, advising residents to stay skeptical of unsolicited emails, especially those claiming to be from government agencies, and to look out for red flags.
The Fight Fraud Day event is part of PCSD’s larger effort to equip vulnerable community members with fraud prevention strategies. The department regularly offers similar workshops at churches, businesses and other community groups throughout the county.
For those interested in organizing a fraud prevention workshop or learning more, visit the Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s Financial Crimes and Fraud website or contact PCSD at 520-351-3000 or email fraud@sheriff.pima.gov.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
