GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — In under two minutes, a voice can be cloned. Imagine the potential for fraud if scammers obtained your voice through a phone call.
This is just one of the many evolving techniques fraudsters are using to target Green Valley residents, according to local experts.
On February 19, Green Valley’s Scam Squad hosted an educational forum to inform the community about the latest scams circulating in the area.
Scammers often align their tactics with seasonal events like Medicare enrollment, tax season, and the holiday shopping period.
However, local authorities have noted an increase in romance scams, targeting individuals experiencing loneliness, as well as pornography-related scams designed to blackmail victims.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, impersonation scams cost victims approximately $1.1 billion in 2023. Scammers frequently pose as representatives from agencies such as the FBI, IRS, or Customs and Border Protection (CBP), creating a false sense of urgency to manipulate their targets.
“What they do is impersonate being from an agency, FBI, IRS, CBP, and they will make it that they’re the authority,” explained Steve Swallows, lead of the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers (SAV), during the forum. “They’ll make it seem like you need to listen with a sense of urgency.”
Romance scams have become a growing concern, costing Arizona residents approximately $47 million over the past two years, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. These schemes typically prey on individuals seeking companionship.
“They’ll seek out people that may be lonely, looking for someone to talk to,” Swallows said. “We call it a romance scam, but at our age, it’s more of just companionship.”
Another alarming trend is the emergence of pornography-related scams aimed at blackmailing victims.
“The porn scam is something new. I was introduced to it in about October,” said Robert Clark, a volunteer with SAV. “It’s surprising that it works for the population in Green Valley. But because it’s such a threatening letter, they fall for it more.”
One Green Valley resident, Joan Burns, recounted receiving an email threatening to expose her online activity unless she paid $1,950 in Bitcoin.
“‘You’ve been a bit careless lately clicking through those girly videos,’” Burns read from the email. “At that point, I say, all right, I’m not near as concerned as I was in the beginning,” she said with a laugh.
To protect themselves, Scam Squad officials urge residents to verify the legitimacy of any suspicious phone call, email, or letter by reaching out to a trusted third party, such as a bank or law enforcement agency.
“We get up in the morning, we go out in the world, we do good things for eight hours. They get up in the morning, they spend eight or ten hours just doing dirty things. And so they’re very, very good at it,” Clark said of scammers. “They’ve got plenty of practice on a daily basis.”
Authorities emphasize that residents should never share personal information over the phone, internet, or social media without verifying the request’s legitimacy. For more information on Scam Squad and how to stay protected, visit the organization’s website.
