Building awareness, defense against scams

This story first appeared in Prestige - May 2025, a biannual special section distributed in The Gazette dedicated to Iowans 55+.

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More than ever, senior citizens are falling victim to scams. One Iowa fraud educator says that’s because artificial intelligence, or AI, has made the process of conning someone easier and more efficient.

“Seniors tend to be targeted because they are presumed to have less technology skills and know-how, may be socially isolated and may have more wealth,” said Kathy Gerlach, AARP Fraud Watch Network volunteer.

Since 2020, Gerlach has been educating Iowans to help them avoid being the victim of a scam or lose money as the result of fraudulent activity. She has over 35 years of experience in cybersecurity analysis.

“We have found that the best defense against stopping a scam before it occurs is knowledge and education, which is why the Fraud (Watch) educators provide this free community service,” she said.

Gerlach calls AI a game changer when it comes to scams.

“Previously, scammers needed to take time to identify the targets and do a cost-benefit analysis to make sure they would get enough money to cover the expenses of setting up the scam. It is now very cheap to get into the scam business,” she said.

For example, AI can generate email addresses that are very similar to real, legitimate emails, like olbnavy.com instead of oldnavy.com.

“It is important to me to provide information on what a scam looks like, and how to disengage from the scammer's hold on your emotions,” Gerlach said.

In 2024, over $12.5 billion were reportedly lost in scams and fraudulent activities. Nationally, 2.6 million people have reported being a victim of scams. People aged 70 and older report the largest dollar losses per scam.

Here are some of Gerlach’s tips and tricks to prevent being a scam victim:

"If you receive an email that your account has been locked or needs your password changed, go to the website you know is the valid website, login into your account and then change the password,” Gerlach said. “Do not answer any phone calls that you do not know. If it is important, they will leave a message.”

“We must become skilled at recognizing the components of a scam so we can immediately disengage. First, scammers always contact you initially,” Gerlach said. “Never give out any personal information unless you have made the phone call or initiated the text for a specific purpose.”

Scams always have three parts, according to Gerlach.

Part 1: Get an emotional response. This can be in the form of a threat, such as falsely identifying you as part of criminal activity and threatening to arrest you; or claiming you owe back taxes or road tolls. Bottom line, they have a hook to grab your attention and get you emotional.

Part 2: Create a sense of urgency. You must do something immediately to remove the threat or miss out on this great opportunity. They often coach you not to talk to anyone about what you are doing or coach you on how to respond to questions from others.

Part 3: Must make a payment. Payment types used are cash, wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.

Gerlach recalls one senior who fell victim to scammers.

“She was scammed out of a large amount of money and also owed taxes on the money they withdrew to pay the scammer. It was a very sophisticated scheme and went on for several months … while she will be unable to recover the money lost, she has been willing to share her story, and this takes a lot of courage to admit to what happened,” Gerlach said.

“No one can safely assume they are too smart to fall for a scam,” she added.

AARP can help. Contact the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at aarp.org/fraudsupport or 877-908-3360. Resources are available to stay informed with up-to-date information at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.