A gathering of more than 100 Sun City residents attended a March 20 scam and fraud prevention event hosted by Chase Bank at its Sun City branch at 10116 W. Bell Rd, in partnership with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Samuel Trommler, a banker in the Sun City branch for 15 years, started by asking how many of those present had been impacted by fraud or scams in the past and was not surprised at the number of hands raised.

“It’s usually pretty much everyone in the room,” he said. “And it’s getting worse and worse. Surprisingly, 20-29 year olds are more susceptible to scams. The thing with seniors is that you tend to lose more money.”

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Brian Stutsman said fraud and scams are growing nationally, but especially in retirement communities. Arizona ranked 10th in the nation in frauds and scams in 2022. A 2019 Federal Trade Commission listed $1.9 billion in losses. A figure that rose to more than $10 billion in a 2023 report.

The damages locally are also staggering, he said, pointing to a nine-month span last year in the Sun Cities that resulted in a loss of $2.7 million to the victims.

“That’s only a fraction of the people who have been scammed,” he said. “Most people won’t report it because of shame or embarrassment.”

Stutsman said only last week he was the victim of an identity theft where someone tried to use his information to open two credit card accounts. He reported the incident immediately to the credit bureaus and put a freeze on his credit, contacted the credit card companies and contacted the deputies in the sheriff’s office.

“I’ve been a victim of fraud and scams and I was embarrassed because I’m a banker who’s supposed to know better, but I can tell you this can happen to anyone,” said Christian Romero, Chase’s community manager. “Fraud and scams are at an all-time high.”

An identity is stolen every 20-25 seconds, he said.

Romero said there are four important steps everyone should do when receiving an unsolicited email or phone call from someone. People should pause before they react so not to give in to the sense of urgency or fear often generated by the contact, remember personal information is valuable, validate the source outside of the email itself and, if it proves to be false, report it the sheriff’s office.

Stutsman said reporting the contact is important whether the person was taken in by or discovered the scam.

“I’m hoping to see an increase in the number of people reporting these,” he said, because it helps law enforcement keep abreast of the latest trends, inform the public and watch for spikes in trends.

There are four tips to prevent being scammed that are fairly easy to spot, Romero said. They pretend to be someone known to the victim, they present the victim with a conditional prize or problem, pressure them to act immediately and ask to be paid in a specific manner.

“Anyone calling you to get money over the phone is a scam if it involves wire transfers, crypto currency or gift cards,” said Lance Hunzeker, a MCSO financial services deputy.

Romero added that caller ID is not a valid source of identity verification.

“It’s very easy for a scammer to change their caller ID (to show a government agency, bank or known business),” he said.

The most common scams in the Sun Cities are by those claiming to be from the government. They made up 30 percent of MCSO reports in 2023, Stutsman said.

He cited one instance where a neighbor called because he knew of his status in the sheriff’s office and he was told he had a warrant for his arrest and that if he didn’t pay immediately he would go to jail.

“We wouldn’t call about a warrant. We have a delivery service. We’ll come pick you up,” Stutsman joked.

Romance scams are another leading tactic used in the area and very popular on social media, he said, where people claim to be boyfriends or some other love interest and require money for a number of reasons.

Signs to look for in romance scams include the person professing their love quickly, claiming to be from the U.S. but are overseas for business or in the military, asking for money and trying to lure the victim to an unmonitored message site, or claiming to need money for an emergency, hospital bills or to travel here for a visit.

Lottery scams are also popular, Stutsman said. Many of the emails received stating taxes must be paid before lottery winnings can be distributed can be easily identified.

“If you haven’t played the lottery, you probably haven’t won,” he said.

Also, when scheduling a contractor for work, residents should verify they are a licensed and bonded contractor through the Better Business Bureau and Registrar of Contractors websites. Not only does that prevent scams, but could potentially save a victim from shoddy work or bad business practices and provides a recourse for further action should it be necessary, Stutsman said.