VIDEO: AG Moody Releases New Scams at a Glance: Grandparent Grifts Resource During Senior Protection Event

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Release Date
Jan 15, 2025
Contact
Chase Sizemore
Phone
(850) 245-0150

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today hosted a Senior Scam Seminar at the On Top of the World Cultural Center in Marion County and released a new senior-protection resource. Attended by more than 500 Florida seniors, the educational symposium focused on senior fraud and how to avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime and schemes related to cryptocurrency, financial crime and exploitation. At the symposium, Attorney General Moody released Scams at a Glance: Grandparent Grifts. This new resource aims to help Florida seniors know how to avoid and properly report grandparent schemes. In these schemes, imposters pose as a grandchild and call a target claiming to be in an emergency situation and then request money.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Today, we held a Senior Scam Seminar to educate hundreds of older Floridians about common and emerging scams. During the seminar, we released our Scams at a Glance: Grandparents Grifts. This new resource explains grandparent scams and provides tips to help older Floridians spot and avoid these imposter scams."

Joining Attorney General Moody as speakers at the Senior Scam Seminar were Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, representatives from the State Attorney’s Office from the 5th Judicial Circuit and Marion County Sheriff’s Office’s Fraud Team, as well as representatives from Attorney General Moody’s Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit, Seniors vs Crime and Senior Protection Teams.

Grandparent scams begin with a call from someone pretending to be the grandchild of a target. The schemer may speak softly or make an excuse for sounding different. The scammer, posing as the victim’s grandchild, will then claim to be in trouble and need money. The fraudster may urgently demand payment and beg the senior to keep it a secret. Once the victim sends money to the scammer, victims are often unable to get the money back.

To help combat grandparent scams, Attorney General Moody is releasing Scams at a Glance: Grandparent Grifts. The resource offers the following tips: 

  • Resist the urge to act immediately. Hang up and check with the grandchild or other family members directly; 
  • Know that anyone demanding payment in the form of a gift card, cryptocurrency or wire transfer is probably a scammer — never send money to solicitors through these means; 
  • Be aware that scammers may use information found on a victim’s family members’ social media platforms to appear credible; and
  • Scammers may request to meet and receive the money in person. If this happens, hang up and call local law enforcement immediately. 

To view Scams at a Glance: Grandparent Grifts, click here. To view the resource in Spanish, click here. 

To learn more about other types of scams, visit the Scams at a Glance homepage. 

Since taking office in 2019, Attorney General Moody has secured: 

  • Nearly $700 million in Consumer Protection recoveries, including relief and restitution;
  • More than $9.5 million in Senior Protection Team recoveries; and
  • More than $5.75 million in realized gains through the Seniors vs. Crime team thanks to Senior Sleuths volunteering more than 107,000 hours.

Attorney General Moody is committed to protecting seniors. While in office, Attorney General Moody:

  • Launched the Senior Protection Team, consisting of members from the Office of Statewide Prosecution, Consumer Protection Division, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Office of Citizen Services;
  • Released the Scams at a Glance outreach program to inform Floridians about common and emerging schemes through online, easily-printable brochures;
  • Published the Consumer Alert webpage that educates Floridians about emerging scams, fraudulent activities and deceptive practices. The program also notifies Floridians about available refunds, restitution and claims resulting from actions taken by the Consumer Protection Division; and
  • Urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt STIR/SHAKEN technologies to reduce illicit robocalls, joined the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force and joined a bipartisan coalition to prevent and investigate illegal robocalls.

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