Milton and Mane

When Trust Becomes the Target: Real Victims. Real Scams. Real Solutions.

• Steve Krokoff and Christy Weeks

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Nobody thinks they'll fall for a scam—until it happens. In this episode, Detective Sarah Moore of the Milton Police Department joins host Christy Weeks to talk about the shocking rise in elder fraud, the emotional toll it takes, and the most common (and oddly clever) scams targeting our seniors.

From fake grandkids to funeral scams, this episode pulls no punches—and offers real, practical ways to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Listen now and learn how to spot the signs before it's too late.

#MiltonAndMane #ElderFraud #ScamAwareness #ProtectOurSeniors #MiltonPD #TrueCrime #DigitalSafety

With the community in mind, this podcast explores the stories, people, and initiatives that make our community unique. Each episode offers insights into local government, highlights Milton's history and future developments, and showcases the vibrant arts, culture, and sustainability efforts shaping our city. Join the conversation, celebrate our community, and discover how we're building a better Milton together.

Do you have an idea for an episode or would like to request a specific topic to be covered? Email Christy Weeks, christy.weeks@miltonga.gov

Learn more about the City of Milton at www.miltonga.gov. 

Welcome to Milton and Maine Podcast

Speaker 1

Welcome to Milton and Maine, the official podcast for the city of Milton. We want to bring you closer to the heart of our community through stories that inform, inspire and connect. Each episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at the people, projects and priorities shaping Milton, covering everything from local government and future development to arts, culture, sustainability and public safety. Whether you're a resident, a local business owner or just curious about our city, this is your front row seat to what makes Milton special. Welcome back to another episode of Milton in Maine. I'm your host, christy Weeks, the communications manager for the city of Milton.

Introducing Detective Sarah Moore

Speaker 1

Listen, today's conversation is one of those that hits close to home for many families in our community. We're joined by Detective Sarah Moore, with the Milton Police Department, who brings both experience and insight to an issue affecting countless older adults elder fraud, from phone scans to online schemes, financial exploitation targeting seniors is on the rise and often goes unnoticed until it's too late. In this episode, we'll talk through how these scams work, the red flags to watch for and how you can protect not only yourself but your loved ones too. So let's get right into it. Welcome, detective Marr. Appreciate you being here. Hi, thank you so much for having me Before we get into the nuts and bolts of this whole thing, why don't you give us a little background as to how you got into law enforcement when you came to Milton and your history as a detective?

Speaker 2

So from a young age I kind of realized that I wanted to do something to help other people. At first my parents were not keen on me being in law enforcement, so I was like, okay, I'll help people with being a nurse. I got to college. My freshman year I took anatomy and I realized I don't care how many bones you have. It was not my favorite. So then I switched my major to criminal justice, because at that time I was still in my teens and I was like you know, what?

Speaker 2

I'm basically an adult. I can do what I want. I'll do law enforcement. I graduated there with my bachelor's in criminal justice concentration forensics. During my first semester of my master's degree I was still up in Dahlonega at University of North Georgia running track.

Speaker 1

Oh, my son went up there.

Common Elder Fraud Schemes Explained

Speaker 2

I love it. Cybersecurity that sounds fun, but I ran track for their women's track team and during all of the COVID they canceled our championships. I was like you know what? I'll go to the police academy now. So I went to the academy in 2020, and I've been with Milton ever since I moved into the criminal investigations division about two years ago. Yeah, but before that I had three years on patrol.

Speaker 1

Wow, do you miss patrol?

Speaker 2

I do. I had a lot of fun. I got to talk to a lot of different people do a lot of different things. It was just something new every day I'd go to a lot of different people do a lot of different things.

Speaker 1

It was just something new every day. Yeah, that's what Officer Tidwell said I asked her if she misses it, she goes. Yeah, the community outreach is kind of where my heart is.

Speaker 2

Yeah, the schedule obviously is a little better in terms of the family dynamic, but patrol is, I feel like, for a lot of us that aren't on patrol anymore that's kind of where our career started and where our love grew.

Speaker 1

Sure, so it was always fun, but I do love what I do right now. I love that, and it's always good to hear the journey through college. Everybody thinks they start out doing one thing and then realize that their heart lies someplace else.

Speaker 1

So, as we talk about this. This is something that this topic is something that really concerns me, because my parents are older. My dad, I don't worry about so much, he's not much of a tech guy. He doesn't get into the social media, he's not on the Internet much. My mom, on the other hand, if there is a link to click girlfriend will click it. She just it doesn't occur to her that it could be something nefarious or she falls victim to a lot of the plots and schemes and whatnot. So give us the skinny on what you're seeing the most of and some of the big ones that are out right now.

Speaker 2

Unfortunately, there are a lot of different types of the elder community that are out right now. Unfortunately, there are a lot of different types. The elder community. They are more vulnerable because they're more trusting of others.

Speaker 2

They're like you know, what this person's saying, who they are. I'm going to believe them, because why would they lie to me, right? Unfortunately, not a lot of people are very nice, so a lot of the scams right now that we're seeing are kind of like romance scams Somebody that's seeking companionship and we see this a lot in the elderly, but we also see it in the younger generations as well. They're seeking companionship, but what they don't know is it is some Joe Smoe in India just wanting their money, right, and that's unfortunate because they're really just wanting that companionship and that can be done, whether that's social media, you know, text messaging apps like WhatsApp and just various sites that they can fall victim to. Another one is, if they're on, like their phones or computers, is the tech support scams of, where somebody will generate a little pop up like hey, you know, you're having a technical issue, call this number and I'll help you.

Speaker 1

Right.

Speaker 2

So they'll call the number and thinking, oh my goodness, crashing like I don't know what to do, I don't know who to call. They call that number. That person will then get remote access to the computer. Then they have access to everything they've got passwords, usernames, data burst, social securities, financial and all these other things.

Speaker 2

Another type that's unfortunate are grandparent scams of, where they get a text or a phone call or an email, social media, saying hey, you know this is so and so you know like I'm really strapped for cash. Can you please send me some money? Or you know, I've been arrested and I need bail, anything like that.

Speaker 1

And they're pretending to be a grandkid or a member of the family.

Speaker 2

It could be little. Jimmy got arrested for something and he needs bail from Meemaw or Peepaw and they want to help because they're very trusting. Another one that we've been seeing a lot lately is people missing jury duty.

Speaker 1

If you miss jury duty.

Speaker 2

They will not call you and say that you need to pay these in iTunes gift cards. Right, we have. It's somewhat comical on our end because some people will pose as us with our actual names from our department, but they'll get the rank wrong, saying I got called by. We'll just use my name, for example, like Captain Moore. I'm like awesome, I got a promotion, sweet, good to know, thanks. And they'll say, well, well, you missed jury duty and you need to pay this fine. And a lot of the times these scammers will say I'll meet you in the police department, like parking lot, we're like, would they actually show up? But a lot of the times is they'll ask for a gift card and you'll send them a text or an email and then they'll take the money out of that gift card. One that's not super common, but I have seen it a few times, are the funeral home and obituary scams.

Speaker 1

Oh, I haven't heard of this one.

Speaker 2

It's a little diabolical. Basically, these scammers will go scour the internet for obituaries, figuring out who the person is that passed away, their family, where they were buried, or they'll even attend the funeral service to get in contact with the widow or widower, get a little more information, and then they'll even attend the funeral service to get in contact with the widow or widower, get a little more information and then they'll contact them, posing as said funeral home, saying, hey, you have an outstanding balance from so-and-so's funeral.

Speaker 2

You need to pay this or there's going to be consequences.

Speaker 1

So really they're just playing on the grief and the crisis moments for people.

Speaker 2

Yeah, the key is basically that vulnerability aspect of some of the elderly population of they're trusting. They don't have a whole lot of knowledge, they're not technology savvy or they're lonely, just things like. That is why the elderly population are so at risk for being a victim of fraud.

Red Flags and Warning Signs

Speaker 1

And I don't think that they're not used to the tech that they now have. Putting a smartphone in my mom's hand, I love her to death and I love the fact that I can get a hold of her and chat with her whenever, but she doesn't understand even the basics of teaching Facebook to the older generation. Hey, mom, did you know you're not just talking to me, like everybody on my Facebook can see what you just said? No, no, I sent that just to you. No, ma'am, you did not.

Speaker 2

Yeah, and that's unfortunately, is a big aspect of there is a lack of understanding.

Speaker 1

Right.

Speaker 2

Social media aspect is forever changing, so correct. Even in the criminal investigation division I'm the youngest by like a decade, so there are a lot of social media platforms that they'll the other detectives will get cases on and they'll be like hey, more what is this? And I'm like, oh well, is this or it's something that I've never even heard of, because I've got like the basics, the, the core, like instagram so what you're telling me is that they just didn't stop making social media platforms when I was getting into it.

Speaker 1

So there's more out there I've never seen.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, there's a lot more Like. We'll get cases like oh yeah, I was texting so-and-so on this app and I'm like what app is that? So even sometimes the younger generations will have to really break it down for us. I'm like I swear that I am not intellectually challenged.

Speaker 1

I promise you, but I need to understand what in the world that is and why they'd switch to it. Yes, that's what concerns me is why are you hopping apps to communicate? Children are sneaky. They are. I've raised three of them, I know all about it.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, and I think I am the age of some of your children and so probably I am the generation of sneaky children, so I know about it.

Speaker 1

I yeah, and I think I am the age of some of your children and so probably I am the generation of sneaky children, so I know about it.

Speaker 2

I didn't have as many apps like my parents growing up. They turned the internet off at 10.

Speaker 1

They're like no no funny business.

Speaker 2

But with that older generation, thankfully we don't have to worry about them like ping pong into different apps trying to be sneaky. They use those core of like, even the dating websites, the matchcom and all these like the standard whatever's. So we don't have to worry about some random websites. We've got no earthly idea what they are.

Speaker 1

It's crazy it is. It is really crazy. I had a conversation with chief and Steve Krokoff pretty early on in the podcast talking about these different apps and how it affects people. I've had issues. We came across a few things with my kids that caused serious damage. I mean as far as reputation, mentally, all those things. There was one called Yik Yak. Remember Yik Yak? I don't even know if it's still around or not, but awful.

Speaker 2

Yeah, my brother. He went to Georgia Tech and he's my older brother and so Yik Yak was really big on that campus and I never heard of it until then.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, just a anonymous way to connect with those in your for whatever reason you're looking for, usually the reasons were not positive. Yeah, a lot of the times. What people, little key point is you think you're looking for? Usually the reasons were not positive, yeah, a lot of times.

Speaker 2

What people little. Key point is you think you're anonymous. You're not.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

I send some documentation. I can get your IP address. I can get your address name, date of birth. I had a case recently of over Snapchat. Somebody was threatening another kid over Snapchat. Well, I called his mama, who was at work, and he got pulled out of school and we had a conversation. You may hide under a username or unanimous one, two, three, four, dash, five, whatever Right, it's not. Stuff on the internet stays on the internet forever.

Speaker 1

Ever. Yep, and trying to explain that especially to the older generation. Yes, that, that is what's happening. They don't get it. They don't get it.

Speaker 2

And even, like sometimes, I'll explain to my parents they're not old according to the age of elderly, according to the FBI. I'm not calling anybody old, for the record. The FBI.

Speaker 1

I won't be offended.

Speaker 2

You can blame the FBI. They say anybody from 16 up is considered elderly and so my parents are getting close to that and I'll be like oh yeah, I did whatever, whatever on this app. They're like you did what I'm like.

Speaker 2

All right, we'll break it down step by step by step, or my mom for the longest time didn't realize there's a new feature on social media where if you post to Instagram, it'll automatically upload it to Facebook. Correct, and she was going on a rant saying Facebook is doing this. Then I'm like well, mom, you're doing that. Let me just turn that setting off for you.

Speaker 1

Thank you Right, we can, we can stop some of that. Yeah, I had the same issue with my mom, but here's one. And tell me, if you guys have come across this, this and this is what I fear for my parents, or anybody's parents for that matter. The AI generated voices that call I'm in trouble, I'm in trouble, mama, mama, screaming, crying you know and identifying that Steve Krokoff says well, you just unlocked a new fear for me, but it's happening a lot of the like.

Speaker 2

We're not hearing the AI, a lot of criminals. I'm not going to give them the benefit of the doubt. They're not that smart. They use their actual voices. They'll use like a changer, that kind of changes the tone or the pitch but, we haven't seen actual, just straight up.

Speaker 1

AI voices.

Speaker 2

As technology progresses, AI is getting more and more involved and incorporated in all of our cases.

Speaker 1

more and more involved and incorporated in all of our cases. Yep, yep, it's scary, it's really scary. So, as we're talking about all these types of elder fraud, give us the warning signs. What should people be looking for, I mean, when they're getting these?

Speaker 2

texts or these emails or these calls help us out here. So if you see, if you get an email, a text or anything like that and it has a link, don't click on it.

Speaker 1

Right.

Speaker 2

I would just avoid it at all costs. Just don't click on it because you never know, it could look official. But if you start looking into the nitty-gritty of hey, this email address, it has Chase Bank's name in it, right, and then it's got this weird little asterisk or something like that. Okay, that's kind of fake. A lot of scams recently just across the general population are the toll scams. They're getting the text messages saying hey, your car passed a toll and you need to pay this thing. I got one yesterday. I get them on my work phone so I send the phone number a picture of my badge and I was like nice, try and I block it. Um, so I don't click on the links. That's amazing. Um, I find it comical because it's my work phone. I was like people will call and try and scam me on said work phone and I answer I'm like hello, this is Detective Moore with the City of Milton Place Department Criminal Investigation Division and they still try and scam me. I'm like really.

Speaker 2

No, thank you, Rude. But just don't click on any links. And if you do answer the phone and someone's like, hey, you missed jury duty, that's false. If you ever question someone's identity, if they're saying that they're law enforcement or anything like that I've had a lot of times I don't blame them. They hang up on me because I kind of sound like sweet little southern voice. I've heard my voicemail. It sounds fake. I can't, no matter how hard I tried, it just doesn't sound real. But I I was like, if you have any questions, you can look me up on the City of Milton's website.

Speaker 2

You can find my picture. You can call the Alpharetta Milton Dispatch and they'll patch you back through to my desk phone, which is set number, but you can always verify it that way. Other than that, if you're like, oh, this is weird, hang up. Yeah, just hang up, yeah, just hang up, don't answer it. And if anything, if they're asking for payment in any type of gift card, straight up scam.

Speaker 1

That's what baffles me the age that I am and all the red flags that are up there to pay a court with gift cards.

Speaker 2

Hmm, yeah, a lot of it is part of the fear factor, of they're saying you're going to be arrested, you're going to be prosecuted, you're going to be deported. Especially in today's climate, that is a big fear for some people. Sure, of course it is. And so they use that fear and that vulnerability and they go after it.

Speaker 1

Wow, that's crazy. I don't know how we got here.

Speaker 2

I don't either.

Elder Fraud Statistics and Recovery Chances

Speaker 2

I don't know, so give us some statistics. I know you've got a wealth of information over there, so give us some statistics that we know what we're looking at. So, unfortunately, the 2024 statistics, they haven't come out yet, so I've got some older statistics from 2023. In terms of elder fraud, fbi they have got like a complaint database, the FBI. They don't necessarily like investigate these complaints, but they compile it for statistics. In 2023, elder fraud increased by 14%. So in terms of, like We'll say, anybody from the ages of 60 and older, approximately $3.4 million were stolen due to fraud in elderly victims.

Speaker 2

On average, the victim of elder fraud lost approximately $33,000 in 2023. The average. That is the average, and there are some cases where it could be anywhere from like $50 and they caught on to it. Or, unfortunately, I had a case early on in my career where an individual, his retirement almost like $4 million, was just gone. It just breaks my heart and unfortunately, in a lot of these cases where it is financial, that money, they're not going to get it back.

Speaker 2

I was going to ask you what are the chances that any of this is recovered more than likely it will not be recovered, because once the money's taken, it's gone, it's no way to trace it different bacon cows all across the world because a lot of the times with our scams we're finding that their ip addresses are in nigeria, they're in china, so they're well outside of our jurisdiction of the United States of being able to prosecute even these crimes.

Speaker 1

Like a lot of them.

Speaker 2

like I've identified the exact individual, I know what neighborhood or what area in Nigeria he is.

Speaker 1

Can't do anything about it.

Speaker 2

I can't, and the only way that they could potentially get their money back is if a judge were to order restitution. But if we can't bring them to the United States for like a thousand dollar fraud case, Right. So we do like to preface that right off the bat, of like, unless your bank is willing to work with you or something along those lines, the anything that we do in this case will not get you your money back for the most part.

Speaker 1

So you need to be prepared for that. That should be a big motivator to start paying a little bit more attention, because I feel like the banks and chief mentioned this as well that the banks have gotten so good at identifying fraudulent attempts and bank accounts and stuff that a lot of us have relaxed a little bit on our vigilance.

Speaker 2

Yes, and we do get reports from different banking institutions saying, hey, there's something hinky with this elderly couple's account. This is what the charge that we're kind of thinking is kind of weird. Can you take a look at it? We'll call them Obviously a lot of times I think we're scammers. I completely understand. You can even come to the department. You can see me face to face Right. A lot of the times it's like, oh no, I ordered my grandson. A lot of the times it's like, oh no, I ordered my grandson, those Jordans. It's like, okay, that's fine, I just wanted to make sure have a great day.

Speaker 2

A lot of the times they're like I have no idea what you're talking about. It's like, okay, we'll go from there. And a lot of the times with banking institutions, if you're not checking your credit Right, I was a victim of identity fraud. Back realized I was like well, I did not sign up for a Lowe's or Sephora gift card. So when you realize that you're a victim of a scam, there's like a series of things that you need to do in order to protect yourself in the long run.

Speaker 2

Me I didn't follow my own advice. I didn't have my credit frozen.

Speaker 1

Oh.

Speaker 2

So ever since then, on all three Credit Experian, equififax and TransUnion it's frozen. So I don't know who would want to be me but they can't do it anymore.

Speaker 1

I think about that a lot, especially with my kids coming up. How are they going to protect themselves? What can we do? My husband's very good at watching things and so if I spend anything, my husband's right there going. Spend anything, my husband's right there going. Hey, were you just at Kroger?

Speaker 2

Um, yeah yeah, I, I went and got lunch, he goes.

Speaker 1

Okay, I'm just checking, I just got to watch this stuff and I'm I'm appreciative of that, but work has taught me a lot about links I have. I'm not going to lie, it's embarrassing. I am a person who understands and knows to look at the email addresses, but they catch me at the most inopportune times, when I'm in a hurry or it just happens to be something that I think I should know about and I don't, and I'm like, oh my goodness, and I click the link and then I end up in training again.

Speaker 2

Yeah, so even people, even us. I will admit I have clicked on one of those gosh darn links because it looked so real and I wasn't paying attention. It was from somebody important. So I'm like multitasking and I look at it and I'm like awesome, I have to train that training again, oops. I was like it's basically like hi, gotcha, you failed. And it's like gosh, darn it, Dang it, Ashley.

Speaker 2

Everybody has fallen for it on every scale of education and it's really just if you see a link and it is, you're kind of weary on whether to trust her or not don't click on it. If you get a text from your bank or a phone call from your bank saying hey, we've seen fraudulent account, just hang up the phone, look at that text message, log into your bank account in UC.

Speaker 2

Cause I've gotten those calls from on my personal cell phone Like hey, somebody's trying to do whatever on your bank account. I was like, all right, so I've logged into my bank account. I don't see it, it's not there. So I call a branch directly. It's like okay, I got this phone call. I've checked. I just want to verify with you guys that that was a scam. They're like, yeah, that was a scam, we wouldn't call you and I was like, okay, well, I just want to verify.

Speaker 1

Well, and that's good. Because then now we're getting into a time where, when you're trying to log into certain accounts, they've got so many authenticator processes and they're like can you give me your phone number and your address? And I'm like, oh yeah, I really don't want to. Well, I need to authenticate your account and it's actually valid, right? Or the ones that still ask for your social security number. I'm like, ooh, I might have to call you back because I don't trust you.

Speaker 2

Yeah and anything. If you get a phone call and they're claiming whether it is the financial or if it's like the IRS, we've gotten that as well or social security, like okay, we need your information over the phone.

Speaker 1

IRS isn't going to call you.

Speaker 2

No, we did have an unfortunate case where an individual they fully believed it was the IRS and they lost a fair amount of money in gift cards. They are very big in gift cards because as soon as that money's gone, it's gone.

Speaker 1

There's no way to trace it, right? No, I get it, because that's what they're after. Is that low traceability factor, right? Darn gift cards and, if I'm correct, you all have actually gone to merchants in different storefronts and educated the store clerks and managers and stuff. If somebody's coming in asking for $1,000 in gift cards, that should be something you should pay attention to.

Speaker 2

Yes, and there was at one point when I was on patrol and I was standing there, I was getting me a little snacky snack from Target, asking for $1,000 in gift cards. Yes, that should be something you should pay attention to. Yes, and there was at one point when I was on patrol and I was standing there, I was getting me a little snacky snack from Target and I see this sweet little meemaw. She's at a checkout and she's got a stack of gift cards.

Speaker 2

I'm like either she's got 30 grandchildren and there's some type of family reunion or something's going on.

Speaker 2

Right, so I went and I talked to the manager. I was like how long has she been here and how often has she been here? And they're like, oh, this is her second time today. And I was like, all right, so I pulled her aside and I talked to her and I was like this is the reason why I'm talking to you. I'm a little concerned. She explained it to me. I was like you need to go to your local police department and you need to report it. Any gift cards that you have. What they usually do is they want you to send a picture of the back with the information scratched off.

Speaker 2

Don't send any of those, any gift cards that you have right now that you've already purchased. Go speak with customer service and see if they can refund it. Or you just have gift cards now. A lot of them, yeah, a lot of them.

How to Protect Yourself and Report Fraud

Speaker 1

It's just very unfortunate. It breaks my heart, it's a little scary, but it's definitely something that we all need to be processing. If you see something, say something. Yeah, yes, that goes for everybody, not just Detective Moore walking through Target getting a snacky snack, right.

Speaker 2

Yes, and we have had cases of where a manager, an employee, will pull us aside if we're just walking. They're like, hey, this person has been trying to, whether it's a scammer using like 15 different gift cards, or it's somebody buying a bunch of gift cards like hey, this is kind of weird, just wanted to let you know like awesome, thank you so much, and 99 of the time it's a case for us and we'll work it from there yeah, wow, crazy.

Speaker 1

So how do we protect ourselves? What do? What do we do aside from hyper vigilance on the links and whatnot? What else can we do?

Speaker 2

in order in terms of like, say, if you do, if you get off the phone like you know what? I just gave them my date of birth and my social security number. I probably shouldn't have done that. Freeze your credit. Yeah, congratulations. You've got my social security number. You can probably not really do much with it. You can't get a credit card. You can't get a loan, you can't really do much with that.

Speaker 2

If you're not technology savvy. If there's somebody that you trust that can help you with those three credit bureaus, which is Experian, equifax and TransUnion, get their help. Get a trusted individual like hey, can you help me freeze my credit?

Speaker 1

So say, you freeze your credit. How long does it have to stay that way? What do you do to repair it? You're not getting a new social security number, so, or are you?

Speaker 2

So that would be more of a question for Social Security. I know that you can reapply for a new Social Security number. What those circumstances are, that's more of a them question if you can get a hold of them. But that's kind of like for your Social Security is making sure that your credit is safe. Because, even when my identity was stolen, my credit was dinged like 200 points Yikes, and that was a lot.

Speaker 2

It is a lot and so thankfully if you go on those and say your credit's not frozen yet, so you go through and you can report those like hey, this is fraud, this is fraud and you do it on all three of them. They'll take it off your credit.

Speaker 1

Oh, right on.

Speaker 2

And it's great, and so you can freeze it. So my credit is frozen all year round, 24 7. It's a pain in the butt if you got to buy a car or a house.

Speaker 1

I was going to say how do you manipulate that situation?

Speaker 2

Then you have to go back on all three and unfreeze them. It's a pain in the behind but in terms of your long-term safety, for your credit, it's kind of worth it. Even my daughter she's one years old. I have her credit frozen because that is a scam as well. Unfortunately, it's family members who are not the best of people, or random Joe Schmoes across the world will get that Social Security number and by the time they turn 18, they try to get a credit card.

Speaker 2

And it's ruined and there's really nothing that they can do about it at that point, besides just try and work towards it, and that's not fair to them.

Speaker 1

No, not at all.

Speaker 2

And even with like a lot of with the three credit bureaus if you say you have a power of attorney over your elderly parent. You can upload those documents to those three places and say look, I have power of attorney, I want to freeze their credit. You can do that. They will let you do that on their behalf If you show the proper documentation saying that, hey, I'm in charge of all this stuff for them and I just want to protect them.

Speaker 1

That's a great idea. Didn't even know you could do that.

Speaker 2

Mm, hmm.

Speaker 1

Mm, hmm.

Speaker 2

Yes, and then there's also a few places that you can report it. They won't necessarily investigate it, it's more for statistics, like I had mentioned earlier you can report it to the FBI. In terms of social security, if your identity is stolen, you can go to identitytheftgov and you can basically say hey, this is what happened to me, this is how much I lost.

Speaker 2

So here's my information. Obviously, if you got burned with an internet scam, going on the internet, it's not going to be kind of a fun place, correct? You can always, obviously, find a trusted individuals like hey, I fell for this. I need your help Because obviously the first step would be to tell somebody.

Speaker 1

Right.

Speaker 2

Preferably your local law enforcement, because if you tell your daughter or your son or your family member like hey, I fell victim to a scam and I'm kind of ashamed about it, like okay, well, that's okay, mom, and they move on, a lot of it's not reported to us at all just because of like, oh well, you know, it wasn't that much money. I'm not going to waste the department's time or there's no solvability factors. They're probably across the country, whatever. But in order a lot of times to get that ball rolling, to get that stuff off your credit to you need the police report you need that police report, especially with the financial institutions.

Speaker 1

They need that police report and aside from that, that's really why y'all are there is to help the public in all these situations, which is amazing, and I give milton pd an immense amount of credit about the accessibility y'all have to the public and very open and willing to chat and address all these issues.

Speaker 2

So we try and be transparent and speak with the community, kind of like in these situations like this, um, doing a podcast to kind of get that information out there of like what's possible scans, things like that. We try and talk with anybody. That's one of the things I loved about patrol is I got to talk to so many different people and they would ask me about my job and I would get to give a little information for them yeah like oh yeah, you know how's your day going.

Speaker 2

Oh well, I took this report for a fraud, so you know you should freeze your credit if you think about it or do those little tidbits the ability to do that is amazing.

Speaker 1

Now on cid.

Speaker 2

Obviously it's a little harder to do. That is amazing. Now on CID obviously it's a little harder to do that. We're kind of on that back end. We don't get that initial contact with those individuals, we're just the point of contact. To some people it's one of the worst things that's ever happened to them, sure, and we're their primary contact for that, and so it's not as fun, obviously, given that type of information like. I'm so sorry that this has happened to you Right.

Speaker 2

Cause you get the post event and fall out a lot of the times. There is a lot of trauma associated with this. Um. One of the statistics that I got from the national institute of justice is that about 31 percent of the victims anywhere from like 60 or older experience moderate emotional distress and about 29 percent experienced mild and then 27 percent. Out of all of the statistics so that's like 2010 to like 2020.

Speaker 1

So about 27 percent experienced severe emotional distress there's a lot of shame in that to know that you know you're smarter than that and you know better, but you still fell victim and there's a lot of shame associated with that. And it shouldn't be that way because, as we talked earlier, we all kind of fall somewhere on that.

Speaker 2

It happens to everybody. I had an older family member who had fallen victim to it. Even on my in-law's side they had fallen victim to it. Even on my in-law's side they had fallen victim to it and I didn't find out for a year because they didn't want to tell me, because they know that I'm in law enforcement and they felt embarrassed. But you're the one they should tell you would think that, but because I deal with this every day and I've told them about it. They were so embarrassed.

Speaker 2

And they didn't want to talk about it, they didn't want me to know. But at the end of the day, whether it's, all I can offer you are words of encouragement or just you know, I'm really sorry this happened to you. If you just want to talk about it, like I may not be able to do anything for you, like say this case isn't in my jurisdiction, I will help lead you in the right way. You want to have a conversation about it? You don't have anybody to talk to? Well, I'm free for the next five minutes. You want to have a conversation about kind of what you're feeling? Cause, at the end of the day, we're here for the public. So if you need that shoulder to cry on for a minute or two, I'm here for you. You need some advice? I'm here for you, and that's kind of what we try and do.

Speaker 1

Absolutely and I can appreciate that and I love that. Everybody that I've talked to through PD I've only been here since July. I think I say that in every podcast so all the listeners know how long I've been here. Sorry, but you all have been so open about that and I feel like the perception of police and everything is people are generally, you know they avoid going to the police station. I know I grew up thinking that that was the last place I should be and for a lot of reasons I followed that and I never ended up in a police station for the wrong reasons. The good news is that it's a great place and a great resource for things that are happening in your community, for questions that you have regarded to safety, or if you see something or if you're worried about something.

Speaker 2

Y'all are a fabulous resource for that oh yeah, whether that's either going to the actually going inside our department and you want to talk to somebody, awesome, an officer will be dispatched to you. If you have some generic questions, maybe one of the nice ladies at the front they can answer those questions they're lovely they are so nice they're my favorite.

Speaker 2

Yep, I go say hi to them every morning. Um, or it's whether you want to talk with an officer on the phone. You call the non-emergency number. An officer will call you. Or if you want to talk to a detective, they'll let us know and we'll, we'll talk to you, we'll kind of answer those questions.

Speaker 2

You'd go on the city's website and you can like submit a little response. Yep, um, a feature that sometimes we didn't even know was possible, because I got an email from the city's website and I was like that seems like a scam it wasn't I verified it through the chain of command. It was not a scam.

Final Advice and Contacts

Speaker 1

It looked a little sketchy I never got one of these before well, I never knew it was a thing.

Speaker 2

It was like a year after I had became a detective and I was like I've never gotten this, this seems. So I reported it as a phishing alert and it came back and I was like no, it's not phishing. I was like oh, oh, good Okay. Okay, well then I'll move forward from there. But you can even, you know, ask questions or anything like that on the city's website email all of our contact information, all the detectives. Our emails are out there.

Speaker 1

Our desk phones are out there on the website, shoot us an email, any questions, phone call in person. We're here to answer those questions for you, sure? So, as we're talking about contact information and where to find it, number one, the city website is wwwmiltongagov. Head on over to the police section and you can click there and you'll find all the information detective moore was just referring to. For ease and convenience, do you want to share any of those numbers, your email or the best number for people to contact if they've been a victim or they know somebody who has been a victim of one of these crimes?

Speaker 2

So if we're talking about somebody who has been victimized and they haven't reported it, the best place to go because if you call my desk phone I'll be like I'm so sorry that this has happened to you, but we kind of need to go through the proper channels. And you know an initial report needs to be done. They'll get all that information and I'll work the back end and I'll start sending out my subpoenas and things like that. So the best, like first step, is to call that Alpharetta Milton non-emergency number and what's that it?

Speaker 2

is 678-297-6314. And even if you Google Alpharetta Dispatch we do share, because that's our sister agency is Alpharetta, we share a dispatch center, so it'll just say Alpharetta it's still us Gotcha Because they'll answer the phone and say Alpharetta, Milton and Fire. But if you think somebody has been victimized of fraud or you are yourself a victim of fraud, contact your local police department first and foremost.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

Then you can go through the steps of. A lot of times the officers will tell you is like OK, well, have you called your bank? No, ok, go ahead and start that fraud case with your bank. Have you frozen your credit? Have you checked your credit? Things like that. And if they aren't super technology savvy, a lot of times we might ask, hey, do you have somebody who that you trust, that we can call on your behalf and see if they can help you get this information? Like, hey, I'm the officer, I'm the detective over your mom's case. This is the information that I need. Can you help her get that, or can you help?

Speaker 2

her do that.

Speaker 1

Right.

Speaker 2

And those are kind of the steps for that.

Speaker 1

That's awesome. I love that. As we're wrapping this up, is there anything else you want to share with everybody regarding this that they really need to know and pay attention to?

Speaker 2

If they're asking for gift cards, it's a scam. If they're calling you saying you missed jury duty, you have a warrant or anything like that, 95% of the time it is a scam. Hang up the phone, Anything like that, the IRS. They will not call you. The Social Security office they will not call you. 95% of the time, the banks will not call you.

Speaker 1

The toll roads aren't even going to call you.

Speaker 2

No, A lot of people are like, oh my goodness, I was on vacation recently.

Speaker 1

It's called phishing.

Speaker 2

for a reason they are literally phishing, but it's P-H, not F. They are phishing for that information, to find somebody who is vulnerable enough to click on that link, to call them back, to do any of this in order to get that money, because, at the end of the day, that's all they want. They want your information or they want your money.

Speaker 1

Yep.

Speaker 2

But those are the kind of things, the main things to look out for. Be weary of anything on the Internet. Just because it's on the Internet doesn't mean it's true.

Speaker 1

Really.

Speaker 2

I didn't know that one it's so shocking. I know I could go right now and create a Wikipedia document about random stuff.

Speaker 1

Totally editable. Anybody can edit those Wikipedia Kids in college. Do not use that as one of your resources. It is not a valid resource.

Speaker 2

I'm just saying, or if you haven't figured that out by now and you're in college, go ahead and use it, feel free. You will get that grade that you deserve, the grade that you deserve.

Speaker 1

That's funny, yeah, the grade you deserve.

Speaker 2

Yeah, just be weary of everything on the internet. Any phone calls that's calling you about IT bank or anything like that hang up. The best case if you are able, go to your local financial institution branch. Go there, talk to them about it.

Speaker 1

Yep.

Speaker 2

Or talk to a trusted person in your family so that they can help you through that process.

Speaker 1

Don't click on links. Don't click on links. That is going to be the name of this podcast. Don't click on links.

Speaker 2

Even if you Google a lot of websites, you can still fall victim to that If you don't know the website and it's not verified, because what they do is they can mirror a website, a very legitimate website, the same URL and everything, but it's a scam. So you have to be very vigilant.

Speaker 1

And Facebook messages, the DMs, coming through all the platforms. If you coming through all the platforms, don't talk to them.

Speaker 2

Stranger danger is real. Do not talk to strangers on the internet. They could be weirdos. Face-to-face interactions, for the most part, are always best. Obviously there are some restraints and you know driving and things like that, sure, but just don't have so much trust in everybody, yeah. It's terrible to say, but in this day and age you can't trust everybody.

Speaker 1

Nope, you can't. I always said I should have grown up in the 50s. Believe it or not, that was before my time. I mean, I always joke about how old I am, but the 50s were before my time and I'm talking about the 1950s, not the 1850s. So just for clarification. So, detective Moore, thank you so much for being here today. I think this is such important information that needs to be talked about because, as you said, people are embarrassed because they've they've trusted the wrong person, and if you have any questions or anything like that, please be sure to head over to the website. You can use that as your portal to ask these questions. Somebody will help you. Rpd is amazing.

Speaker 2

Well, we appreciate it and thank you so much for having me so I can have the opportunity to kind of get some of this information out there on.

Speaker 1

Anytime, and anytime you got another message you want to share regarding something that you're seeing in the community, give me a shout, We'll throw you back on here and we'll we'll push out the information that people need to hear. So that's the purpose of this. Appreciate you being here. Everybody, Thank you for joining me for this episode of Milton and Maine. I hope you learned something, Hope you got some insight into what is going on out there to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Until next time, stay safe, stay curious. Thanks for listening to Milton and Maine. We hope this episode gave you fresh insights into what makes our city so special. Stay connected and don't miss an episode by subscribing to this podcast on your favorite platform and following us on social media for all updates. And, of course, if you want to learn more about the city, visit us online at wwwmiltongagov for resources, news and upcoming events. Until next time. Thanks for being part of the conversation and we'll see you on the next Milton and Maine.