Ramping up the Fight Against Fraud in Illinois

Candice Trees, a 71-year-old retiree from Springfield, was suspicious of the first two men she met through an online dating site for older adults.

But the third guy was a charmer. He said he, too, was from Illinois, although he was working abroad. They talked for several months over Skype and other platforms, and she had started to feel a real connection with him by the time he asked to borrow $2,000.

“It was, ‘Oh, I love you ... We’re going to be together,’” recalls Trees, an AARP volunteer and member of the group’s Executive Council. “It was a hook, and then it’s a slow ... reel-you-in type of thing.”

She lent him the money. Then he asked to “borrow” more—$10,000 this time.

At that point, she realized he was a scammer.

Trees has plenty of company. In 2024, more than 71,000 Illinois consumers reported cases of fraud, including identity theft and imposter scams, with losses totaling $318.1 million, Federal Trade Commission data shows. Officials say due to underreporting, the true numbers are far higher.

The magnitude of the losses has prompted AARP Illinois to step up its fraud prevention efforts through advocacy and education.

On the latter front, Teresa Jones and Courtney Hedderman, both AARP associate state directors for outreach, teamed up to form the Fraud Fighting Fraudlettes. They host an online program on the last Monday of every month, featuring guests on topics ranging from health care fraud to grandparent scams to romance schemes. Upcoming topics include mail fraud, gift card scams and ways to keep your information safe while traveling.

“We’ve always ... had some fraud prevention,” Hedderman says. “But we really want to beef it up.”

In January, they hosted a program on scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs—also known as Bitcoin ATMs or virtual currency kiosks—that have popped up in gas stations, convenience stores and other businesses. Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is not sponsored or managed by any government.

The ATMs are one way for people to convert dollars into crypto. But they are also a tool for criminals to steal large sums of money from unsuspecting consumers.

The FTC says that losses through scams involving crypto ATM increased almost tenfold nationally from 2020 to 2023. During the first half of 2024, losses topped $65 million, with people 60 and older more than three times as likely as younger adults to report a loss.

AARP Illinois is also working with state lawmakers on steps to boost regulation of crypto ATMs and add new consumer protections.

One measure currently pending in the Legislature, sponsored by state Sen. Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) would require crypto ATM operators to identify and mitigate the risks of fraud involved with virtual currency kiosks and to post warnings about crypto, stating that virtual currency is not legal tender, not backed by the U.S. government and that losses due to fraud may be not be recoverable.

Jones says AARP is urging Ellman to add additional consumer protections to the bill.

With AARP’s support, other states have passed laws to curb crypto ATM-related fraud. For example, Vermont has a $1,000 daily cash transaction limit. In Minnesota, daily transactions are capped at $2,000 for new crypto ATM customers, and they can get refunds for fraud losses if reported within 14 days.

Coming forward is key

Trees says she never reported her fraud loss because she was embarrassed—something advocates and law enforcement officials say is common.

Like many other fraud victims, the crime against Trees came at a tough time in her life. John, her husband of almost 48 years, died of COVID-19 in June 2022.

“Loneliness is a real thing,” she says. So she signed up for an online dating app, just to see how it would go.

She quickly got matched with a couple of guys but they both seemed sketchy. The third prospect, the charmer, was more sophisticated and smoother. He told her he was working in China on a “big business deal,” she says.

The alarm bells started going off after he asked for the $10,000. When she said no, “Then it was like, ‘Well, could you send me $5,000 ... How about $4,000?’” she says.

Trees stopped all communications with him.

She now spends her time volunteering on AARP Illinois’ fraud prevention efforts.

“It isn’t hard to become a victim of a scammer,” she says, vowing that it will not happen to her again.

To find upcoming AARP Illinois fraud presentations, visit states.aarp.org/illinois/fraud-fighting-fraudlettes. If you have been targeted by scammers, you can call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360. It’s free and open to the public.

Ann Hardie spent a decade covering aging issues for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She has written for the Bulletin for 16 years.

Also of interest:

• $12.5 Billion Reported Lost to Scams and Fraud in 2024, Older Adults Hit Hard
• Military Community Lost Nearly 25 Percent More to Scammers in 2024, FTC Reports
• Learn How to Avoid Romance Scams