Get Tips on Avoiding Scams in Kentucky

FBI intelligence analyst Erin Smith says Kentuckians should know that being targeted by a scammer is not something to be embarrassed about. It can happen to anyone at any age, says Smith, who is based in Louisville.

“I eat, sleep and breathe fraud, and I feel that these guys are good enough that one day I might click on the wrong thing,” she says. “If it’s the right time, the right place, the right social engineering, any of us is susceptible.”

Kentucky consumers of all ages reported losing nearly $49 million to fraud in 2023, FBI data shows. Officials note that fraud is typically underreported, so the true figure is likely higher.

To address the threat, AARP Kentucky is hosting a series of scam jams across the state this year. Local authorities will share the best ways to spot and avoid the latest fraud schemes.

As of mid-December, Kentuckians age 60 and over had reported to the FBI losing nearly $11 million just to investment fraud scams in 2024, Smith says.

Criminals may prefer to target older individuals for a number of reasons, including that they often have more assets than younger people who haven’t yet built up nest eggs, says Marjoe Jennings, an FBI supervisory special agent based in Covington.

Gary Adkins, who is AARP Kentucky’s volunteer state president and a former felony prosecutor for the state of Kentucky, urges everyone who has encountered fraud to report it. A good place to start: the AARP Fraud Network Helpline at 877-908-3360. Odds are low that lost money can be recovered, but the more that authorities know about current frauds, the better chance they have of building cases, Adkins notes.

AARP Kentucky will hold scam jams in Highland Heights on April 11, Lexington on June 4, Louisville on June 5, and Paducah on June 12. Go to aarp.org/kyscamjams.

—David Lewellen