Scams & Fraud

As criminals adapt the ways they scam and defraud people, advocates are asking for daily transaction limits on crypto ATMs and other consumer protections.

Scam artists have a shiny, new tool to take your hard-earned money. While the nature of the scam remains consistent—often preying on our emotions or manufacturing a sense of urgency—the method of getting your money is evolving with technology. Instead of purchasing gift cards or transferring money through wire services, the use of crypto ATMs is on the rise, and they are popping up at convenience stores, gas stations and other high-traffic areas in your community.

Paper documents are a common source of identity theft. Protect yourself by shredding sensitive documents at our free shredding events. We'll also accept old TVs, CPUs, monitors, laptops and cellphones for safe disposal.

REGISTER HERE for the April event, Friday April 18th at 10:30am.

With another tax season wrapped up, it’s a great time to streamline your household filing system by safely purging documents with personal information.

The number of Washington households with access to the internet is growing, but new users may not be ready for the Wild West that is the World Wide Web.

AARP Washington State's podcast on health, wealth and self, living your best life after age 50. We focus on life transitions and new ways to be happy & healthy. Hosted by Bruce Carlson.

U.S. veterans are disproportionately targeted by scam artists, with 35 percent of veterans losing money to fraud compared with 25 percent of civilians, according to a 2021 AARP survey.

Think you’re savvy enough to avoid being ripped off? Think again. Last year, Washington consumers lost more than $135 million to fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That’s nearly double the amount lost in 2020.

To help those 50-plus stay vigilant in the fight against scammers, AARP Washington is hosting two online events each month.