Scams have always been part of the American landscape. But today, they are pervasive and require constant vigilance. Florida residents have particular reason to be wary: 2024 data from the Federal Trade Commission showed the Sunshine State led the nation in cases of fraud, identity theft and associated losses.
A 9/18/26 Associated Press article, One Thing That Hasn’t Changed in 250 Years: Americans’ Willingness to Get Suckered, talks about the growing threat. “The guardrails are off right now,” Dr. Lisa Kang states in the article. Kang, associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and author of Quackery, a book about medical fads, adds: “It’s actually worse than it had been before, because of social media, because of what’s on the internet, and because the so-called trusted people we’re supposed to be getting advice from are not trustworthy. And I think that puts the American public in far greater danger.”
Fraud Wars
Keeping your and your loved ones’ identity, health and money safe is now a fulltime job. The good news is that there are numerous trustworthy resources to educate us about the emerging dangers. One useful resource is the AARP’s Fraud Wars video series. Fraud victims tell their stories in the videos, describing how they got ensnared, the tactics of the scammers, and what we should know to prevent it from happening to us. Here are a few of their stories:
Love For Her Grandson Made Her A Scammer’s Target
“FBI” Stole my 600K… Then Vanished
A Linked In Specialist Cost Me $675K
How Scammers Turned Me Into Their Next Victim
Apple Pay Scam Wiped Out Her Savings
There are several additional stories on the AARP website. Click here.
