Losses stemming from these plots are estimated at more than $500 million.

Criminal charges are filed against more than 250 alleged perpetrators in mailing, telemarketing schemes.

The Justice Department announced a broad enforcement sweep targeting financial fraud against the elderly, resulting in charges filed against more than 250 defendants. "Today's actions send a clear message: We will hold perpetrators of elder fraud schemes accountable wherever they are," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in announcing the charges Thursday. The DOJ coordinated with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, in building the cases. The perpetrators allegedly used mass mailing and telemarketing to rip off seniors, as well as identity theft and financial abuse by guardians.

In 2015, individuals made 1,108 calls to the Senate Aging Committee's toll-free fraud hotline. That number more than doubled to 2,282 in 2016. "By bringing cases against these scammers, we send a strong message to other con artists that we will not stand by and allow older Americans to be victimized," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee.

Phony winners

More than a million people, most of whom were elderly, were victimized, according to the Justice Department. In one case, the FTC and the state of Missouri filed charges against two men and their sweepstakes organization. The FTC alleged that seniors would receive mailers claiming that they had just won more than $1 million or that they could win a large cash prize if they answered a question and submited a registration fee. Since 2013, victims lost more than $110 million to this scheme, the FTC said. In another case, the FTC and the state of Missouri pursued defendants who allegedly coordinated with telemarketers to hoodwink the elderly into buying phony tech support services. Some victims of this scheme lost more than $50,000 paying for fake security software. One person paid nearly $400,000 over several years, according to the FTC.

Spotting a ripoff

People who are targets of a sweepstakes scheme get a call, card or an email telling them that they've won a prize, but they'll need to pay a fee or "taxes" in order to pick up their winnings. A legitimate sweepstakes would never ask you to wire money or force you to pay a fee in order to claim your prize. Real offers will also tell you the terms and conditions, including the rules of the contest, according to the FTC. See below for details from the FTC on how to spot and avoid a tech support scam.

Targeting retirees

Older Americans are losing about $36.5 billion each year to elder financial abuse, according to 2015 data from True Link Financial. Meanwhile, 3 in 10 state securities regulators report seeing an increase in senior financial fraud, according to data from the North American Securities Administrators Association. See below for examples of fraud schemes targeting the elderly.</s>The Justice Department announced a broad enforcement sweep targeting financial fraud against the elderly, resulting in charges filed against more than 250 defendants.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions discussed the charges during a press conference in Washington on Thursday.

Justice coordinated with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, in building the cases.

The perpetrators allegedly used mass mailing and telemarketing to rip off seniors, as well as individual incidences of identity theft and financial abuse by guardians.

"Today's actions send a clear message: We will hold perpetrators of elder fraud schemes accountable wherever they are," said Sessions.</s>WASHINGTON: More than 250 people were charged in a major U.S. crackdown on elder fraud scams that victimized over 1 million people and led to US$500 million in losses, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.

The scams included the use of mass mailing, telemarketing and investment frauds as well as identity theft and theft by guardians, the department said in a statement announcing the criminal and civil charges.

Some of the schemes included scams where people were falsely told they had won a lottery but had to pre-pay a fee or taxes, while in other scams a senior was told a grandchild had been arrested and needed money for bail, the department said.

Globally, 200 defendants were charged criminally and another 50 face civil or other charges, the department said.

"Today is only the beginning. I have directed department prosecutors to coordinate with both domestic law enforcement partners and foreign counterparts to stop these criminals from exploiting our seniors," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.

The sweep was carried out by the Justice Department, FBI, Federal Trade Commission and the Iowa and Kansas attorneys general, among others.</s>MOBILE USERS, CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL VIDEO

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Trump administration says it is cracking down on scams that target elderly people.

Attorney General Sessions said Thursday that last month, cases were filed against 40 people for scamming about 1 million victims.

He also called for more awareness about Ponzi schemes, lottery scams, and people pretending to be with the IRS.

“We need to spread the word about this, so please, if you or someone you know was victimized by an elder fraud scheme, report it to the Federal Trade Commission,” Sessions said. “We will be following up on those reports.”

The attorney general said more than 200 people have been charged in elder fraud schemes.

The suspects are accused of stealing from more than 1 million Americans of more than $500 million.

WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:
• GET KRON4 NEWS ON YOUR AMAZON ALEXA DEVICE
The Trump administration through the U.S. Justice Department announces charges filed against more than 250 defendants in senior-citizen fraud schemes totaling $500 million.