Cyberfraud scams costing Pennsylvanians billions of dollars each year, AG Henry says
Scammers are swiping billions of dollars from Pennsylvanians each year, manipulating them into making fraudulent wire transfers.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said the issue is only worsening as the schemes — including technical support, romance, government impersonation, and investment fraud — become increasingly sophisticated.
In a first-of-its-kind hearing Wednesday in Bucks County, several cyberfraud victims shared their experiences with state leaders who said more can be done to protect them.
"We hope that this event spurs action that will ultimately prevent fraud and give consumers more opportunity to recover assets when they are victimized," Henry said. "I have heard far too many stories of hard-working Pennsylvanians who had all or significant portions of their life savings taken through cyber-based fraud."
Older Pennsylvanians, she said, are generally more at risk because they have more money in the bank. But anyone can fall victim.
Keith and Deb Marsh, a retired priest and nurse, said they were scammed out of their retirement and savings — more than $850,000 in total — after con artists convinced them their bank accounts had been compromised. It started with a pop-up on their computer that warned he should "call this number immediately."
To protect their money, the couple was told they'd have to transfer it into "dummy accounts" the bank set up for them.
"I think all of us, we have an innate fear of being scammed, so as soon as it reared its head, it's like, 'Oh my God, it's happening,' and you just panic," Keith Marsh said. "This person speaking to us seemed like a lifeline, you know, 'We're going to help you get through this,' and so you believe."
The often emotional accounts shared during the hearing varied, but the result was the same. Each victim was convinced to make large wire transfers, and their bank never asked any questions.
State law enforcement and legislative leaders say financial institutions can and should be doing more to spot and stop these transfers from happening. Republican state Rep. Joe Hogan of Bucks County plans to introduce a bill to give bank employees more authority to flag suspicious activity, freeze the transfer for a few days and alert law enforcement.
"They see the example of someone coming in that they know is a victim of this type of scam, and they can't do anything about it," Hogan said. "It's that person's money. They're going to give it to them if they ask for it."
A similar bill passed with bipartisan support in the House last session but failed to come up for a vote in the Senate.
Hogan believes they can get it across the finish line this year.
"Billions of dollars are being stolen every single year here in Pennsylvania and almost none of it comes back, he said. "We have to find out ways to protect more people."
If you believe you're the victim of fraud, you can report it to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Rapid Response Fraud Team here.