CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County residents lose more than a million dollars annually to scams, prompting the Scam Squad to intensify efforts to prevent financial fraud.

Sheryl Harris, Director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs, described the Scam Squad as a specialized task force dedicated to combating financial fraud in collaboration with over 40 law enforcement and non-profit partners. In an interview with the New Sun, Harris provided tips on identifying scams and highlighted the groups most vulnerable to these fraudulent activities.

“Americans lose billions of dollars each year,” Harris said. “We had more than a million dollars in scam losses reported just to this office last year. That’s not even including all of our partners because residents might report to the FCC or to the FBI or to their local police or somewhere else. We’re talking millions of dollars are being lost by Cuyahoga County residents every year to scams, so no one is alone. This is a problem we all encounter, and there’s help.”

How to Spot a Scam

Harris explained that scammers target individuals through various channels, including phones, mail, and online platforms, with emails and calls being the most frequently reported methods.

“Anytime someone asks for money, and anytime someone tries to scare you or panic you and then tell you that the solution involves sending money that should be a red flag,” Harris said. “Never send money anywhere, to anyone, until you talk to another person and you figure out how you can independently verify. Sometimes that’s just calling Scam Squad or calling the police or talking to a friend or a relative.”

Another tactic scammers use is to keep their victims on the phone with fake threats.

“They might say you’ll be arrested or that law enforcement will seize your bank accounts and assets or that a loved one is in jail and their bond will be denied or something like that,” she said. “They don’t want you to hang up and find out it’s all fake.”

Anyone Can Get Scammed

It’s not just your great aunt being conned into sending money to a fictitious Nigerian prince. Harris warns that scams target people of all ages, with storylines and methods constantly evolving.

“The type of scam changes by age, so older people might be more targeted by scams where people are telling them there’s something wrong with a retirement or bank account or something like that because they tend to have larger accounts,” Harris said. “Middle-aged people tend to be more targeted by romance-type scams. There’s a scam for everyone. So, if you’re a younger person thinking, ‘Well, it’s only old people like my grandma and grandpa who get scammed, not me,’ you might be less likely to be on the lookout for a scam. It’s really important to know there are lots of scams, and with technology and AI and developing technologies, it’s getting easier for scammers to pull pretty sophisticated storylines.”

While many believe scam victims are more likely to be elderly, Harris notes that younger people aged 18-25 are most likely to be targeted and fall for schemes. The type of scam varies by age, with young adults being targeted with employment and student loan schemes.

“It can be random but scammers are aware of the age groups that they’re targeting,” Harris said. “More young people than old people lose money to scams but younger people tend to lose less money because they haven’t amassed savings over a lifetime. So when older people lose money to scams, they tend to lose a lot more.”

She added that younger people new to the workforce may be unfamiliar with employment and tax processes, making them vulnerable to job-related schemes.

“If anyone ever sends you a check and tells you to forward part of the money, that’s a scam,” Harris said. “You should not deposit the check. Should not be in contact with the person. No legit business ever does that - gives you a check and tells you to forward thousands of dollars to someone from it to someone else. There’s never a reason to do that. That’s always a scam, and it gets dressed up in all different ways. But younger people tend to get hooked on this sort of job scams and student loan repayment scams.”

Common Scams

Harris shared several types of scams reported by Cuyahoga County residents.

“A scammer calls and tells them they missed a court hearing, or they missed jury duty, or they’re in trouble with the law because someone has used a person’s information to buy stuff for crimes like drugs, guns, cars,” Harris said. “When people hear this kind of thing, they kind of panic, right? Then the fake law enforcement agent tells them, ‘You’re drawing a warrant for your arrest, so you need to you’re going to need to pay this now and we won’t come and arrest you.’”

Scammers often try to “freak out” their victims with a “multi-layered scheme” to induce panic and confusion, Harris said.

“The scammers always say there’s a reason they can’t tell anyone,” Harris said. “In one case, someone said, ‘Well, you can’t tell your spouse what’s happening, because then he’ll be implicated in this crime. He’ll be an accessory,’” Harris said. “What we would really like people to know is that these scams are very multi-layered. They’re really panic-inducing. And the fact is, real police, real agents, real law enforcement, never ever call anyone to tell them they’re going to be arrested or missed jury duty. Our advice is, if someone calls you and they tell you they’re with law enforcement and that you’re in trouble with the law and there are warrants being drawn up or you’re going to be arrested, hang up the phone because it is a scam.”

Another common scam involves a caller pretending to be a company or bank, claiming there’s a problem with the recipient’s account.

“They might say something like there’s a big charge pending against this account or something to make you interested,” Harris said. “Hang up and call your bank’s number listed on your card or a company’s verified number listed on a bill or statement.”

How to Get Help

Harris said Scam Squad offers numerous resources and encourages Cuyahoga County residents to report scams online or by calling the task force’s number, 216-443-7226.

A list of recently reported schemes can be found on the Scam Squad’s website. Harris urges county residents to sign up for Scam Squad alerts to stay informed and up-to-date on current schemes and cons.

Scam Squad also offers information and tips for people victimized by scams.