DES MOINES, IOWA (June 18, 2021) — Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen has announced that the Iowa Insurance Division (IID) is bringing the statewide Iowa Fraud Fighters — Shield Your Savings public education program to the Wild Rose Casino and Resorts – Clinton, located at 777 Wild Rose Drive in Clinton, on July 8.

True Link report on elder financial abuse estimated 1 in 3 Americans age 65 and older were affected by financial abuse over a five-year period, with seniors losing $36.5 billion each year to financial exploitation, criminal fraud, and caregiver abuse.

“Fraudsters target seniors because many have retirement savings and good credit and own property — three factors that are attractive to scammers,” said Commissioner Ommen. “These perpetrators are professional con-artists who have scammed the most sophisticated investors. Insurance and investments are complicated. If you don’t understand something, please ask questions. We’re here to help you.”

Each forum will feature a video of Martha-Jo Ennis, a retired schoolteacher from Marion, Iowa, who lost her retirement savings and the money she invested from the sale of her family farm, totaling over $1 million, to a Ponzi scheme. In 2019, Ponzi scams were at a 10-year high with authorities uncovering 60 schemes. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported a 70% increase in income scams during the second quarter of 2020 compared to 2019, noting that Americans lose more money to investment fraud than any other type of income fraud.

Ommen said promissory-note schemes are one of the most common types of investment fraud he sees, noting there are always new scams circulating in Iowa. Between October 2020 and March 2021, the FTC reported a 1000% increase in loses due to cryptocurrency fraud compared to the same period a year earlier. Over 7,000 people reported losing $80 million to cryptocurrency scams with those ages 20-49 being five times more likely to report losing money compared to those age 50 and older who reported it less often but had greater financial losses.

“We had a case in Iowa where strangers were chatting though an online game app and the conversation turned to making large volumes of money quickly by making forex and cryptocurrency investments,” said Commissioner Ommen. “This new online friend convinced the Iowan to convert cash into cryptocurrency to seed the investment. The investment quickly showed a massive paper profit, but getting the profits back required converting more money to cryptocurrency and sending it as a transfer fee. Ultimately, all the money was lost. It is important to never buy something unsolicited from someone you do not know; do your research, and make sure the investment is regulated.”

The forum will educate and empower Iowans to combat and report investment scams like Ponzi, promissory-note, and cyber-fraud, as well as consumer and insurance fraud, including Medicare fraud.

“Scammers are after Iowans’ Medicare card-numbers to defraud the government and commit identity theft upon our seniors through a variety of scams,” said Commissioner Ommen. “If you suspect Medicare fraud, call Senior Medicare Patrol and SHIIP, which are housed within the Iowa Insurance Division.”

Kristin Griffith Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) director, will discuss common Medicare scams alongside Commissioner Ommen, who will focus on elder financial exploitation and investment fraud.

The Iowa Insurance Division collaborates with other state agency partners to cover the scams that fall outside the division’s jurisdiction, including the Iowa Attorney General’s Office (AG). Al Perales, an investigator from Iowa’s AG’s Office, will join Commissioner Ommen to discuss common consumer scams, including other types of cyber-fraud, social-media schemes, imposter scams, identity theft, and sweetheart or romance scams. According to the FTC, financial loss to romance scams jumped from $75 million in 2016 to a record $304 million in 2020.

The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office is averaging three romance scam reports per month. “Romance scammers are now turning their victims into money-launderers,” said Randy Meier, director of seniors versus crime, Clinton County Sherriff’s Office. “The scammer steals an identity and illegally files an unemployment claim in the identity-theft victim’s name. The scammer then reaches out to their romance scam-victim to deposit the unemployment benefits in the romance scam-victim’s account. Soon after, the scammer wants the money back, and asks their newly-beloved victim to send them the money back through untraceable gift-cards.”

Registration for the Iowa Fraud Fighters forum begins at 11:30AM, lunch is served at noon, and the program concludes at 1:30PM. To RSVP for the complimentary lunch program, call toll free at 866-559-7114, or fill out the online form at www.IowaFraudFighters.gov by July 1. This free event has limited capacity.

“One of the things I like best about these fraud prevention educational forums is that they are not paid for by tax dollars,” said Commissioner Ommen. “We take a portion of the fines and settlements we collect from the scammers and fund forums to educate Iowans on how to outsmart these scammers.”

Iowans are encouraged to visit www.IowaFraudFighters.gov to learn about common scams and discover tips and tools to prevent fraud, including a checklist of information to gather from investment advisers to verify the legitimacy of the offer and the adviser.

About the Iowa Insurance Division

The IID has general control, supervision, and direction over all insurance and securities business transacted in the state and enforces Iowa’s laws and regulations. The IID investigates consumer complaints and prosecutes companies, agents and brokers engaging in unfair trade practices. Consumers with insurance or investment questions or complaints may contact the IID toll-free at 877-955-1212 or visit www.iid.iowa.gov.

Editor’s Note: See Iowa Fraud Fighter Tips sidebar below.

Sidebar: Iowa Fraud Fighter Tips

  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is neither good nor true.
  • If the offer is only good for today, then walk away.
  • Never send money today for the promise of receiving more money later.
  • Stop. Call. Confirm. Double-check with IID before you invest to ensure the agent and the security are registered and in good standing.
  • Talk it over with a trusted friend or adviser. Scammers will try to isolate victims from friends and family and use pressure, threats and tactics that prey on your emotions, such as fear (IRS scam), excitement (sweepstakes scam), love and loneliness (romance and grandparent scams), or patriotism (veterans charity scam).
  • Don’t give out your personal information to anyone you don’t know — ever. The IRS, Medicare, Social Security Administration, and your banks and credit-card companies already have your personal information. They would never call you or e-mail you and ask you for it. It is an imposter scam.
  • If someone asks you for payments in Apple iTunes cards, gift cards, debit cards, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrency or other monetary forms of no defense, it probably is a scam. Don’t send the money or cards.
  • Scammers use robocalls and spoofed numbers to look like a local number calling. Don’t answer the phone if you do not know the number; let it go to voicemail. If you answer it, the scammer knows it is an active number, and the robocalls will increase. According to the True Link report, a person who answers one telemarketing call per day is three times more likely to experience financial loss.
  • Check the fine print in all agreements and especially when ordering items online or on TV. Many scams include hidden charges and extra fees in the fine print.

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