CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — In today’s day and age, scam calls have unfortunately become a regular danger. Every day, scammers send out a countless number of calls, with senior citizens often being a particular target. These scams can lead to victims losing their entire savings.

Luckily, BrightStar Care of Charlottesville is a private partner with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Triad, a local organization of local law enforcement agencies and other partners who coordinate the efforts to educate seniors on the dangers of scams, fraud and elder abuse. BrightStar Community Outreach Director Malina Rivers said being partnered with Triad is a part of its efforts to keep its patients safe.

“One of the things we try to do inside of our community is be the resource,” Rivers said. “I’m not the expert on scams, but I do know where the expert is.”

Keeping up with ever-evolving scams

As a partner, BrightStar uses Triad’s website and events to educate both its clients and over 120 caregivers on the scams that are out there. Those opportunities to learn about these scams have already paid off, with Rivers sharing the story of one caregiver who recognized and stopped a scam call that her client received while she was there.

These calls have become even more dangerous with the advent of Artificial Intelligence. The scam the caregiver had stopped was a common one known as the “Grandparent scam,” which uses AI to recreate the voice of potential victim’s grandchild or another family member. The scammer then tries to convince the potential victim their family member is in trouble and need money to be transferred to them, often using scenarios like an arrest with the money supposedly going to their lawyer.

“The world is moving really fast in the cyber age,” Rivers said.

Fake calls, real consequences

Rivers emphasized that these scams can devastating for many seniors, as it only takes a small amount of information or initial money sent for scammers to be able to wipe out a person’s savings. Charlottesville-Albemarle Triad President Ron Farmer echoed the sentiment, adding the shame of being scammed can even lead to victim becoming suicidal.

“We have to catch that,” he said. “We need to catch it before it happens, and we need to recognize that could happen. So it’s a very serious thing to intervene.”

Red flags to look out for

Farmer shared a few major red flags that often occur in these scams to look out for. First, scam calls and texts often either try to incite potential victims with an offer that’s too-good-to-be-true or tries to instill a sense of panic by claiming there’s a scary situation that requires your action. These scams also often ask the potential victims to send money through means like wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency. Pressure is also a major element of these scams, and above all, Farmer said to never click on links you are suspicious of.

“When you see these kinds of things, it’s probably a scam,” Farmer said, “and that’s the mindset I want people to realize and remember.”