By Judd Matsunaga, Esq.
Scamming is as old as human civilization and commerce, with the earliest recorded instance of financial fraud dating back to 300 B.C. in ancient Greece, when a merchant attempted to sink his own ship to collect an insurance payout.
In 1869, long before Charles Ponzi, a German woman named Adele Spitzeder ran the first pyramid scheme by operating a private bank and using the money of new depositors to pay enormous “interest” returns to older ones.
Today, scam artists are committing fraud with increasing complexity. Incidents of fraud have exploded with older adults suffering the greatest financial impact from fraud last year, according to the FBI’s 2025 IC3 Annual Report. Americans age 60 and older reported losses of $7.7 billion — about a 60% increase from 2024. In comparison, those in their 30s and 40s reported $4.6 billion in losses.
The rapid and recent advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is helping scammers make fraud appear more legitimate than ever before. As AI continues to grow more sophisticated, scammers are finding new ways to exploit this technology to commit fraud. With fraud increasing in complexity, frequency and deception, it’s natural to be concerned for the privacy and financial security of the loved ones in your life. In fact, Rafu Shimpo readers are prime targets for scammers.
Why? First, many Japanese American seniors are sitting on a ton of money. Second, seniors tend to be more trusting, polite, and helpful. It goes against their nature to hang up on someone, even if the interaction feels unusual. Third, brain scans indicate that older adults often show reduced activity in the anterior insula — the brain region responsible for assessing trustworthiness and detecting deception. Finally, cognitive decline can make it harder for older adults to spot inconsistencies or remember the details of a complicated pitch.
As fraud becomes more complex, frequent, and deceptive, it is natural to worry about the privacy and financial security of your loved ones. If you are the primary caregiver, you need to stay alert and help protect your parents’ assets from scam artists. This Rafu Shimpo article offers several practical tips to help safeguard your family from financial fraud.
Let’s start with some tips from the National Council on Aging on how you can help your senior to avoid scams:
(1) Never give your credit card, banking, Social Security, Medicare, or other personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call;
(2) Be aware that you are at risk from strangers — and from those closest to you. Don’t isolate yourself — stay involved!;
(3) Tell solicitors: “I never buy from (or give to) anyone who calls or visits me unannounced. Send me something in writing”;
(4) Shred all receipts with your credit card number;
(5) Sign up for the “Do Not Call” list and take yourself off multiple mailing lists; and
(6) Use direct deposit for benefit checks to prevent checks from being stolen from the mailbox.
From an online article from AARP titled “Protect Yourself From Fraud” (www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/, May 14. 2026), here are a few of the simpler of the suggested tips (the article has 15):
(1) Halt scammers at your front door. Consider installing a video camera; they are increasingly less expensive, and they’re easy to install. If you don’t recognize a visitor, don’t answer. If you find yourself being pressured to buy or donate, have a refusal script ready (consider taping it near the door) that says, “I do not do business at my door. Please leave me something to review. If I’m interested, I’ll call you.”
(2) Prevent garbage theft. Shred any papers that contain private information (financial statements, bills, shipping receipts) before putting them out for pickup to avoid identity theft. Don’t want to invest in a good cross-cut shredder? Many communities have shredding events or permanent drop-off sites. Get into the habit of dropping off your accumulated documents once every few months.
(3) Watch for credit card skimming. Card skimming, in which the criminal affixes a credit card reader on top of a legitimate card reader at a store or gas station, is estimated to cause up to $1 billion in losses annually. When you are paying at a gas station or other point-of-sale location, inspect the device for loose/broken/scratched machinery to make sure someone hasn’t tampered with it. If you are unsure, notify the cashier and pay using an alternative method.
(4) Safeguard your wallet. Remove cards and information you don’t need to carry (such as your Social Security or Medicare card). Make copies of the remaining cards (front and back) and store them in a safe place. Audit your wallet and purse frequently. Take out any unnecessary items that collect and could compromise your personal information if lost or that would be a hassle to replace.
(5) Protect your financial accounts. Create online accounts with each of your financial institutions. Come up with a unique password for each, and every few months, revise the passwords. (Your best bet is to use a passphrase: Ilovemy-17dogz! is much stronger than Scruffy23. Keep track of passwords in a highly secure password manager or by writing them down and storing them safely.)
But you should not rely solely on passwords. Many financial institutions will allow you to use a one-time passcode sent to your phone as an extra layer of security. Then get in the habit of reviewing the transaction lists on a weekly or biweekly basis. Be sure you can account for every listed transaction. Spot something odd or incorrect? Immediately report it.
(6) Learn how to not engage. Change the way you think. You are under no obligation in these modern times to respond to calls, emails or texts from strangers — especially given that so many of them are fraudulent. One option: Open your iPhone’s contact list and add your family, friends, doctors and other important numbers. Then go into your phone settings and turn on the setting for “silence unknown callers.” This will send any caller who isn’t in your contacts list directly to voicemail.
Learn to say no. Sometimes a caller will get through. Get tough: Say, “I do not do business over the phone. Goodbye.” Then hang up without remorse. Trust your instincts. If something doesn’t sound right, run it by someone you trust and take extra time to think about it.
(7) Monitor your credit report. Together with your loved ones, access their reports from the major credit bureaus and carefully review all the details. Routinely check yours (many credit card companies provide it for free; if not, go to AnnualCreditReport.com or call 877-322-8228). Watch for unusual activity; if you see any, report it immediately to the appropriate financial institution. Then freeze your credit report.
This prevents scammers from opening new credit cards or making big purchases in your name. You can unfreeze it as needed for legitimate transactions. Visit IdentityTheft.gov for more information.
(7a) Place a credit freeze on reports to prevent fraud. If you suspect your loved one is at an especially high risk for identity theft, have a discussion with them about whether a credit freeze can help protect them from bad actors. A credit freeze prevents any new account (credit card, car lease, credit or savings, etc.) from being opened before the report is “unfrozen” by the individual personally verifying their identity with the credit bureau.
Lots of work? You bet. Here’s the bottom line: There’s a pretty good chance that your “data” is already exposed. That means your name, home address, phone number, and even your relatives can be listed across hundreds of data broker sites, i.e., on the “dark web.” These platforms legally collect and sell your information to marketers, scammers, and anyone willing to pay. That means more robocalls, more spam and a higher risk of identity theft.
The problem? Removing your data manually is time-consuming and temporary. Furthermore, listings often reappear within weeks.
So here’s a possible solution — sign up with a personal data removal services. Top-rated services reduce the risk of cyber-threats by taking your personal info away from cybercriminals targeting you with phishing emails, scam calls, and more. They will prevent identity fraud, taking the target off your back by concealing your personal details exploited by insurance companies, banks, and stalkers. Prevent your sensitive data from recirculating after being exposed through a data breach.
The best services start by scanning hundreds of data broker sites to uncover where your personal information is exposed — including current and past addresses, phone numbers, emails, and known relatives. Be careful. Not all services are equal.
Strong providers remove your data from 500–750+ broker sites, including the most commonly searched people-search databases. More coverage means less exposure. Look for services that continuously monitor and remove your data if it reappears.
As your data is removed, you may start to notice fewer spam calls and texts, reduced phishing attempts, and less publicly available personal information. This isn’t just cleanup, it’s long-term risk reduction. The best platforms show proof. This gives you clear visibility into how your digital footprint is shrinking over time. Expect regular reports highlighting which listings have been removed, which sites have been cleaned, and what ongoing monitoring activity looks like.
Confusing? Here’s what I did. I simply signed up with the best-rated data removal service according to Forbes.com (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/l/best-data-removal-services). It’s called the Incogni Unlimited plan (as little as $7.99 per month). They will remove your exposed personal information from anywhere — Google results, public websites, and companies who collect and sell your data. People use Incogni to reclaim their online privacy, prevent cybersecurity threats, and significantly reduce their findability online. They can’t scam or spam you if they can’t find you.
Judd Matsunaga, Esq., is the founding partner of the Elder Law Services of California, specializing in estate/Medi-Cal planning, probate, personal injury and real estate law. With offices in Torrance, Encino, Pasadena and Fountain Valley, he can be reached at (310) 318-2995. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.