Alaska's U.S. Attorney works to end elder fraud

Many older Americans receive calls from criminals trying to scam them out of money. They get calls from criminals claiming they are from the IRS or that their grandchild is in jail.

Elder fraud is a rising concern for Alaskans, including U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder.

This week, Schroder is attending the Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Summit to discuss trends and solutions to the fraud issues. He says technology is one of the reasons rural Alaskan elders are falling victim to these crimes and the U.S. Attorney's office is now going after a different part of the fraud system.

“These cases tend to be difficult because the actual fraudsters, in a lot of situations, are out of the country," Schroder says. "They could be calling from anywhere. But, what we are really focusing on right now is what we called the money mules. When the fraudsters convince someone to give money, it usually goes to someone in the United States and then that person moves it from one account.”

Schroder says getting the word out to the public that these scams are happening is a major way to address the issue. He also encourages anyone receiving these calls to report them.