TROY, Mich. (WXYZ) — Two elderly Troy residents were scammed out of over $1 million collectively over the last few months due to online scams.
Troy police say from October 2023 to February of this year, an 81-year-old man thought he was investing in a gold exchange online. In April, he was looking to take out his earnings. That's when the scammers sent him a letter to pay taxes on his earnings.
Another family member realized it was a fluke. But by then, the man had already lost $460,000.
"It seems to be happening more frequently. They're very convincing and the older folks think that they're investing in something that's legitimate, which turns out to not be," Troy Community Services Sgt. Ben Hancock said about the scams.
Hancock says that a police report was filed in May and they are investigating. However, just two months prior, he says another senior resident fell for a Publishers Clearing House scam, being notified they won prizes and to pay taxes. That scam set the resident back $700,000.
"It's just so incredibly sad because that's somebody's lifetime that they worked hard for that money, and they were at a point in their life where they should be able to enjoy it and rely on it," founder of MI Seniors Move Tina Doyle said.
Doyle travels around metro Detroit to community centers, educating seniors about common scams. She says the best things seniors can do is double check with other family members before they give out personal information and be cautious about rushed decisions.
"Run it past somebody else. See what they think about it," she said. "If somebody is pressuring you or if something doesn't feel right in any way, pull back, don't make a move. A lot of times, they use urgency as a technique," Doyle said.
Other Troy seniors 7 News Detroit spoke with say they're aware of many other scams involving their friends and acquaintances and are disheartened by the uptick.
“On Christmas Eve, got scammed for $70,000," 75-year-old Paul Gorishek said about an acquaintance. "It was quite involved. He had to set up a Bitcoin account with a place that processes Bitcoin — the scammer talked him into doing that.”
Gorishek says he's taking extra steps to triple check websites, emails and suspicious advertisements.
“Because we all work hard for our money and we don’t want to carelessly use it," he added
Another common tactic used by scammers is the use of Artificial Intelligence, taking the voice of someone from videos they may post to social media and using it to call family members demanding cash.
"If something seems off to you, it's probably off," Doyle added.
Troy police are not certain if the most recent scams stem from overseas or are domestic but are continuing to investigate.
