Sheriff spurred to warn about scammers after local victims lose more than $300,000

Graves County Sheriff Jon Hayden posted a warning on Thursday about recurring scams that are all too common occurrences all over western Kentucky and the nation.

Hayden posted that just this week their deputies learned of two separate elderly female victims. Both widows fell victim to scammers that took approximately $320,000 from them. 

In one of those instances, it took repeated warnings from the widow's family and law enforcement to convince the victim that she was being scammed before she would stop wiring funds. 

In the other instance, the victim still refused to believe that she was being scammed, even after family and law enforcement intervention. 

Hayden noted that local banking institutions are very good about warning against wiring money and making significant withdrawals after being told the reason, but in the end they still have to follow the customer's wishes.

The sheriff's Facebook post was followed by dozens of comments from local residents who were also aware of similar situations among their family and friends where the elderly were scammed via phone, texts or in person. Many of those situations were not reported to police.
 
Methods used by the scammers vary, but all have the common thread of preying on our older population who are not as adept at technology, have medical issues or are just more trusting of strangers.

Hayden urged having "serious conversations" with elderly family members about ways to avoid being scammed. 

If you believe that you or a family member is being scammed, encourage them to immediately stop all communication with the questionable party and contact law enforcement.