Attorney General Michelle Henry Hosts Consumers, Advocates for Listening Session to Raise Awareness of Cyber Fraud in Pennsylvania

January 15, 2025 | Topic: Consumers

The Office of Attorney General urges financial institutions to take stronger measures to protect victims, who are often older Pennsylvanians

HARRISBURG – Attorney General Michelle Henry hosted a listening session today in Bucks County to raise awareness of what cyber fraud looks like in Pennsylvania, whom it impacts, and how banks, credit unions, and other stakeholders can better protect Pennsylvanians.

Several consumers who were victimized by cyber fraudsters shared their stories, as Attorney General Henry and staff also hosted state and local legislators and consumer advocates.

There are various types of cyber fraud — including technical support, romance, government impersonation, and investment fraud. Older Pennsylvanians are more at risk because they have more assets and might be more susceptible, but all Pennsylvanians should remain on the lookout for potential scams.

The Office of Attorney General is receptive to potential legislation that will better protect consumers and is hopeful banks and other financial institutions do all they can to proactively protect consumers before they are victimized.

“I have heard far too many stories of hard-working Pennsylvanians who had all or significant portions of their life savings taken through cyber-based fraud,” Attorney General Henry said. “We hope that this event spurs action that will ultimately prevent fraud and give consumers more opportunity to recover assets when they are victimized.”

Attorney General Henry was joined at today’s session by consumers who have reported cyber fraud losses to the Office of Attorney General, as well as local and state Representatives, and consumer advocates from AARP, the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Bucks County Consumer Protection, Central Bucks Regional Police Department’s Victim Services Unit, and the Network of Victim Assistance.

“This is a disturbing problem that requires urgent attention,” Teresa Osborne, the State Advocacy Director of AARP said. “The stories we heard today highlight the need for policy makers, regulators, and law enforcement to pay more attention to all the costs of cyber fraud and financial abuse, not only to people’s bank accounts but also to their peace of mind. It’s time for Pennsylvania to invest in a coordinated, full-scale approach to combat this scourge.”

Office of Attorney General Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection/Chief Deputy Attorney General John Abel and Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Smyth offered comments on what the Office is doing to help consumers and how, with current resources and under current law, most cyber fraud victims are unable to get their stolen money back.

“I thank Attorney General Henry and her team for hosting this event,” Bucks County District Attorney Jen Schorn said. “Events like this raise awareness and effect legislative change that is necessary because crimes and criminal tactics continue to evolve. We are grateful for the wonderful partnership between the Office of Attorney General and with Bucks County local government.”

Three consumers spoke about how cyberfraud impacted their lives.

  • Cyber criminals stole the entire life savings from Keith Marsh and his wife Deb, a retired Episcopalian priest and nurse, through a technical support fraud that ultimately cost them more than $850,000. A pop-up on their computer, allegedly from Microsoft, said he should “call this number immediately.”
  • Marie Stevens, a retired disability advocate at a community college, lost $10,000 through a tech support scam. Stevens received an email that appeared to be from PayPal containing a link that provided the criminal with remote access to her computer.
  • Shelby Mayes and his wife, have four masters’ degrees between them, but cyber criminals still robbed them of $200,000 through a business impersonation fraud while they were attempting to purchase a new home.

Attorney General Michelle Henry expressed appreciation to the courageous Pennsylvanians who came forward and shared their stories in hopes of protecting others from similar plights.

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