KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Share your story idea with Megan.
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People across the Kansas City area are fed up with relentless scam calls, which often target seniors, with some receiving dozens of fraudulent calls daily.
"At least two to three a week, if not more," said Marjorie Filipiak, describing how often she receives scam calls.
Matthew Nave gets even more frequent calls.
"10-20 scam calls a day," Nave said.
"85 in one day," William Benton said.
Alice Boydston has developed a routine for dealing with the constant barrage.
"They are always back-to-back, so I just delete, delete, delete," Boydston said. "All day long, I'm just like, what in the world?"
These seniors have learned to recognize the telltale signs of scam calls, including mispronounced names and other red flags.
"Most of them can't pronounce my last name," Filipiak said.
Despite their awareness, some admit they've fallen victim to scams in the past.
"It was a credit card scam," Filipiak said. "That's one scam I got caught up in. I spent about $100 on that.
Nave lost money to a utility scam.
"They got over $300 from me, saying if I didn't pay it, utilities would be cut off," Nave said.
Mark Logan, outreach director at PACE KC, emphasizes that anyone can become a victim.
"My dad got scammed when he was alive, even though he was very intellectually sharp," Logan said.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office is working to combat the problem through education at retirement communities and senior centers.
"The senior living community managers are really concerned for their residents and for their financial security," said Sarah Boyd from the Clay County Sheriff's Office. "Our role in preventing scams is public awareness."
Boyd has given four presentations in the past month to seniors, discussing the latest scam tactics.
"The same old jury duty scam where they claim to be Clay County Sheriff's Office deputies, they say, 'You've missed jury duty, you're under arrest, unless you pay them this bond,' and they won't arrest you," Boyd said.
She says scammers have become increasingly sophisticated, even texting fake documents to make their schemes appear legitimate.
Romance and tech support scams also rank among the most common threats.
"We had someone last month in a romance scam losing $120,000," Boyd said.
Seniors who have learned to protect themselves offer practical advice for avoiding scams.
"I keep a very close eye on my money, I have to," Filipiak said.
Mary Scott takes a more direct approach with scammers.
"No, you not gunna get my money," Scott said.
"Hang up," Scott advised.
"Uh-uh bam," Boydston said, describing her method of ending scam calls.
"They've developed some solid defense strategies," Logan said.
However, the prevalence of scam calls creates an unintended consequence for legitimate organizations trying to reach seniors.
"Really interferes with legitimate and much-needed support and care," Logan said. “We try to call them back and they don’t pick up.”
This defensive behavior can lead to additional problems for seniors.
"When seniors have to self-isolate to protect themselves from scams, that only increases the problem with loneliness and isolation," Logan said.
Law enforcement officials recommend several red flags to watch for, including anyone who calls asking for money from someone you don't know, as this is likely a scammer. Also, anyone pressuring you to send money quickly is running a scam.
If you receive a suspicious call, the best approach is to hang up and call the organization they claim to represent directly to verify their identity independently.
"It's not fair that other people take advantage of us," Filipiak said.
Law enforcement acknowledges the challenge of tracking down scammers.
"These folks are so hard to track down that the bulk of our work on these cases is prevention," Boyd said.
If you'd like a scam presentation in your community, you can call the Clay County Sheriff's Office at 816-407-3750 to request one.
Once the government reopens, the sheriff's office recommends calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register for a verified government do-not-call list, free of charge.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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