Manatee County seniors are falling victim to scams daily — and the results can be disastrous, Bradenton police say.
Fraud investigators say it’s a trend that’s getting worse across the nation, and it can leave retirement-age residents at risk of losing their entire life savings in the blink of an eye. The Bradenton Police Department recently launched an Elder Fraud Unit to these crimes through investigations and educational sessions.
“Elder fraud, it’s an epidemic that no one talks about. It doesn’t get the respect it should because they don’t see what we see,” Detective Jim Curulla told the Bradenton Herald. “Every single week, we have an elderly senior who sits in our office and talks about how they have lost everything.”
But catching them can be difficult, according to police. Scammers often operate outside the United States, and they constantly change the tactics and technologies they use to rob individuals. Once the money is across state lines, or overseas, it becomes nearly impossible to recover.
Scammers impersonate celebrities and more
In one case investigated by Bradenton’s Elder Fraud Unit, a 74-year-old woman believed she had befriended Elon Musk through Facebook messages and sent a man posing as the billionaire almost $300,000 — the entirety of her life savings. Authorities have not been able to recover any of the lost money for the victim.
“He didn’t do anything but just have nice conversations with her for eight months, until he reeled her in … and had that hook and pulled it,” Curulla said.
The unit also investigated a case involving an 80-year-old woman who thought she was messaging a U.S. military captain stationed in Syria. She was sending him $20 every day — money she intended to be used for the captain’s food. Officers believe this was a scam, and that the woman was not legitimately speaking with a captain in the U.S. military.
Is AI fueling an increase in scams?
With the advancement of technology, including artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, seniors are being taken advantage of at an alarming rate, Manatee County officials say.
“It’s picked up exponentially, especially the last couple of years,” Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Angel Colonneso said in an interview with the Bradenton Herald.
Nationwide statistics help illustrate the rise in scams targeting older populations. According to the National Institute of Justice, scams targeting people 60 and older increased by 33% from 2010 to 2020.
Scams involving those in the same age group resulted in $3.4 billion in losses in 2023. That amount was up 11% from the year before, according to the FBI.
“Along with our partners, we continually work to aid victims and to identify and investigate the individuals and criminal organizations that perpetrate these schemes and target the elderly,” FBI Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall said in an April 2024 statement.
Scammers will often spark up a conversation with an individual and try to build a relationship with them online, sometimes using AI to hide their identity.
“These criminals are professional actors,” Curulla told the Bradenton Herald.
Watch for cryptocurrency scams, police say
With major advancements in technology, scams can come in all shapes and sizes.
According to Officer Deana McNeal with the Bradenton Police Department’s Elder Fraud Unit, their “biggest enemy” is cryptocurrency-involved scams, as they are quick-moving and incredibly difficult to track.
“Now, they can bypass the bank and just go to these machines where no one’s going to help them, and that money gets instantly exchanged,” Curulla said. “Someone overseas instantly has that crypto, and you can never recover it.”
Cryptocurrency leaves a trail, Curulla said, but most criminals quickly change the bank the virtual money is in, or even convert it to a different form of cryptocurrency — another technique that makes it difficult for detectives to track down and recover.
“Technology is actually working against us in many cases,” Curulla said. “These criminals can hide behind a computer screen, they can reroute things so instantly and quickly and we are so far … behind tracking it because we have to subpoena every little step.”
What other scams are on the rise in Manatee County?
Aside from cryptocurrency-related scams, Manatee County officials have issued fraud alerts for scams involving fake jury duty and parking tickets.
“We don’t text, we don’t email, we don’t call you about jury at all. You will get a summons from us. You won’t get anything else from our office at all. We don’t do that,” Colonneso said.
The Bradenton Herald previously reported on a text scam demanding money for unpaid traffic citations. Scammers also tend to use “spoofed” phone numbers to demand payment while posing as legitimate organizations.
“They can take a phone number and put it into an app and make any phone number they want,” McNeal said. “They can make it appear that they’re calling from different companies, law enforcement, et cetera, by spoofing phone numbers.”
“Every day we think we have seen it all, and then the next day there’s another kind of fraud with a twist,” Curulla added.
Bradenton police launch program to combat scams
The Bradenton Police Department’s Elder Fraud Unit is fighting back against the uptick in scams.
This unit investigates reports of seniors being scammed while also presenting scam awareness information sessions to the elderly community in Bradenton. They hold these presentations at places such as senior facilities, churches, hospitals, banks and more.
“We do investigations, yes, but we do crime prevention, as well, by going out and getting the education out,” McNeal said.
Curulla says that nearly every time they do a presentation, the unit receives a call from a senior who wants to report a scam.
“Especially seniors, when they’ve been a victim, they’re embarrassed and afraid in many cases to even tell their spouse, family or friends that they have been victimized,” Curulla said.
He added that the education these presentations provide helps senior citizens not only identify that they have been victimized, but also increases their inclination to report it.
“And that’s why we have gone to banks and senior facilities. So they can help advocate … to help them as much as they can from their point of view,” McNeal said.
Manatee County Clerk offer scam protection
The Manatee County Clerk have also taken steps to prevent scams, including their Property Alert System. This system alerts users whenever official records, such as deeds or mortgages, are recorded under the user’s name in Manatee County. These fraudulent records can result in transferred titles and even the sale of a property without the owner’s authorization.
“We are just the providing service that gives you a heads up of something being filed, but we can’t take a police report or anything,” Colonneso said.
If a user is alerted of illegitimate activity, Colonneso urges them to call the authorities, who will begin an investigation.
“When (scams) happen, communication is key, and I’m always interested in looking at anything new and improved that can help warn the residents,” Colonneso said.
How to spot a scam: police tips
According to Curulla, one of the biggest pieces of advice he has regarding scam prevention is to understand the technology that is present in the world today.
“We talk about artificial intelligence, we talk about spoofing, we talk about technology,” Curulla said. “Technology is phenomenal at one point, but if you don’t understand it … That’s when you become a victim.”
Furthermore, the Elder Fraud Unit stresses the “Five Ps” to spot scams — pretending, problems, prizes, pressure and paying. This method identifies five common scamming techniques.
If someone is pretending to be from an organization you know, saying there is a problem or, on the other hand, that you have won a prize, those are red flags that the situation may be a scam. The other Ps include being pressured to act immediately or being told to pay in a specific way. These are also warning signs.
Curulla and McNeal also stress the importance of having honest, thorough conversations about this issue with the seniors in your life.
“They have to have a conversation with that senior family member, or that senior friend,” Curulla said. “Let them know these scams occur. Let them know that technology is out there.”
Police also encourage seniors to go to a trusted family member, friend or their phone carrier to learn how to best utilize the safety and security features on their mobile device.
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 5:50 AM.
Amaia Gavica is the Bradenton Herald’s breaking news reporter. She has reported in multiple states and earned her degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.
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