Bingo is a familiar pastime at senior centers, but federal prosecutors in Maryland recently gave the game a new purpose… teaching older adults how to recognize fraud.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland hosted an elder-fraud bingo event at the Laurel-Beltsville Senior Activity Center as part of Operation Silver Sentinel, a statewide enforcement and outreach initiative held October 19-23.
Instead of traditional bingo cards, seniors received cards featuring fraud-prevention and reporting resources along with common schemes to watch for, including romance scams and government impersonation scams. Assistant U.S. Attorneys used the game to discuss warning signs and ways seniors can protect themselves.
The bingo event was part of a much larger statewide effort involving 78 law enforcement volunteers from 15 federal, state and local agencies. Authorities conducted outreach at 55 senior centers across Maryland and contacted more than 100 fraud victims.
Each of those victims had at least $250,000 stolen within the past year, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The initiative also included victim outreach led by special agents with IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service, along with additional events at senior centers throughout Maryland.
Federal officials say fraud targeting older Americans continues to be a significant problem. Older adults lost more than $2 billion to targeted fraud schemes during 2024 and 2025, including investment, tech-support and romance scams.
According to the Department of Justice’s 2026 Elder Justice Annual Report, the department pursued nearly 350 criminal and civil enforcement actions this year involving fraud or abuse that targeted or disproportionately affected older adults. Those cases named 712 defendants accused of stealing or attempting to steal approximately $4.84 billion from more than 711,000 victims.
Approximately 96% of the cases were criminal, while 45% involved international schemes.
The Department of Justice also participated in nearly 1,200 public awareness and training events that reached more than 62 million Americans during the same period.
Montgomery County Police Department’s Financial Crimes Section was among the numerous agencies recognized for participating in Operation Silver Sentinel. Other participating agencies included the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Baltimore County Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and several federal inspectors general.
The operation was announced by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes alongside representatives from IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service and FBI Baltimore Field Office.
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