FBI tells public to think before transferring money to scammers

The FBI announced a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of scams after a reported increase in financial losses due to fraud compared to last year.

According to the latest data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, Nebraskans lost more than $40 million due to fraud in 2023.

FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Gene Kowel said the real number is much higher, since not everyone reports being scammed to law enforcement.

He said the rise of artificial intelligence is making it easier for scammers to appear trustworthy.

“What AI allows criminals to do, is go from being sort of a junior varsity criminal to a varsity criminal,” Kowel said. “They can use software to change voices, to create fake personas, to mimic other people's voices in a way that makes it very hard for someone to know what to believe when they're the victim of a fraud.”

Kowel encouraged people to take a moment to think before transferring large sums of money, especially when they are being pushed to act quickly.

Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson said it can be hard to recover stolen funds because they are often transferred from cash to cryptocurrency at special ATMs.

“Many of our business partners in our communities have these cryptocurrency kiosks in their storefronts, and they don't realize how many people are being victimized and losing their retirement savings as a result,” he said.

Hanson said store owners may not be legally culpable for customers scammed at kiosks in their business, but they should be morally responsible.

"We're going to start to meet with these businesses and essentially ask them, would you set out a lawn chair and allow a fentanyl dealer or a meth dealer to sit there and pedal their their goods right there for your customers? Of course not," Hanson said. "Why would you allow a cryptocurrency kiosk knowing the the calamity that is causing in people's personal lives?"

Last month, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office introduced a scam tips hotline, which can be reached by calling 402-444-SCAM.