# Stop Lottery and Bank Scams: FBI Arrests Scammers Targeting Seniors in 2026 cover art

# Stop Lottery and Bank Scams: FBI Arrests Scammers Targeting Seniors in 2026

# Stop Lottery and Bank Scams: FBI Arrests Scammers Targeting Seniors in 2026

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 Hey listeners, Scotty here, your go-to scam-busting wizard with a techie twist on the latest cyber chaos hitting the wires this week. Picture this: I'm scrolling my feeds on February 22, 2026, and bam—Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney just dropped the hammer on Oral Durloo and Brandon Naime. These jokers from who-knows-where posed as Publishers Clearing House reps, called up a 92-year-old New York grandpa, and conned him out of a $250,000 cashier's check. They dangled an $18 million prize, but demanded "taxes and fees" first—classic lottery scam 2.0, straight out of Scamicide's Scam of the Day report. Real talk: PCH, now PCH Digital LLC after their 2025 bankruptcy sale to ARB Interactive, never calls, emails, or texts about big wins. They show up in person or mail you. And no legit lottery ever asks for upfront cash via gift cards or checks—taxes go straight to the IRS, not some shady driver at your bank.

But wait, the arrest parade doesn't stop there. Over in Upshur County, West Virginia, Sheriff Mike Coffman and his crew played scammer whack-a-mole like pros. They baited Naymat Ulla from Buffalo, New York, into a fake money pickup at a local bank after he targeted a victim for over $139,000. Deputies nabbed him Saturday morning, seizing $130,000 in cash, gold coins, and sketchy electronics from his ride. WBOY 12 News covered the takedown, and now Ulla's cooling his heels in Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $650,000 bond, with the FBI and state AG circling. These bank scams? Pure fraud theater—scammers spoof caller IDs, push urgency, then send mules like Ulla to grab the loot.

Shifting gears to the AI apocalypse, Green Country Federal Credit Union sounded the alarm: crooks are wielding deepfake voices and chatbots to impersonate banks, tricking folks into handing over logins and one-time passcodes. They lock you out, reroute wires—poof, your account's toast. Cyn Mackley's 2026 scam roundup nails 20 nasties like smishing texts faking package delays, romance bots targeting divorcees post-Valentine's (AOL flagged AI personas exploiting data brokers), and grandparent scams where LaSalle police say fake grandkids cry for bail money, passing the phone to a "cop" demanding secrecy.

Listeners, arm up: Slow the frenzy—verify independently via official sites. Enable MFA everywhere—it's your deadbolt to their door pick. Freeze credit for kids and yourself. Spot deepfakes by hunting CR watermark pins on vids. Ditch gift cards; they're scammer crack. And watch for that new SCAM Act from Reps. Dan Meuser and Lou Correa—forcing platforms to vet ads and boot fakes amid $196 billion in 2024 losses.

Stay sharp out there—scams prey on nice folks in a hurry. Thanks for tuning in, listeners—subscribe for more scam-smashing intel! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.

For more http://www.quietplease.ai

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