An 86-year-old woman with dementia lost $10,000 to a scammer who posed as a public defender, drove her to the Fifth Third Bank branch on Beechmont Avenue in Mount Washington, and walked away with the cash in late July.
The woman's daughter, Margie Massie, told WLWT in an August 3 report the fraudster called her mother at home, claimed her grandson had been arrested and needed bail money, then physically picked her up and brought her to the bank. At the teller window, the victim withdrew $10,000 and handed it directly to the man.
The bank teller asked why she needed such a large sum. The victim said it was for a wedding gift, an explanation the scammer had coached her to give.
"What's more triggering than one of your grandchildren being in trouble," Massie said.
Massie said her mother rarely withdrew more than $1,000 at a time, raising questions about why the unusually large transaction did not trigger additional safeguards.
Cincinnati police are investigating. Fifth Third Bank has video footage of the incident, including the suspect's vehicle, and is reviewing the case internally.
How the scam works
Kris Edwards, head of fraud prevention at Fifth Third Bank, said scammers research their targets through social media and the dark web, then use spoofed phone numbers to make calls appear legitimate.
Edwards said banks face a balancing act between flagging warning signs and allowing customers access to their own money. He noted that Fifth Third trains branch employees to recognize these schemes, but fraudsters deliberately instruct victims to deflect questions and move quickly.
The Beechmont Avenue branch sits on the border of Mount Washington and Anderson Township, along a corridor Anderson Township residents use for everyday banking. According to 2020 Census data cited in an Anderson Township newsletter, 31.7% of the township's population is 55 or older, making elder fraud a pressing local concern.
A familiar pattern locally
The scam mirrors a pattern Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Detective Justin French has warned Anderson Township residents about. In the November 2024 Anderson Insights newsletter, French described the same scheme: a fraudster posing as law enforcement, targeting an elderly person and demanding bond money for a grandchild who has "just been arrested."
"Law enforcement never asks for money," French said in the November 2024 newsletter.
What residents can do
Edwards said families can set up safeguards for large withdrawals, such as requiring the bank to contact a designated family member before releasing funds. Fifth Third also maintains a fraud prevention resource page at 53.com.
The Hamilton County Elder Justice Unit, led by Matthew Broo, operates a scam hotline at 513-946-7226. Residents can also report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
