Anti-Scam Seminar 2025.12.06
Anti-Scam Seminar 2025.12.06
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AAPASD Hosts Critical Fraud Prevention Seminar: FBI Reports Record $16.6 Billion in Online Scam Losses
SAN DIEGO, CA — On Saturday, December 6, 2025, the Asian American Parent Alliance of San Diego (AAPASD) hosted an essential fraud prevention seminar at the Pacific Highlands Ranch (PHR) Library. Led by Alex Hu, Vice President and Branch Manager at Banner Bank, the Chinese-language session aimed to protect community financial safety as the year-end approaches.
The Rising Tide of Cybercrime
The Rising Tide of Cybercrime
The seminar highlighted alarming trends in digital fraud. According to FBI statistics, online scams reached a record high in 2024, with losses totaling $16.6 billion, a 33% increase from 2023. Data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center indicates that the average loss per reported scam exceeds $19,000. Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that the percentage of fraud victims who actually lost money jumped from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024.
Mobile users are at particular risk, as scam text attempts increased by 50% in 2025 compared to the previous year. Experts noted that between 61% and 82% of U.S. adults now report receiving scam texts on a weekly basis.
Scammer Tactics: Fear and Isolation
Scammer Tactics: Fear and Isolation
Alex Hu detailed the psychological warfare used by criminals to trap victims.
Manufacturing Panic: Scammers create a sense of crisis—such as a compromised account, a family emergency, or a legal threat—to disable a victim's ability to think clearly.
Isolation: A major red flag is when a caller insists the victim "must not tell their family".
Platform Switching: Scammers frequently try to move conversations from official channels, email, or SMS to private messaging apps like WhatsApp, Skype, or FaceTime to evade regulation.
Impersonation: Fraudsters often pose as government agencies (IRS), banks, or hospitals. Residents are reminded that these institutions primarily use physical mail for official business and only process payments through official websites.
Specialized Scams: From "Pig Butchering" to Teen Sextortion
Specialized Scams: From "Pig Butchering" to Teen Sextortion
The seminar covered two particularly devastating types of fraud:
"Pig Butchering" (Romance Scams): Scammers build a deep emotional connection over weeks or even a year to gain trust (the "fattening" phase) before eventually stealing the victim's entire life savings (the "slaughter"). Any online acquaintance who begins discussing financial accounts or "investment opportunities" should be considered a danger.
Teenage Sextortion: There has been a sharp increase in financially motivated sextortion targeting minors, with 90% of reported victims being males aged 14 to 17. These scams often occur between 7:00 PM and 12:00 AM, where scammers threaten to expose sensitive images to a teen's school or family unless small payments are made via Apple Pay or cryptocurrency.
Case Study: The "Kaiser Permanente" Phone Scam
Case Study: The "Kaiser Permanente" Phone Scam
The event featured a detailed look at an elaborate scam involving a resident who nearly lost $100,000. A victim received a call from a spoofed Kaiser number claiming she had an unpaid bill for a surgery in China. The scam escalated into a fake criminal investigation involving fraudulent "police officers" on FaceTime who presented forged documents from the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the PRC. The victim was eventually convinced to wire "bail money" before a friend helped her realize it was a scam, leading to a successful recovery of the funds through her bank's anti-fraud department.
Rules for Protection
Rules for Protection
Alex Hu concluded with a simple defensive strategy: Do not reply, do not click, and do not pay.
Screening Calls: Learn to identify "Scam Likely" labels and proactively block/report junk numbers.
Verify Independently: Never use links or phone numbers provided in a suspicious message.
Communicate: Always tell family members about suspicious financial requests.
Victims of fraud are encouraged to report incidents to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or the FBI’s scams and safety page at fbi.gov/scams-and-safety.
AAPASD Hosts Critical Fraud Prevention Seminar: FBI Reports Record $16.6 Billion in Online Scam Losses
SAN DIEGO, CA — On Saturday, December 6, 2025, the Asian American Parent Alliance of San Diego (AAPASD) hosted an essential fraud prevention seminar at the Pacific Highlands Ranch (PHR) Library. Led by Alex Hu, Vice President and Branch Manager at Banner Bank, the Chinese-language session aimed to protect community financial safety as the year-end approaches.
The Rising Tide of Cybercrime
The Rising Tide of Cybercrime
The seminar highlighted alarming trends in digital fraud. According to FBI statistics, online scams reached a record high in 2024, with losses totaling $16.6 billion, a 33% increase from 2023. Data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center indicates that the average loss per reported scam exceeds $19,000. Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that the percentage of fraud victims who actually lost money jumped from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024.
Mobile users are at particular risk, as scam text attempts increased by 50% in 2025 compared to the previous year. Experts noted that between 61% and 82% of U.S. adults now report receiving scam texts on a weekly basis.
Scammer Tactics: Fear and Isolation
Scammer Tactics: Fear and Isolation
Alex Hu detailed the psychological warfare used by criminals to trap victims.
Manufacturing Panic: Scammers create a sense of crisis—such as a compromised account, a family emergency, or a legal threat—to disable a victim's ability to think clearly.
Isolation: A major red flag is when a caller insists the victim "must not tell their family".
Platform Switching: Scammers frequently try to move conversations from official channels, email, or SMS to private messaging apps like WhatsApp, Skype, or FaceTime to evade regulation.
Impersonation: Fraudsters often pose as government agencies (IRS), banks, or hospitals. Residents are reminded that these institutions primarily use physical mail for official business and only process payments through official websites.
Specialized Scams: From "Pig Butchering" to Teen Sextortion
Specialized Scams: From "Pig Butchering" to Teen Sextortion
The seminar covered two particularly devastating types of fraud:
"Pig Butchering" (Romance Scams): Scammers build a deep emotional connection over weeks or even a year to gain trust (the "fattening" phase) before eventually stealing the victim's entire life savings (the "slaughter"). Any online acquaintance who begins discussing financial accounts or "investment opportunities" should be considered a danger.
Teenage Sextortion: There has been a sharp increase in financially motivated sextortion targeting minors, with 90% of reported victims being males aged 14 to 17. These scams often occur between 7:00 PM and 12:00 AM, where scammers threaten to expose sensitive images to a teen's school or family unless small payments are made via Apple Pay or cryptocurrency.
Case Study: The "Kaiser Permanente" Phone Scam
Case Study: The "Kaiser Permanente" Phone Scam
The event featured a detailed look at an elaborate scam involving a resident who nearly lost $100,000. A victim received a call from a spoofed Kaiser number claiming she had an unpaid bill for a surgery in China. The scam escalated into a fake criminal investigation involving fraudulent "police officers" on FaceTime who presented forged documents from the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the PRC. The victim was eventually convinced to wire "bail money" before a friend helped her realize it was a scam, leading to a successful recovery of the funds through her bank's anti-fraud department.
Rules for Protection
Rules for Protection
Alex Hu concluded with a simple defensive strategy: Do not reply, do not click, and do not pay.
Screening Calls: Learn to identify "Scam Likely" labels and proactively block/report junk numbers.
Verify Independently: Never use links or phone numbers provided in a suspicious message.
Communicate: Always tell family members about suspicious financial requests.
Victims of fraud are encouraged to report incidents to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or the FBI’s scams and safety page at fbi.gov/scams-and-safety.
AAPASD Hosts Critical Fraud Prevention Seminar: FBI Reports Record $16.6 Billion in Online Scam Losses
SAN DIEGO, CA — On Saturday, December 6, 2025, the Asian American Parent Alliance of San Diego (AAPASD) hosted an essential fraud prevention seminar at the Pacific Highlands Ranch (PHR) Library. Led by Alex Hu, Vice President and Branch Manager at Banner Bank, the Chinese-language session aimed to protect community financial safety as the year-end approaches.
The Rising Tide of Cybercrime
The Rising Tide of Cybercrime
The seminar highlighted alarming trends in digital fraud. According to FBI statistics, online scams reached a record high in 2024, with losses totaling $16.6 billion, a 33% increase from 2023. Data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center indicates that the average loss per reported scam exceeds $19,000. Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that the percentage of fraud victims who actually lost money jumped from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024.
Mobile users are at particular risk, as scam text attempts increased by 50% in 2025 compared to the previous year. Experts noted that between 61% and 82% of U.S. adults now report receiving scam texts on a weekly basis.
Scammer Tactics: Fear and Isolation
Scammer Tactics: Fear and Isolation
Alex Hu detailed the psychological warfare used by criminals to trap victims.
Manufacturing Panic: Scammers create a sense of crisis—such as a compromised account, a family emergency, or a legal threat—to disable a victim's ability to think clearly.
Isolation: A major red flag is when a caller insists the victim "must not tell their family".
Platform Switching: Scammers frequently try to move conversations from official channels, email, or SMS to private messaging apps like WhatsApp, Skype, or FaceTime to evade regulation.
Impersonation: Fraudsters often pose as government agencies (IRS), banks, or hospitals. Residents are reminded that these institutions primarily use physical mail for official business and only process payments through official websites.
Specialized Scams: From "Pig Butchering" to Teen Sextortion
Specialized Scams: From "Pig Butchering" to Teen Sextortion
The seminar covered two particularly devastating types of fraud:
"Pig Butchering" (Romance Scams): Scammers build a deep emotional connection over weeks or even a year to gain trust (the "fattening" phase) before eventually stealing the victim's entire life savings (the "slaughter"). Any online acquaintance who begins discussing financial accounts or "investment opportunities" should be considered a danger.
Teenage Sextortion: There has been a sharp increase in financially motivated sextortion targeting minors, with 90% of reported victims being males aged 14 to 17. These scams often occur between 7:00 PM and 12:00 AM, where scammers threaten to expose sensitive images to a teen's school or family unless small payments are made via Apple Pay or cryptocurrency.
Case Study: The "Kaiser Permanente" Phone Scam
Case Study: The "Kaiser Permanente" Phone Scam
The event featured a detailed look at an elaborate scam involving a resident who nearly lost $100,000. A victim received a call from a spoofed Kaiser number claiming she had an unpaid bill for a surgery in China. The scam escalated into a fake criminal investigation involving fraudulent "police officers" on FaceTime who presented forged documents from the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the PRC. The victim was eventually convinced to wire "bail money" before a friend helped her realize it was a scam, leading to a successful recovery of the funds through her bank's anti-fraud department.
Rules for Protection
Rules for Protection
Alex Hu concluded with a simple defensive strategy: Do not reply, do not click, and do not pay.
Screening Calls: Learn to identify "Scam Likely" labels and proactively block/report junk numbers.
Verify Independently: Never use links or phone numbers provided in a suspicious message.
Communicate: Always tell family members about suspicious financial requests.
Victims of fraud are encouraged to report incidents to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or the FBI’s scams and safety page at fbi.gov/scams-and-safety.
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