Elderly fraud education expands across Arizona
March 11
Elder fraud impacts millions of Americans and continues to grow, accruing up to 3 billion dollars in financial loses annually, according to the FBI. The organization R.O.S.E., which stands for Resources/Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly, specializes in educating seniors on how to avoid financial scams.
One of the scams on the rise in Arizona is sending people to ATMs that service cryptocurrency accounts only and having them deposit money in there due to a made-up scenario, according to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. In September 2025, Arizona implemented a new crypto ATM law that makes it harder for fraudsters to generate victims. However, the law hasn’t fully curbed scammers from sending people to these ATMs.
Brian Watson a Community Outreach Specialist from R.O.S.E. joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss how he educates the elderly. Watson was a Special Agent and PIO with the IRS for 28 years before he retired in 2023.
He gives interactive presentations to 55+ communities, churches, independent living and senior centers, etc. and also has a newsletter and radio show.
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