I’ll be honest: I write about scams often enough that I thought I knew the warning signs. The fake emails. The suspicious links. The texts pretending to be banks or delivery companies. But on a recent snow day, during what should have been an ordinary walk with my fiancée, I almost became a victim myself — and the experience made one thing painfully clear: scammers are getting smarter, bolder and far more convincing, and the consequences too often fall on victims while perpetrators walk free.
We were walking through our Johnson County neighborhood, bundled up against the cold, when my phone rang. The number was unfamiliar. The man on the other end didn’t hesitate. He said he was a deputy with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. He knew my full name. He knew my current address. He even rattled off past addresses I had lived at. That information alone was enough to make my stomach drop.
He told me I had been summoned for jury duty, but the notice had been sent to an old address. According to him, someone signed for the paperwork on my behalf, and because I never appeared, I now had a Failure to Appear on my record. He said I needed to come to the sheriff’s office to sign documents — and the address he gave was accurate. He insisted I stay on the phone with him for the entire drive and said my fiancée could not accompany me.
Fear has a way of narrowing your thinking. Even though something felt off, the idea of legal trouble was overwhelming. In that moment, the situation felt real.
Thankfully, my fiancée trusted his instincts. While I stayed on the phone, he called the actual Johnson County Sheriff’s Office using a publicly listed number. The response was immediate and clear: it was a scam. There was no warrant, no jury duty issue and no deputy assigned to contact me. The dispatcher warned that the next step likely would have been an attempt to take my money, my belongings or both.
I was shaken — and embarrassed by how close I came to falling for it.
What happened to me is far from rare. According to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, 73% of U.S. adults say they have experienced some form of scam or fraud attempt, including phone calls, emails or text messages designed to steal personal information or money. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that Americans lost more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024 alone, a sharp increase from previous years, showing how rapidly these crimes are escalating.
Imposter scams — like the one I encountered — are among the most common. The FTC consistently ranks government and business impersonation scams near the top of reported fraud categories, with nearly one million imposter scam reports filed in recent years. Experian reports that identity-based scams and impersonation schemes continue to rise as criminals gain easier access to personal data through breaches, data brokers and social engineering tactics.
The volume is staggering. Pew Research Center data also shows that scam and robocalls have become a near-daily occurrence for many Americans, with billions of unwanted or fraudulent calls placed nationwide each month. For older adults, the stakes can be devastating. FTC data shows that seniors report higher median losses than younger victims, sometimes losing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single scam.
Despite the scale of the problem, scammers are rarely held accountable. Many operate across state lines or overseas, exploiting jurisdictional gaps and limited enforcement resources. Victims are often left to deal with financial loss, identity theft and lingering fear, while the people responsible disappear behind spoofed numbers and fake titles.
This lack of consequences is unacceptable. Scams are not harmless annoyances — they are crimes that prey on fear, authority and trust. They disrupt lives and drain savings, and they flourish in a system where enforcement struggles to keep up.
There are steps individuals can take: never trust unsolicited calls claiming to be law enforcement, courts or government agencies; verify information by independently contacting official offices; and talk openly about scam attempts so others recognize the signs. But personal vigilance can only go so far.
We need stronger protections from telecom companies, tougher penalties for those who commit fraud and better cooperation between agencies to track and prosecute scammers. Most importantly, we need to stop treating these crimes as inevitable.
If someone who regularly reports on scams can almost be fooled, anyone can. That reality should alarm all of us.
Scamming needs to stop — and it will only stop when awareness is paired with accountability, and when those who exploit fear are finally forced to face real consequences.
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
Hanna Rauworth is the Health & Environmental Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, where she covers topics at the intersection of public health, environmental issues, and community impact. With a commitment to storytelling that informs and empowers, she strives to highlight the challenges and solutions shaping the well-being of Indianapolis residents.
