Actor Johnny Depp is friends with a Bank of Dade customer, actress Demi Moore needs money from a Citizens Bank and Trust customer, and Major Tommy Bradford (Dade County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy) is calling and texting people demanding money to address legal problems—at least that’s what scammers would have you believe.
Under the guise of famous people, whether Hollywood A-listers or Dade’s own prominent figures, scammers attempt to extort money from unsuspecting people.
The Sentinel covered the topic back in 2023, so see the May 24, 2023, edition for a summary of the scam/fraud landscape at that time. The main changes since then are a decrease in debit card fraud but an increase in check fraud and the new prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI)…