Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson is rolling out a statewide crackdown on romance scams and other financial schemes that prey on older residents, unveiling a forensic initiative and a dedicated hotline set to go live in mid-July. Wilson announced the push Monday at the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day conference at the Fawcett Center in Columbus, one of several events his office used to spotlight elder-abuse prevention. Officials said the program will lean on digital forensics and cross-jurisdictional intelligence to help investigators follow online conversations and track where the money ultimately lands.
In a press release from the Ohio Attorney General, Wilson dubbed the new effort the Romance Impostor Scams Forensic Initiative and said it is designed to support law enforcement agencies that are already wrestling with romance-fraud cases. According to the release, the office will create a dedicated hotline that both the public and police can use to report suspected scams, and information that comes in through that line will help the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation spot patterns that stretch across county lines. The initiative is scheduled to officially launch in mid-July, with more operational details promised before the hotline opens.
Scams Are Costly And Growing
The numbers driving this move are ugly. The FBI's Cleveland field office reported that Ohioans lost nearly $18 million to confidence and romance scams in 2024, and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged roughly $672 million in nationwide losses to confidence and romance schemes that same year. Those totals line up with broader national reporting that puts romance and confidence fraud among the most expensive forms of online crime. State officials say stronger digital forensics and a single, centralized reporting line should make it easier to uncover money-mule networks and freeze questionable transfers before they disappear.
Federal Prosecutions Show How Networks Work
Prosecutors say many romance-fraud outfits operate across borders and rely on layered money movements that can be tough to untangle. In recent months, the U.S. Department of Justice in the Northern District of Ohio has unsealed indictments that charge defendants with taking part in romance-fraud conspiracies aimed at older Americans, with funds allegedly routed through co-conspirators overseas. Several related cases have already produced guilty pleas and prison sentences, which officials say highlight the need for coordinated state and federal responses rather than scattered efforts.
How The Initiative Will Help Local Agencies
The new plan is set up to connect Bureau of Criminal Investigation analysts and local prosecutors with digital-forensics know-how and to cut down on duplicate or stalled investigations in smaller counties. The Ohio Attorney General notes that the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day conference featured keynote talks from Delaware County Probate Judge Dave Hejmanowski and Delaware County Prosecutor Milissa Schiffel, along with workshops focused on preventing exploitation of older Ohioans. Officials said the statewide hotline and added forensic backup should give jurisdictions without in-house cyber investigators a clearer path to tracing payments and identifying suspects faster.
What Victims And Families Can Do
For families worried a loved one is being targeted, officials recommend cutting off contact with the suspected scammer, saving all messages and transaction records, and calling the bank immediately to try to stop any transfers. They also urge victims or their families to file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3 and to submit a complaint through the Federal Trade Commission portal at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, both of which feed information directly to investigators. Law-enforcement officials say that reporting early can improve the odds that authorities will be able to trace where the funds went and possibly recover assets.
During June’s elder-abuse awareness activities, the Attorney General’s Office urged Ohioans to learn the warning signs of exploitation and to bring suspected abuse to the attention of local authorities while hotline details are finalized. The office said it plans to release training schedules and the new hotline number in the coming weeks as the Romance Impostor Scams Forensic Initiative moves toward its mid-July launch.
