Albany-area law enforcement and the FBI are sounding the alarm as a surge of scams targets Capital Region residents, with older adults getting hit the hardest. Phone, email and even in-person cons are piling up, from phishing and spoofed government calls to bogus tech-support schemes and aggressive "buy gold" pitches that pressure people to hand over cash or bullion to strangers. Authorities say quick reporting has blocked some big transfers, although they believe many cases never make it to official logs.
According to reporting by The Daily Gazette, the FBI’s Albany field office has received about 3,700 scam complaints since October, Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli told the paper. Tremaroli urged potential victims to "take a beat, take a pause" when they get a call or message that sounds urgent, and he stressed that people should report suspected scams as quickly as possible. Local officers say scammers often impersonate banks, government agencies or major tech companies to crank up the pressure.
How the schemes work
Federal data show that phishing and spoofing remain at the top of the list of reported internet crimes. In its 2025 report, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) flagged phishing-related complaints as a major driver of financial losses. The IC3 data also show that phishing, spoofing and fraudulent tech-support complaints together make up a large share of the cases reported by people over 60, a trend experts say criminals are exploiting with increasingly polished emails, texts and voice calls.
In the Capital Region, investigators say that pattern is playing out in familiar ways. A caller might claim to be from a bank or federal agency, warn of suspicious activity, then steer the victim into a hurried decision about moving money or buying gold for "safekeeping." Others pose as tech-support staff, ask for remote access to a computer and use that access to hunt for financial information.
Local cases and recoveries
Local officials told The Daily Gazette that Saratoga County recorded 28 scam incidents involving residents 65 or older between November 2025 and April 2026. In several of those cases, law enforcement and financial institutions were able to step in before the money disappeared for good.
The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security investigators recently intercepted and returned more than $433,000 to two residents, according to Saratoga TODAY. That total included a $245,000 wire transfer from Halfmoon and a $188,000 bank-teller check from Clifton Park. Those recoveries, along with a slate of planned outreach workshops for older adults, were laid out in the sheriff’s public notices and local coverage.
What officials advise
FBI Albany and local police are pushing one core message: slow down. They recommend pausing before responding to any urgent request for money or personal information, never granting remote access to a computer to someone you do not know, and independently verifying any caller or message by using a phone number from an official website or the back of a card, not from the message itself.
If you think you have been targeted or victimized, officials say you should file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3 and contact the Albany field office for local assistance through FBI Albany. Banks and courier companies can sometimes freeze or recover funds if they are alerted quickly, which is why that first phone call can make the difference between a close call and a total loss.
Where to get help
Saratoga County residents can reach the sheriff’s records and non-emergency lines using the contact information posted on the county sheriff’s website. The office, working with Homeland Security, is organizing senior outreach sessions to walk older residents through common scam tactics and how to respond. For more on the recent recoveries and scheduled events, officials point residents to the sheriff’s notices and the local coverage cited above.
