Larry Cook was robbed of more than $3.6 million through 74 large international wire transfers.
The banks did nothing to stop it.
A retired, decorated Nuclear Submarine Commander, Cook suffered a stroke which left him vulnerable to a phishing email that led to an exploitative financial scam. Despite intervention by Adult Protective Services, no attempt was made by the Credit Union to alert family members or halt the wire transfers of $49,500 each to 70 different Thailandese criminals in just six months prior to his death.
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We are all potential victims of financial exploitation if regulations and laws are not updated to keep pace with the sophistication of national and international cyber criminals.
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Financial losses from elder fraud have skyrocketed in recent years. Online phishing scams are getting more sophisticated, and the advent of artificial intelligence is likely to make them more numerous and harder to detect. Only one in 44 cases of elder financial abuse is ever reported.
Larry Cook, a decorated retired Nuclear Submarine Commander, fell victim to elder financial exploitation after suffering a stroke that left him vulnerable.
In just six months, Larry was robbed of more than $3.6 million through 74 international wire transfers.
Despite intervention by Adult Protective Services, no attempt was made by Larry’s credit union to halt the wire transfers or alert family members. Larry’s failing health was compounded by the additional stress caused by the scam, which ultimately led to his death.
Larry’s Law in the News
Georgia is the 21st jurisdiction to enact the 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code! Thank you @GovKemp for signing the bill, and to our sponsor Rep. @VoteMattReeves for updating GA's commercial law for the digital age.
— Uniform Law Commission (@uniformlaws) May 10, 2024
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