In recent years, the Tampa Bay area has ranked among the top-rated areas to visit and live in, but the region also holds another high-place distinction that is not so well known but has as much consequence on daily life here as the much-touted sunshine.
As far as law enforcement officials are concerned, the Tampa Bay area is one of the hottest spots for crimes involving fraud. According to FBI numbers, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area was the third-most active Florida metro area for fraud cases in 2023, and the Sunshine State itself earned the top spot among the 50 states for fraud and scams in 2024.
Popular scams by thieves include stealing property by filing fraudulent documents, draining bank accounts through identity theft or misrepresentation and even impersonating law enforcement officials to extract money over nonexistent summons for jury duty.
Florida’s large population of senior citizens is targeted for scams like Medicare fraud as well as faked scenarios, known as the grandparent scam, whereby a family member or friend is reported to them as needing bail money.
Protecting the elderly of Sun City Center is part of Master Deputy Jeffery Merry’s beat as that community’s resource deputy. He emphasized that individuals can do a lot to protect themselves.
“The 2 most important things to do are to 1 educate yourself and 2 independently verify anything received (phone call, email, text, messenger, mail, etc),” he wrote in an email.
Merry also recommends watching out for malware that can take over a computer in a click and, if that happens, to shut down the device and let an expert look at it. Scams involving unqualified or fraudulent contractors are also a problem in a region where disastrous weather can create a huge demand for repairs.
One way that homeowners can protect themselves from a fraudulent takeover of their property is by signing up for alerts with the Hillsborough County clerk of courts. Doing so means you will be notified by email or phone whenever documents using your name or the name of your business are recorded with the clerk.
You can learn more about the clerk’s fraud alerts by visiting www.hillsclerk.com or calling 800-728-3858. If you think you have been a victim of fraud, you can file a report with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office online at www.teamhcso.com or call 813-247-8200.
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