27 Jun Amid Rise in Real Estate Scams, DA’s Office Offers Guidance to Protect Older Residents

(Image courtesy of Contra Costa County via Bay City News)

By Hannah Sung
Bay City News

Amid a wave of real estate fraud schemes targeting older adults, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office hosted a workshop this week aimed at helping residents identify and prevent these crimes.

Led by Supervising Deputy District Attorney Dana Filkowski, the event took place on Wednesday in collaboration with the Family Justice Center as part of a series of outreach efforts marking Elder Abuse Awareness Month, to help families affected by elder abuse and other crimes.

The workshop was packed with various members of the community, including attorneys, real estate and financial professionals, social workers, and older residents themselves. Filkowski and the Family Justice Center sought to equip them with tools to understand and prevent elder financial abuse.

Filkowski, who established the elder abuse prosecution unit within the District Attorney’s Office, focused on the heightened risk facing residents aged 50 and older. She attributed their vulnerability to a combination of increased trust in others and limited familiarity with digital platforms.

Moreover, she said older individuals are more likely to own homes and have equity in their property, making them attractive targets for scammers. While this fraud is common, once it has occurred, the process to re-obtain stolen funds is taxing.

“It’s very difficult for law enforcement to investigate and understand,” Filkowski said.

Partnering with agencies like the Family Justice Center is crucial for prosecutors to be able to respond to cases of real estate fraud, she noted.

“We’re less knowledgeable about our rights, and it is an increasingly complex marketplace,” Filkowski said. “I struggled to explain things to my 81-year-old mother about why she needs to stop trusting people and not to click on things on the phone.”

However, she emphasized that just because real estate fraud is difficult to comprehend and undo, it does not mean that it cannot be prevented.

Part of the workshop included spreading knowledge about the District Attorney’s Office Major Financial Crimes Unit and the scope of what the unit can and cannot do. Filkowski went over foundational knowledge for fraud prevention, from learning about notarized signatures and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office’s Real Estate Fraud Notification Program, to stating the different types of real estate crimes.

For Filkowski, prevention is the most important part of the community outreach.

“It’s so difficult to heal the harms caused by real estate fraud,” she said.

Her team plans to continue offering outreach and providing training about common fraud and scams against homeowners.

For those affected by fraud, the District Attorney’s Office operates a Fraud Hotline at (925) 957-8705. Complaint forms are available online at www.contracostada.org/ConsumerComplaints.

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