Nearly every tax season, someone sits down at my table at The River Center and asks me the same question: “Is this email real?” or “Is this text real?” Some are asking before they’ve acted on the message’s urgent request. There are a few who have lost thousands.
I run the Money Matters program here, which offers free tax preparation, money coaching, and financial education. After years of listening, I’ve come to believe that the best defense against a scam isn’t just about being hypervigilant or having stronger passwords. It’s a conversation. Talk to someone before you send the money.
Take the case of someone close to home, Jeanette Voss of Bennington, Vermont. In AARP’s May 8, 2026 episode of “The Perfect Scam” podcast, Voss says in 2021, a warning on her laptop had her call a number for Microsoft tech support. The people who answered told her that her Social Security number had been leaked and that she needed to move her money to protect it. She went on to describe how, over several months, she transferred $950,000 into their accounts and cryptocurrency wallets. The scammers told her to get a burner phone and not to tell anyone. Then they disappeared.
During this time, she didn’t tell anyone. When faced with a massive tax bill and having to apply for assistance, she finally confided in a friend. Voss says that she thought it was all her fault. Her friend didn’t judge her and urged her to go to the police, who told her she had done nothing wrong. She was a victim. The police advised her to report it to the FBI.
She isn’t the only one who has fallen victim to a scam or fraud. In 2025, people over age 60 filed 200,000 fraud complaints and lost $7.75 billion. In New Hampshire, seniors have reported losing more than $25 million to scams. And these are only the ones who spoke up. Many people never report what happened, often because they’re embarrassed or afraid of being blamed. This is what scammers bank on.
When someone asks me whether a phone call, text, or email is legitimate, I usually answer the question and move on. After hearing Voss’s story, I’ve realized I should do more. I want to encourage people to stop and talk to someone they trust before acting on a request that seems suspicious. AI has helped to make these schemes more sophisticated — making red flags harder to spot. Banks, phone companies, and technology providers also have a responsibility to do more to protect people. It’s not fair to expect people to protect themselves from scams all on their own.
If someone has no trusted friend or family member to call, that’s where the rest of the community comes in. A bank teller, librarian, neighbor, or community organization may be able to help someone double-check a suspicious request. Every one of us can help create an environment where it’s normal to ask for a second opinion without feeling ashamed. If a scam does slip through, that circle of support expands to other channels such as your financial institution, local law enforcement, the FBI, or your state’s attorney general, depending on the fraud.
In the podcast, Voss goes on to say that she was stunned by how her story ended. More than four years after she told a friend what had happened and reported the scam to police and the FBI, it was the Secret Service who traced her funds linked to another case and returned all of her money, with interest, to Voss and about 20 other victims. During those four years, she lived frugally on Social Security and food assistance, unsure whether she would ever recover her money. She was lucky, but not the norm.
If someone rushes you or tells you to keep a request for money secret, stop and check the facts before sending anything. If someone comes to you worried they’ve been scammed, listen before you judge. Sometimes the most important thing we can do is help someone feel safe enough to speak up.
If you’d like to hear about upcoming financial wellness workshops and conversations at The River Center, call 603-924-6800, ext. 14, or email taxes@rivercenternh.org.
Nisa Simila is the communications and Money Matters coordinator at The River Center. The River Center: A Family and Community Resource Center provides parent education, family support, and community connections in a welcoming environment to strengthen individuals and families in Peterborough, Jaffrey, New Ipswich, and surrounding towns.