MB Kayla Smith: Mira Costa student seeks to help seniors avoid scams
by Mark McDermott A few years ago, something happened to Kayla Smith’s grandmother that stuck with her. Her grandmother received a phone call regarding her son, Kayla’s father, Mike. “Listen to me, Jane,” the caller said. “We have Mike held hostage. You need to buy $4,000 in Target gift cards immediately and call us back with their numbers & passwords. Do not tell anyone about this or else we will hurt Mike.” A snippet of what sounded like Mike Smith’s voice came on the line. “Please do what they say,” he said. Her grandma did exactly what the caller had asked. But afterwards, she came to realize none of it had been real — Mike had not been held hostage, and his voice had apparently been mimicked with AI or some other technology. The only thing that was real was the fact that she’d just lost $4,000. She’d been scammed. Not long after, Kayla’s grandfather was the victim of a smaller scam, an email that offered brand name shoes at a quarter of their normal price. He ordered four pairs and never received them, losing a few hundred dollars. And even her parents were repeatedly targeted by scams, such as a text that each received claiming they owed a delinquent toll fee. Her father…
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