‘Fraudlettes’ on Guard Against Scams

Annetta Works Salley is an outspoken advocate for veterans and Black women’s health, unafraid to ask questions and speak her mind for herself and others.

But the U.S. Army veteran, 63, nonetheless felt embarrassed and frightened during the two times she was hit with debit-card fraud. And she wants her story to help others.

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“I’m beyond shame,” she says. “I mean, it is embarrassing, but if it can help somebody,” she’s more than willing to tell it.

Works Salley, who lives east of St. Louis in O’Fallon, has been telling her story — and educating people — as the newest member of AARP Illinois’ Fraud Fighting Fraudlettes team. In the volunteer role, Works Salley joined Courtney Hedderman, AARP Illinois’ senior associate state director for advocacy and outreach, early this year for a monthly conversation about fraud, including the tactics criminals use to entrap people in schemes that may cost them a lot of money.

Indeed, the number of fraud victims and the money stolen from them have risen dramatically in recent years. In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission estimates that, when underreporting is factored in, victims across the United States lost as much as $196 billion to fraud, up from $158 billion the previous year. For adults age 60 and older, the loss estimates after factoring in underreporting ranged from $10.1 billion to $81.5 billion in 2024.

“This is the amount of money that is leaving our economy in a year, moving out of retirement accounts and all sorts of other accounts and into drug trafficking and human trafficking and all kinds of bad stuff,” says Kathy Stokes, AARP’s senior director of fraud prevention programs.

The Fraudlettes’ conversations have been carried on YouTube for about two years. Hedderman and her partners — Teresa Jones, who retired from AARP Illinois in 2025, previously did the show with her — have discussed mail fraud, romance fraud, internet fraud, voter fraud, health care scams, fraud-fighting legislation, travel safety and ways to become a volunteer AARP fraud fighter.

Works Salley says she accepted Hedderman’s invitation to become a Fraudlette so she can give people the confidence they need to navigate fraud when it happens to them — just like it happened to her.

About a decade ago, Works Salley twice noticed fraudulent charges on her debit card and promptly went to her credit union to report them.

“Those two times really were scary moments for me, especially when you don’t have very much in the account,” she says. The credit union never pinpointed how the charges were made, although Works Salley suspects skimmers had been installed at unfamiliar gas stations she used a time or two. Fortunately, the credit union made her whole both times.

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