I’m a police blotter junkie; for my own entertainment I read police logs from everywhere. Currently I’m obsessed with criminal scams. Cheats, flimflammers, hoaxers, swindlers, and rip-off artists love targeting older folks.

There’s no end or bottom to the creative tricks scammers use to get senior citizens to part with their life savings or monthly social security benefit. The problem is so endemic the office of Social Security sent out a mass email advising how to beware of scams.

Incidents of folks getting scammed figure prominently in police blotters. Most commonly, the scammer opens a credit card in somebody else’s name, frequently in another state. There are PayPal scams, and scams hacking mobile payment apps, and complex identity theft scams that are truly mind-boggling.

The No. 1 fraud reported to police last year were imposter scams; police say imposter victims lost $667 million to scammers pretending to be government employees, a family member in distress, or, saddest of all, a romantic interest. When people lost their money, they most often lost it with gift cards.

Last week I read about a scammer who took a 72-year-old man in New York for $8,500. The scammer identified himself as a member of Apple tech. The man was advised his computer was hacked. It was recommended he purchase a security system Apple would remotely install for his future safety; he was directed to purchase the system through a series of gift cards the caller said he had to buy from three different online retailers.The man complied with the directions, but a few hours later got scared. He called Apple who told him he’d been had. Then he called his local police. Aside from making a report, it didn’t seem there was a heck of a lot he could do about it.

I personally receive at least six phishing emails designed to entrap me every day. I’m told there’s an outstanding invoice for something I’ve not bought, or a package of something I didn’t order scheduled for delivery. For months I got emails claiming to be from a well-known delivery service. Nearly every morning I get a voicemail or text from a credit agency I don’t do business with.

Valentine’s Day scams are common among the elderly because the elderly are extra vulnerable to the prospect of true love. That makes widows and widowers easy targets for those who take advantage of the victim’s loneliness and ready-to-love-again heart.

Here’s a true story: An 80-year-old Oregon widower was scammed out of $200,000. According the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, which reported the incident, an unidentified scammer stole a Florida woman’s identity and used it to befriend an Oregon man. The scammer used an online dating service to target and contact him; after leading the man on with weeks of sweet texts and emails, the scammer convinced the man they were in a long-distance romantic relationship.

Once the connection was firmly established, the scammer persuaded the man to send money for a business opportunity in development. The scammer pretended to seek investors and reported on imaginary meetings. Documents were fabricated. Trusting the documents, and the scammer, the widower kept paying and paying.

Then the scammer disappeared.

The money’s gone. He was played.

You know that’s got to hurt.

The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation published a few tips to avoid getting catfished.

Don’t send money to anyone you’ve not met in person. Be cautious about sharing personal or financial information.

Don’t transfer money to unknown people or intermediaries. If you must use a third party to send money, use a licensed money transmitter.

Keep copies of all communications with scammers and report them to the division, online dating services, the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, and local police.

If you do fall prey to a scam, know it’s unlikely you’ll get your money back. And if anyone calls you from a number or name you don’t recognize, don’t answer, or just hang up.

Nearly every morning I get a voicemail or text from a credit agency I don’t do business with.