Older Adults Victimized by a Record Number of Scams

Sonny Clair was away on a work trip in March when his wife called him with some scary news: She had been the victim of a phone scam, and they were out around $6,000.

The scam had started that morning when someone claiming to work for U.S. Customs called Clair's wife, 58, to tell her that several packages addressed to her previous homes were full of drugs, fake IDs and cash, and that multiple bank accounts at different financial institutions in El Paso, Texas, had been opened in her name.

She would have to attend a court date in El Paso within the next day or two, the caller said — a nearly impossible task seeing as the Clairs live in Knoxville, Tennessee. Another option, the caller suggested, was to separate the "illegal" money from the Clairs' legitimate assets.

Two hours later, after transferring her to other people claiming to work for the U.S. government, the scammers sent Clair's wife to withdraw cash from her bank account and then deposit it via a Bitcoin ATM to an account they could access. They rattled her by making up fake badge numbers and referring to the family's previous addresses, scaring her so much that she left work in a hurry, without taking time to think.

"She's very intelligent," Sonny Clair says. "But once they got her on her heels, she was never given the opportunity to look back."

Clair's wife is certainly not alone. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center recently announced it had received a record number of complaints last year: 880,418, with potential losses exceeding $12.5 billion. Americans aged 60 and over reported a disproportionate share of those potential losses — $3.4 billion, 11% more than people in that age group lost in 2022 and more than twice the amount lost by victims aged between 40 and 60.

Tech support scams were the most common cybercrimes against adults aged 60 and older last year , accounting for 17,696 complaints, according to the FBI's 2023 Elder Fraud Internet Crime Report.

Tech support scams involve crooks pretending there is something wrong with your computer and "warning" you of the issue via calls, pop-up messages and emails in order to eventually access your information. They may say they need remote control of your computer to fix the issue, install dangerous software or try to get you to pay them for their fake services.

The agency says call centers overwhelmingly target older adults. People over 60 made 40% of the complaints about this type of scam and experienced 58% of the losses, almost $770 million. In addition to losing more than all the other age groups combined, some people in this age cohort lost their homes, emptied their retirement accounts and borrowed from friends and family to make up the losses, the FBI's report found.

"Scammers are changing their techniques up, making different types of scams to catch people off guard," Joyce Petrowski, founder and board president of R.O.S.E. (Resources/Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly), says of tech support scams. "I've talked to so many people who have lost money in a scam that started out as tech support."

Another common crime against this age group were confidence and romance scams, which involves the perpetrator pretending to be someone else to win over the victim's affection or confidence. One reason older adults experience this type of scam is that they can be more isolated than other age groups, says Marti DeLiema, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota who studies financial fraud.

"People who are lonely, who don't have a lot of social engagement in their day-to-day life, they're more likely to engage with those types of solicitations and offers," DeLiema says. "We're vulnerable wherever there is an unmet need and scammers are out there offering solutions to those unmet needs."

In the case of confidence and romance scams, that unmet need may be companionship, and social media sites like Facebook or even gaming apps like Words with Friends are where many older adults go to find that companionship — and where many scammers find people to exploit, she adds.

Personal data breaches, non-payment or non-delivery scams (in which a victim never gets paid for goods or services they sell or never receive the goods or services they pay for) and investment scams made up the other three most common scams against older adults, according to the FBI's report. The investment scams, which often promise low-risk investments with guaranteed returns, were the costliest kind of elder fraud last year, resulting in $1.2 billion in losses.

With new technology comes new opportunities for scammers. Around 15,000 complaints from people aged 60 and over involved a cryptocurrency, like the scam that targeted Clair's wife.

While there is no reason to think scammers will stop targeting older adults, experts say there are steps people can take to help keep themselves safe.

Understand cybersecurity basics. Scammers have more advanced ways to commit cyber fraud, but taking simple cybersecurity steps can help prevent these crimes:

• Do not click on pop-ups, no matter how bright they're flashing or how loud they are.

• Use a licensed commercial dealer to have your computers repaired.

• Take a breath before clicking links or downloading attachments in emails, even if the address looks familiar.

The FBI offers guides on how to protect yourself, including how to avoid spoofing and phishing scams in which someone disguises email addresses, phone numbers or names, or trick you into giving information or clicking harmful links. R.O.S.E. also has many resources, including a newsletter and podcasts, full of ways to protect yourself.

Don't engage. If you get a strange text message that says something like "Hey, are we still meeting up for dinner tonight?" many people might not think there is harm in responding, since they can choose to cut off the conversation at any time. But that's a slippery slope, DeLiema says. "The best plan is to just never engage at all." That goes for emails and phone calls, too.

Have hard-wired decision rules. Similar to how someone might say that they don't drive in a snowstorm, you can create rules for yourself to help with prevention. Perhaps you don't use Bitcoin or don't buy gift cards (which are often used in scams). Petrowski says that a lot of older adults grew up without cell phones and are used to immediately picking up the phone when it rings, including from unknown numbers. But it may be best to let that person leave a message and call them back. She says to consider setting your phone to automatically send unknown numbers to the voice message system — that way, you don't even have to make the decision yourself.

Always have a trusted person. When you become engaged in a scam you are likely to be scared, anxious or experiencing some other intense emotion. Petrowski recommends designating a trusted person like a friend or family member you can check in with before taking any further action. "That person is in a rational state and you're probably in an emotional state," Petrowski says. "They can help you get back into a rational state and help think through the process."

Verify before you trust. It's important to verify information before you act on it, Petrowski says. If you're worried something is wrong with your Amazon account because of a suspicious email, for example, find the verified Amazon phone number or email address to ask. If you get a call that says a grandchild is in trouble, call that grandchild (or a parent or sibling, if they don't answer) before taking any action like sending money.

Freeze your credit. If you're not constantly getting credit, Petrowski says to consider freezing your credit to prevent other people from being able to open credit accounts in your name. You have to call the three main credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) individually to initiate the freeze, but it's free to do.