A phone rings at 8 p.m. The caller says your grandson has been arrested in another state and needs bail money now. A pop-up freezes a computer and promises IT help if you call an 800 number. An earnest-sounding crowdfunding plea shows up on social media asking for donations for a local family after a house fire.
These are the moments that turn into financial ruin for many older Americans. Government reports and local law-enforcement warnings over the past year paint a simple — and brutal — picture: scammers are getting faster, smarter and more ruthless, and older adults are disproportionately hurt.
The numbers that jolt: the Federal Trade Commission found adults 60 and older reported $2.4 billion in losses in 2024, largely driven by a smaller number of extremely large thefts. Because so many victims never report fraud, the FTC’s estimate of actual losses to older adults that year climbs as high as $81.5 billion. A separate Department of Justice report described more than $2 billion in attempted or successful thefts from more than a million older Americans during its reporting period.
Why seniors are such frequent targets
Scammers pick environments where trust, isolation and a little technological distance can be weaponized. Older people are more likely to live alone, to be on fixed incomes and — in many cases — to be less familiar with the latest digital verification tools. That mix creates vulnerability.
“People will tell you the emotional impact is the hardest,” says Kathy Stokes of the AARP Fraud Watch Network. The theft isn’t only monetary. It can erase years of savings and leave someone feeling embarrassed and isolated.
Fast-moving schemes and the new tech layer
Criminals rely on urgency and secrecy: an emergency, a limited-time investment, or a plea not to tell family. They instruct victims to pay through gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or other methods that are hard to reverse. Those red flags — urgency, secrecy, unusual payment methods — show up in local advisories from district attorneys and police departments across the country.
Technology is both a tool and an accelerant. Fraudsters use phone spoofing and AI-generated voices, fake social-media fundraisers and deepfakes to fabricate legitimate-sounding pleas. The same AI tools that power helpful assistants can be misused to craft believable scams; for a deeper look at how synthetic voices and media are spreading, see coverage of OpenAI’s Sora landing on Android and the debate over deepfakes.
App security problems and vulnerable software also matter — a compromised or malicious app can harvest contact lists, impersonate family members or hide scam pages. Recent reporting on a dangerous toolchain flaw shows how software vulnerabilities can let attackers run code remotely and escalate other fraud risks; keeping devices patched matters, as noted in coverage of the React Native CLI vulnerability.
What officials and communities are doing
Banks and brokerages increasingly ask customers to name a trusted contact — someone financial institutions can call if they suspect exploitation. FINRA requires broker-dealers to make reasonable efforts to collect a trusted contact, and the industry is watching proposed federal legislation that would give institutions more time to pause suspicious transactions.
At the local level, police departments and district attorneys are running seminars and outreach programs. The Branson Police Department, for example, hosted a seminar for older residents that covered text- and email-based cons, government impersonation schemes, tech support fraud and identity theft. Henderson and other cities have set up classes and prevention events aimed at the holiday spike in scams.
Some counties are pushing for dedicated elder-fraud units; advocates in places like Cape Cod argue local prosecutors need specialized teams to investigate and assist victims. Sedgwick County’s district attorney has publicly warned residents to be vigilant after federal reports revealed widespread abuse.
Practical steps families and seniors can take
- Pause and verify. If a caller says there’s an emergency, hang up and call a trusted family member or use a known number for the agency or company they claim to represent.
- Avoid irreversible payments. Gift cards, cryptocurrency transfers and wire payments are favored by scammers because they’re nearly impossible to reverse. Treat requests for those payment types as immediate red flags.
- Use a trusted contact. Ask your bank or brokerage about naming a trusted contact who can be reached if exploitation is suspected.
- Keep devices and apps updated. Many scams begin with tech support pop-ups or malicious apps; running the latest operating system and app updates reduces risk. If you use a MacBook, for example, enable automatic system updates and install software only from trusted sources.
- Cut paper trails. Shred bank statements, medical bills and anything with account numbers before discarding.
- Report quickly. Call your bank, the card issuer (or gift-card company, if applicable) immediately after a suspected scam. Local law enforcement and the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 can help.
Community tips that help
Education campaigns work because scams rely on secrecy and speed. Neighborhood talks, library workshops, church groups and block associations can create multiple points of recognition — if someone you trust sounds suspicious, others will notice.
Local law enforcement’s public classes often include simulated scams and Q&A, and police can tell you what’s circulating in your area. If you want to understand how data-mining and search tools could affect privacy and verification, recent reporting on Gemini’s integration with Gmail and Drive outlines how new AI search capabilities could change how personal data is found and used — another reminder to control what personal details you share online.
A changing fight
Scammers adapt quickly: they refine scripts, exploit new tech, and combine tactics across phone, email and social media. Combating them takes layered defenses — informed families, alert local officials, security-conscious institutions and tools that slow or stop suspicious transfers.
If you’re a caregiver or a neighbor, the simplest step you can take is to talk. Share recent scam examples. Offer to sit with an older relative while they sort bills or vet a charity request. Report suspected fraud without judgment; victims need support, not shame.
This isn’t a problem that can be wished away. But with awareness, a few procedural changes and stronger local and institutional protections, it becomes harder for criminals to do what they do best: move fast and stay hidden.
Related reporting: for more on synthetic media concerns and how they intersect with scams, see our piece on OpenAI’s Sora and deepfake debates and the analysis of software supply-chain risks in the React Native CLI security write-up. For privacy-focused context on large AI systems, read about Gemini’s Deep Research and Gmail/Drive integration.