It is a number that is hard to wrap your head around: $81.5 billion.
That is the top end of the estimated amount Americans 60 and older lost in 2024 to financial fraud, according to the latest Protecting Older Consumers report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The full estimated range is between $10.1 billion and $81.5 billion.
Actual reported losses among older adults climbed to a record $2.4 billion in 2024, a quadrupling since 2020. However, because of the shame and embarrassment often associated with being victimized, the vast majority of scams go unreported.
The game has been changing in recent years. Scammers are no longer just sending poorly spelled emails from foreign countries. Rather, they are now using professional social engineering and artificial intelligence to target well-funded retirement accounts.
In fact, the FTC report highlights a dramatic increase in the number of seniors reporting individual losses of $100,000 or more.
Here are three types of scams that target older adults and are becoming increasingly common:
‘Pig butchering’
Investment scams are currently the No. 1 form of fraud targeting older adults. According to the FTC’s 2025 data, seniors reported losing $744 million to these schemes last year.
These crimes often take the form of “pig butchering” scams, a name derived from the idea of “fattening up” a victim by establishing a fake relationship with them before “butchering” their life savings.
Scammers use social media, text messages and dating apps to find their victims. Then, they typically pitch “guaranteed” cryptocurrency or pre-IPO stock opportunities. Scammers often set up a fake trading platform and ask the victim to transfer their funds to the platform.
When the victim finally tries to withdraw their “profits,” the scammer demands a “tax fee” or simply cuts off communication.
The FTC warns that social media is now the most common method of contact for investment fraud across all age groups, and the individual dollar losses are significantly higher for those over 60.
AI voice cloning
One of the most terrifying developments in elder fraud is the use of generative AI to clone voices.
In this scam, a criminal might take a short clip of a loved one’s voice from a social media video or voicemail and replicate it with chilling accuracy. The scammer then places a frantic call to a grandparent, sounding exactly like a grandchild who has been in a car accident or arrested in a foreign country.
These emotional “emergency” scams are designed to trigger panic and bypass the victim’s critical thinking. In a notorious Florida case that has become a warning for retirees nationwide, an older mother sent $15,000 to a scammer after hearing what she was certain was her daughter’s voice pleading for help.
‘Tech support’ scams
While AI is the new threat, old-school tech support scams are still effective. In 2024, older consumers were five times more likely than younger adults to report losing money to this type of scam, according to the FTC.
The FTC notes that in many cases, scammers scare older consumers by employing pop-ups that suggest there is a security issue that needs to be addressed urgently. These scammers also place online ads that falsely suggest an affiliation with an established company such as Microsoft.
Once the victim calls, the “technician” demands remote access to the computer to fix the problem. From there, they might log into the victim’s bank account and use psychological tricks to convince the victim to wire money to a “safe account” or purchase thousands of dollars in gift cards as payment.
Sometimes scammers trick people by offering free scanning services. When the scanning service inevitably finds an alleged problem, the consumers are told to purchase software that will fix the issues.
How to build your financial firewall
The best defense against these sophisticated attacks is a mix of smart habits and technical safeguards.
First, every family should establish a “safe word.” If a loved one calls in an emergency, ask them for the word. If they cannot provide it, you are almost certainly talking to a bot that may be trying to scam you.
Second, you should freeze your credit at the three major credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It’s free, only takes a few minutes and is the single most effective way to prevent a scammer from opening new loans or credit lines in your name.
Finally, set your cellphone to “silence unknown callers.” Most of these scams rely on the urgency of a live conversation to bypass your better judgment. If a call is legitimate, the caller will leave a voicemail, giving you the time to verify their story independently.
Remember, any caller who insists on secrecy or demands payment via Bitcoin, ATM, wire transfer or gift cards is almost certainly a scammer.
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