Elder Financial Scams, and How a Second Set of Eyes Catches Them

Updated 2026-10

The scale of it

Reported losses to fraud by people over 60 run into the billions of dollars a year in the FBI’s own complaint figures, and those are only the losses people report. Older adults are targeted because they often have savings, are more likely to answer the phone and to be polite to strangers, and may be lonely or beginning to find details harder to track. Being scammed says nothing about intelligence. The people who run these schemes are organized and practised.

The common ones

Government impersonation

A caller claiming to be from Social Security, Medicare, the IRS or the police, saying there is a problem that must be fixed immediately with a payment, often by gift card, wire or cash handed to a courier.

Tech support

A pop-up or a call saying the computer is infected, followed by a request for remote access. Once inside, the scammer "finds" a refund paid in error and asks for it back, or simply takes what they can see.

Family emergency

A call from a "grandchild" in trouble, or someone claiming to represent them, needing bail or a hospital bill paid quickly and secretly.

Romance and friendship

A relationship built online over weeks or months, which turns to requests for money for travel, medical bills or an investment opportunity.

Prizes and investments

A lottery win with fees to pay first, or an investment with guaranteed returns, increasingly in cryptocurrency.

People they know

Exploitation by a caregiver, neighbor, new friend or family member, which is the hardest kind to see and to talk about.

What a scam looks like in the statements

• Gift card purchases, especially several on the same day or at a pharmacy or supermarket
• Wire transfers, which an older adult may never have used before
• Withdrawals at cryptocurrency ATMs, or transfers to an exchange
• Large cash withdrawals, sometimes followed by a courier pickup
• A new payee, or a check to a name nobody recognizes
• Small test charges followed by larger ones
• A change of address or phone number on the account that nobody requested

Each of these looks different from a parent’s normal month, which is why monthly reconciliation is so effective. Someone matching every transaction to the statement sees them within weeks, usually before the second or third payment.

Protections worth setting up now

• Alerts on each account for large withdrawals, new payees and changes to contact details
• A trusted contact person named with each bank and brokerage, so they have someone to call
• A credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, which is free and easy to lift
• Two-step sign-in on email and banking
• A family rule that nobody ever pays anyone by gift card, and that any urgent request for money is checked with a family member first
• A second person reviewing the accounts every month

What to do if it has happened

Call the bank and card companies on the numbers printed on the card, change the passwords from a clean device, freeze credit, and report the scam to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the FTC and local police. If someone your parent knows is involved, Adult Protective Services takes reports. Then reconcile the last several months of every account to find every related payment. The page on helping a parent after a scam goes through it in order.

Talking to your parent about it

Lead with the scams, not with your parent. "Have you heard about the Medicare card calls?" is easier to hear than "I am worried you will be fooled". Agree a simple rule together, such as never paying by gift card and always calling a family member before sending money anywhere. A parent who can say "my bookkeeper checks everything" has a ready answer for a pushy caller.

Where to go next

• Helping a parent after a scam
• Online accounts and passwords for a parent
• Signs a parent needs help with money