The variety of older Americans who report dropping greater than $100,000 to fraud in a given yr has greater than tripled since 2020, in line with the Federal Trade Commission, a development that consultants say represents a grave and rising risk to older adults’ monetary safety.
In 2023, about 4,600 adults age 60 and older reported being defrauded of a six-figure sum, in line with a report the FTC issued in October. That’s up from about 1,300 in 2020.
Such thefts may be particularly devastating to older adults, who’ve much less alternative to earn again what they’ve misplaced, significantly impacting their high quality of life in outdated age, consultants mentioned.
“It’s life altering,” mentioned John Breyault, vp of public coverage, telecommunications and fraud on the National Consumers League, a client advocacy group.
Aside from the monetary blow, victims additionally bear the emotional “trauma of realizing they need to reside remainder of their life in poverty,” Breyault mentioned.
Common scams concentrating on older Americans
Consumers total misplaced $10 billion to scams in 2023, a report excessive, in line with the FTC.
The determine can also be $1 billion greater than the fraud loss reported in 2022, regardless of the variety of fraud stories being roughly the identical, at about 2.6 million, the FTC mentioned.
“Scammers are actually getting extra subtle, higher at what they do and the know-how they’re utilizing appears to permit them to focus on victims with ever extra precision,” Breyault mentioned.
Adults age 60 and older reported dropping greater than $1.9 billion to fraud final yr, up from $1.6 billion in 2022, the FTC mentioned.
The true scope of losses by older adults was doubtless considerably greater — round $62 billion in 2023 — after accounting for underreporting, the FTC mentioned. Many Americans could not report these crimes to the police or different sources partly attributable to embarrassment about having been duped or as a result of they assumed nothing might be accomplished, in line with a 2023 Gallup News ballot.
Older adults have been 60% extra doubtless than youthful ones to report losses exceeding $100,000 final yr, in line with the FTC. Criminals generally stole such huge sums from older adults by way of romance scams, funding frauds and imposter scams, the FTC mentioned.
Imposter scams typically concerned fraudsters impersonating family and friends or brokers from know-how corporations like Microsoft, sweepstakes and lottery corporations like Publishers Clearing House, establishments like banks and authorities businesses just like the Social Security Administration, the FTC mentioned.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has additionally detailed a stark improve in web crime defrauding older Americans lately. The common sufferer in that age group misplaced greater than $34,000 in 2023, the FBI reported.
Investment scams, particularly these involving pretend cryptocurrency funding alternatives, accounted for the biggest reported losses amongst all older adults in 2023: $538 million, up 34% from 2022, the FTC mentioned.
3 frequent crimson flags of a rip-off
“We’d all wish to imagine we may spot a web-based rip-off a mile away,” the National Council of Aging wrote this yr. “But the reality is that con artists and cybercriminals are getting craftier and extra subtle by the day.”
That mentioned, would-be victims can shield themselves by recognizing three frequent ways utilized by scammers, Breyault mentioned:
1. Sense of urgency
Criminals typically attempt to create a “heightened state of emotional urgency,” Breyault mentioned.
This psychological tactic pushes victims to behave impulsively, dashing them into making selections or offering delicate data with out considering, in line with NCOA.
“Fraudsters could say a proposal is sweet for a restricted time solely, a product is about to expire, or that you could make a fee instantly to stop detrimental penalties,” NCOA mentioned.
2. Social isolation
Scammers attempt to forestall customers from speaking to a 3rd social gathering. For instance, they could say, “Don’t inform anybody about this. Don’t go to the cops. This is an funding nobody is aware of about so don’t inform anybody about this. It’s our little secret,” Breyault mentioned.
“If you’re uncertain in regards to the individual you’re speaking to or what you’re being advised, ask a buddy or member of the family for recommendation earlier than taking any additional steps,” NCOA mentioned. “Sending a fast screenshot of a textual content, or just strolling by the state of affairs with somebody you belief, can typically enable you see issues extra clearly.”
3. Unusual methods to pay
Criminals typically ask victims to make a fee by shopping for present playing cards, sending a wire switch, going to a bitcoin ATM, or sending cash by a peer-to-peer transaction on a platform like Zelle or Venmo, for instance, Breyault mentioned.
Consumers usually don’t have recourse to be refunded cash in such circumstances, he mentioned.
While there are “authentic” makes use of for such fee strategies, they typically seem “uncommon” within the context of a fraud: For instance, why would a cherished one who claims to want money ask you to ship cash by way of a bitcoin ATM? Breyault mentioned.
“When you do purchase merchandise on-line, be sure you solely use a fee possibility that gives reimbursement for licensed funds (comparable to most main bank cards),” NCOA wrote. “Using a type of direct fee, comparable to a fee app, is actually the identical as sending money. You could not be capable of obtain a refund.”