Avoid scams that target older adults

From faulty ambulance bills to a recent news story about a woman who was bamboozled into believing she had dementia, there is no shortage of scams targeting older adults.

In 2023, such plots accounted for roughly $3.4 billion stolen from older adults, the 2023 Federal Bureau of Investigation Elder Fraud Report states.

The FBI has categorized the various ways that scammers might attempt fraud. These include the “romance scam,” “tech support scam,” “grandparent scam,” “government impersonation scam,” “lottery scam,” “home repair scam,” “television scam” and “family scam.”

Perpetrators often employ intimidation tactics, telling victims that they owe money to the IRS, or the electric company, and threatening consequences unless money is sent, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) reports.

On the flip side, the “grandparent scam” involves a predator appealing to relationships with loved ones, convincing the victim that a family member needs assistance navigating some kind of emergency.

Tech scams are especially prevalent. The injured party believes they are receiving messages from, say, Apple, but permitting the so-called agent computer access allows personal information to be stolen, NCOA says.

“Awareness really is the best defense against fraud,” Josh Hodges, the Chief Customer Officer for NCOA, said in an article.

Consumers should also pause when they notice they are being rushed.

“Scammers create a sense of urgency to produce fear and lure victims into immediate action,” FBI officials write on their website.

Those who believe they might have been scammed can report the situation here.