A recent survey conducted by AARP examined the fraud concerns of US adults aged 45+. Half of the respondents were extremely or very concerned about becoming the victim of fraud, and those in minority groups with a modest income and a high school diploma at best expressed even more concern than the group overall. That number was up 15% since a comparable survey done in 2022. It’s no surprise that anxiety and concerns about scams have risen: The actual amount of reported scams and money lost has risen significantly since 2022.

According to a newly released FBI document tracking elder fraud reports to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, fraud reports by older adults rose 14% from 2022 to 2023 and financial losses associated with the fraud reports rose by 11% from 2022-2023. So it’s not just a hypothetical concern that older adults have. More and more seniors are becoming victims of financial fraud, and experts suggest that these new numbers still undercount the number of scams perpetrated, as many older adults are unlikely to report that they are victims. The losses in 2023 amounted to $3.4 billion, with older adults disproportionately impacted by scams and fraud. California and Florida recorded the most fraud complaints, and for an older adult, who likely has no way to earn back the money stolen, such a crime could lead to a remortgaged or foreclosed home, emptied retirement accounts, embarrassment at having to borrow from friends or family and even contemplating suicide due to the shame,  distress, and consequences of the lost money.

The most common scam reported by older adults involves “Tech support” scams, where a scammer swindles you out of money or personal data by pretending to help you “fix” an online account or your computer. Other widely reported frauds include personal data breaches, romance scams, and investment scams, which trick older adults into handing over their money for “low-risk” investments or tricking victims who think they are investing in cryptocurrency. Investment scams were the costliest elder scam of 2023, for which victims lost a total of more than $1.2 billion.  To read more about this new FBI report, hold on to your personal info and look here.

Given the prevalence of the scams and fraud perpetrated against older adults, it’s important for everyone to understand how you can protect yourself, how you can report fraud, and what you should look out for, so you don’t become a victim yourself. Regarding how to protect yourself, there’s lots of good advice out there:

–When it comes to phone calls, make sure you have caller ID and only answer familiar numbers.

– If someone tries to pressure you about a financial investment, pause and step back. The pressure and your fear of missing out work against you in making a rational decision.

–Never click a link in a text or email where you don’t know the sender.

–Make sure your local bank branch is aware of your concerns about fraud, so they can be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.

–Sensitive documents should be locked away and documents with personal information that are no longer necessary should be shredded. 

And are you still writing checks and sending them in the mail? That’s a set-up for potential fraud for sure. There has been a rise in the use of “check washing,” which is the stealing of someone’s personal check, using chemicals to wash away the written payee and amount, and then filling in fraudulent information to scam the check writer out of their money. The Better Business Bureau claims that check washing accounts for over $815 million in losses every year. It’s instead advised that if you’re going to write a check, use a gel pen which makes it harder to wash off the ink. Place the check into the mail directly at a post office, rather than leaving it in one of the more traditional blue mailboxes, and if you’re expecting a check, retrieve your mail as soon as it’s delivered. But better yet, perhaps it’s time to stop writing checks altogether. It may be preferable to set up an online electronic bill-paying system using a credit card. Or you may want to consider learning how to use one of the new digital money-sending platforms, such as Zelle, Venmo, or Paypal. While these new digital methods require you to take precautions so that only those intended to receive your money actually get it, they can be a valuable way to avoid the sort of check-washing fraud that’s becoming more prevalent. To find out more, put down your checkbook and look here.

While you may not be able to easily recover the money lost to a scam, it’s nonetheless important to know how to report a scam and get your complaint into the system. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a valuable guide for reporting all types of scams perpetrated against older adults, and the Federal Trade Commission has its own reporting system for those who have been caught up in a Tech Support scam. And the FBI encourages all victims of elder financial abuse to contact their local FBI field office or submit a tip online. Complaints can also be filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. So don’t sit in silence or shame. The more we report and acknowledge these scams the better our chances of protecting older adults who may suffer severe consequences if their money is fraudulently stolen.