Highlights:

Most victims of senior financial exploitation are between 80 and 89 years old. It’s estimated that about half of senior financial exploitation is perpetrated by strangers (51%), while 34% is committed by family, friends and neighbors.

This is a global issue – many folks who fall for these scams do not report them because they are embarrassed. Many folks are busy/lonely and unaware that there are scams like this.

These pages are primarily for Seniors because “Over the next 40 years, the number of older adults in the U.S. is expected to increase from 56 million in 2020 to 94.7 million in 2060. The number of adults over the age of 85 is expected to almost triple, from 6.7 million to 19 million over that same time period.

The scammers’ purpose is to either convince you to send money or steal personal financial information.
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How to learn more about Scams.

• National Elder Fraud Hotline – 1833–FRAUD–11
• FBI 
• How to Avoid Senior Financial Exploitation

Common Scams involve (per FTC/Federal Trade Commission).

• Being pressured to make decisions quickly or being threatened
• Receiving a call from someone pretending to be from the government
• Being asked to provide personal information, such as your Social Security number or Credit Card account numbers
• Receiving a check and being asked to deposit it and send the person the money
• Being told to pay in a specific way, such as using cryptocurrency, wiring money or putting money on a gift card
• Being offered free travel or prizes
  

Some Common Scams (as of 2025).

• Grandparent Scams
• Govt impersonation Scams
• Sweepstakes/Lottery Scams
• Tech Support Scams
• Phishing
• Email Extortion Scams
• Fake Check/Overpayment Scams
• Telemarketing and internet fraud
• Romance Scams

Basic ways to protect yourself from Internet fraud/scams.

1. Enable MFA (Multi Factor Authentication)
2. Use a PassWord Manager (1Password or BitWarden)
3. Use a different email for shopping (vs financial/personal emails)
4. Use Cloudflare DNS for families
5. Password length and complexity

References:
Mark Mather, Linda A. Jacobsen, Beth Jarosz, Lillian Kilduff, Amanda Lee, Kelvin M. Pollard, Paola Scommegna and Alicia Vanorman, America’s Changing Population: What to Expect in the 2020 Census, Population Reference Bureau, June 2019.

Disclaimer:This document contains summaries of information obtained from publicly available websites. The content has been condensed and paraphrased for clarity and brevity. While reasonable care has been taken to accurately represent the source material, this summary may not capture all nuances or the most current updates. Users should refer to the original sources for complete, authoritative, and up-to-date information.