Common scams and how to protect older adults from financial exploitation

If fraud happens, acting quickly can help to minimize losses. Be sure to call your financial institutions right away and contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline for additional help.

Proactive fraud protection tips

Education raises awareness of fraud risks and prepares you to detect and avoid scams. In 2024, the FBI announced an awareness campaign called “Take a Beat,” urging consumers to think first when receiving messages that could be fraud, whether by phone, text message, email, mailbox, or a door-to-door offer.

“One of the most common tactics scammers employ is a false sense of urgency or isolation,” the FBI said in a release. “They may try to instill trust, induce empathy, or fear, or promise monetary gains, companionship, or employment opportunities—all to lure victims into immediate action.”

Did you know that there are things you can do to help keep yourself and your loved ones safer from fraud? Here are a few best practices: 

1. Protect your personal and financial information

• Keep your passwords strong and unique. Use two-factor authentication when possible, so that you will receive an email or text message to verify it’s really you signing in. 
• Be careful what personal information you share online, such as pet names, schools you attended, or anything that could give scammers clues about your password or security questions
• Don’t share any account information with others - This includes usernames, passwords, PINs, and any one-time codes that you may receive about an account, which could indicate someone is trying to use your two-factor authentication to gain access.
• Keep an eye out for suspicious activity on your financial accounts. If you believe that a criminal may have gained access to a device or an account, contact your financial institutions immediately to protect your accounts and avoid losses.

2. Be skeptical about someone asking for money

• Never send money, checks, gift cards, or wire information without verifying directly the person or business. 
• Be skeptical about unsolicited communications and always confirm their legitimacy. 
• Check the Better Business Bureau and search online. 
• Someone asking you to buy multiple gift cards to pay for a transaction or help them in a bind is a common scam. 

3. Use technology to stay secure

• Solutions such as Greenlight Family Shield monitors for suspicious activity in most checking, savings, investing, or credit card accounts, including large transfers, low balances, or overdrafts, and alerts you and your loved ones to suspicious activity. Greenlight helps you and your trusted contacts catch suspicious financial activity — giving you time to act.
• Block robocalls. Unsolicited calls are a common tactic that scammers use. You can reduce the chances of becoming a victim by limiting calls that are received.
• Use antivirus software. Install reputable software on devices to help prevent phishing attacks or malware, which is a type of software designed to cause harm to computers or their users, such as viruses or spyware. Enable pop-up blockers, and be careful before downloading. Be sure to keep your software updated to guard against the latest threats.

Common scams and how to avoid them

Imposter scams: In these scams, people pretend to be a bank, a storefront, technical support, or even the government or law enforcement. The scammers often threaten individuals with arrest or seizure of their bank accounts for crimes they supposedly committed, such as tax evasion.  Scammers may also claim that victims’ Social Security numbers are suspended due to suspicious activity and demand PII and payment to resolve the supposed matter with the government.

• Tips to stay safe: Always verify identity. Call your relative directly from your contacts or call back the company at a listed number. If you get a text message or email from a business, watch out for spoofing, which disguises their communications to appear legitimate in caller ID, email address, or website URL. 

Carefully review for slight differences, which could be just one letter. Don’t click unverified links and enter personal or financial information. Phishing is an attempt to steal sensitive information or install malware. 

Emergency/person-in-need: These schemes (also known as “grandparent scams”) involve scammers contacting older adults and impersonating a grandchild, another relative, or medical office to deceive victims into believing that a loved one is in an emergency situation (e.g., a car accident, medical emergency, under arrest, or stranded in a foreign country) and needs money sent immediately to resolve the situation.

• Tips to stay safe: Ask specific questions only the real grandchild/relative would know. Never send money immediately without verifying the situation. Always verify the caller’s identity and reach out to the supposed grandchild's parents or other close relatives to verify the emergency. If you suspect a scam, report it to the authorities and your local consumer protection agency.

Investment scams. The highest amount of losses came from investment scams, which use false information to lure investors, usually promising high returns with minimal risk. Many asked for money through payment services, like Zelle or Venmo, or cryptocurrency wallets to invest in the stock market. 

• Tips to stay safe: Remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Only invest money through trusted accounts after doing your research.

Online shopping scams. A large percentage of social media scams came from fake storefronts that sold counterfeit products or didn’t deliver anything.

• Tips to stay safe: Double-check the business. Search online for their name with “scam” or “legit” for any reports. Check the Better Business Bureau for any complaints. Remember that reviews can be deceiving. 

Prize/sweepstakes/lottery scams. This scam claims that a person won a prize or money in sweepstakes or lotteries. The scammers instruct victims to pay for supposed shipping, taxes, or other fees in order to claim their prize or lottery winnings.  Victims never receive their prize or lottery winnings and are often re-victimized with additional requests for payments throughout the scheme until they run out of money. The same goes for a job or business opportunity that requires an upfront payment or cash to start.

• Tips to stay safe: If you’re asked to pay money for something “free” it’s likely a scam. Don’t pay to receive winnings or job offers. Verify the company and call directly to be sure it’s legitimate.

New scams are constantly emerging, so it's important to stay up to date on the latest trends, such as high-tech scams that impersonate family members with voice cloning. Keep in mind that scammers often take advantage of current events to add to their perceived legitimacy and urgency. They may impersonate celebrities, elected officials, or political candidates.