FTC report shows seniors lost billions to fraud, outlines steps to improve protections

Older Americans are losing billions of dollars to fraud schemes, from romance scams to business imposters.

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A report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finds that seniors reported losing more than $1.9 billion to fraud scams last year. The finding shows older Americans also lost more money to fraud using bank transfers and cryptocurrency than any other payment methods.

Kathy Stokes with AARP’s Fraud Prevention Programs said fraud scams affect all adults regardless of age, but she said seniors may have more assets at risk.

FTC report shows seniors lost billions to fraud, outlines steps to improve protections

“It’s the retirement funds, it’s maybe life insurance proceeds, but it’s also homes and cars and the criminals will seek to take everything,” said Stokes.

The FTC says a lot of fraud also goes unreported and the agency estimates fraud losses for seniors could be as high as $61.5 billion last year. One of the reasons why Stokes believes fraud should be prioritized as a crime, as she said fraud victims often feel shame or embarrassment about what happened to them.

“If you’re an older adult, you may be afraid that your adult children will think you’re not capable of financial decisions, and these things generally are not true,” she said.

Last fiscal year, FTC enforcement efforts led to more than $267 million in relief to consumers of all ages.

Additionally, the agency launched the Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group, which was created as part of the 2022 Stop Senior Scams Act. The group includes representatives from various federal and state government agencies and its members have developed guidance aimed at preventing scams that target seniors.

The report also outlines what the Advisory Group’s committees have done to better protect seniors. This includes ways to improve training to help employees stop and prevent fraud, but Stokes believes banks and law enforcement should do more too.

“Criminals are using generative artificial intelligence. These financial institutions need to be using generative artificial intelligence to combat what’s happening, we need a much more meaningful law enforcement response to this crime,” said Stokes. “We need the criminal response so that we actually begin to arrest, prosecute and imprison the people behind these scams.”

There are also efforts to try to get victims their money back.

The Federal Trade Commission wants Congress to amend Section 13(b) of the FTC Act to make it easier for the agency to provide refunds to affected consumers. It would also help prevent offenders from benefitting from their scams by keeping their illegally gained profits.

You can find more information about scams and how to avoid them here: https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/?Intcmp=AE-FRDSC-ABT-FRC#01/

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