Protect Your Wallet: FBI Warns of Rising Elder Fraud Targeting Seniors

According to a recently released FBI report, Americans over 60 were the victims of so-called elder fraud crimes more often last year than any other year, accounting for an estimated $3.4 billion in total reported losses.

Federal investigators said that between 2022 and 2023, reports of criminal schemes aimed against older citizens rose by 14%. The investigators cautioned that the most costly schemes for the elderly are those involving investments, when the victims are tricked into sending money to dishonest financial organizations. More than 101,000 reports of fraud against those over 60 were made to federal law enforcement in total last year-more than any other age group in the nation.

Senior adults in the country are most at risk as a result of one of the "greatest transfers of generational wealth," according to FBI officials, who described the new figures as "astonishing" on Tuesday.

According to the research, there were 5,920 seniors over 60 who lost more than $100,000 due to criminal fraud and federal trends last year, indicating that seniors are becoming more and more targeted and victims. Many times, victims are forced to give the criminal fraudsters permission to deplete their bank accounts by making bogus claims.

FBI agents asked American banking institutions to take greater action to assist elderly victims who are unable to complete such money transfers, during a Tuesday press conference.

Officials expressed optimism on Tuesday that the updated report will expose fraudulent schemes and shield future victims from becoming victims of unscrupulous con artists. They stated that the key to these prevention efforts will be education and "tough conversations" with America's senior populations. They emphasized that the earlier fraud crimes are reported, the better chance law enforcement has of preventing money transfers and apprehending criminals before they finish their schemes.

Underreported Costs and Evolving Tactics

According to experts, it is challenging to determine the overall national effect of elder fraud schemes since most victims do not disclose the incidents to the police. In a 2023 research, AARP calculated that senior fraud scams cost $28.3 billion year, with victims' known people taking away 72% of the total.

A California man was taken into custody on Friday, according to authorities, who claimed he was attempting to withdraw $35,000 from two elderly victims of his elder fraud scam. The plan featured two people posing as federal officials and phishing attempts.

Tai Su, according to investigators, was only a small part of a larger criminal organization that pretended to be a financial institution and a Microsoft support system. Through phishing schemes, the hackers would first get access to the victims' computers before tricking the elderly into taking tens of thousands of dollars out of their bank accounts.

Su made his initial court appearance on Monday and is currently facing federal accusations.

The FBI study, which was made public on Tuesday, states that tech support scams continue to be the most prevalent type of elder fraud crime. However, victims are being targeted in ways other than technological ones. Romance scams and those in which con artists pose as family members are also on the rise, according to the FBI.

Law enforcement received almost 6,700 reports in 2023 about romantic scams that targeted those over 60 and cost the victims close to $357 million.

In New Jersey, a federal indictment was unveiled on Monday, accusing 16 people connected to a purported "grandparent scam" in which call centers in the Dominican Republic were used by suspected scammers to trick hundreds of American people by pretending to be grandkids and requesting money.

Investigators said on Tuesday that they had observed a change in the amount of scammers working out of the United States to foreign criminal groups, such as those based in Cambodia, Laos, and India.

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