Older Americans continue to face growing threats from financial fraud, with common schemes including tech support scams, government impersonation and grandparent emergency scams.
To help combat those threats, the Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments (TARCOG) and the Marshall County Council on Aging will host a free, in-person Fraud & Scam Summit for older adults, caregivers and professionals.
The program is designed to educate the community about identity theft, financial exploitation and other common scams. The summit will bring together expert speakers from the Alabama Securities Commission, local law enforcement, financial experts and other trusted organizations to provide real-world insights and practical tools for recognizing and preventing fraud.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), older adults experienced the greatest financial impact from fraud last year. The FBI’s 2025 IC3 Annual Report states that Americans age 60 and older reported losses totaling $7.7 billion, approximately a 60 percent increase from 2024. By comparison, adults in their 30s and 40s reported $4.6 billion in losses.
Overall, people of all ages filed more than one million internet crime complaints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2025, with reported fraud losses reaching $20.9 billion, a 26 percent increase over 2024.
TARCOG officials said the annual summit is held in response to the alarming rise in fraud- and scam-related incidents. The goal is to educate citizens about the most common scams and provide practical information on how to outsmart fraudsters.
The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) at TARCOG works to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families and caregivers in preventing, detecting and reporting health care fraud, errors and abuse. The SMP organizes the annual Fraud & Scam Summit to provide an overview of current scams and fraud affecting the region, the state and the nation.
Topics covered during the summit will include cybersecurity, financial scams and consumer fraud. Following a sponsor-provided lunch, a panel of experts will discuss timely issues and answer questions from attendees during a question-and-answer session.
The summit will be held Tuesday, Aug. 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Marshall County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) building, located at 19272 U.S. Highway 431 in Guntersville.
The event is free, but registration is required. Those wishing to attend should register by calling 256-830-0818 no later than noon on Friday, Aug. 21. Individuals interested in registering online may call the same number for instructions.
The summit is open to anyone in the North Alabama region. TARCOG encourages residents to help spread the word about the event and its mission of protecting older adults and the community from fraud and scams.
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