NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! DENVER – Scams targeting older Americans are surging, and federal officials are warning that the tactics are becoming harder to detect. The Federal Trade Commission says scammers are posing as IRS agents, police officers or other officials – often over the phone or online – to steal...Read More
According to the FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, people aged 60 and over in the US lost a combined $4.8 billion to fraud in 2024 alone. Criminals use a variety of tactics to gain trust and in certain circumstances compromise people’s online accounts, often with the goal of targeting their close contacts for scams. This...Read More
Most scams sound harmless at first. Someone offers a quick, painless DNA test that could help detect diseases early, and they say it’s “completely free.” But across the country, senior centers are once again reporting a surge in these so-called free genetic testing offers, and experts say it’s a dangerous scam making a comeback this...Read More
A combination of old and new scam tactics has flooded the elderly in recent years – AI voice-generated phone calls, fraudulent calls demanding immediate payment, lottery and sweepstakes calls and more. (Adobe Stock) Financial scams targeting older adults have reached a high level of sophistication, posing significant risks to this vulnerable demographic. A recent Scientific...Read More
Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. A Winnipeg woman says elderly people and those living on low income must increasingly watch out for fraudsters after she fell...Read More
Salisbury, Md. – Online scams have dramatically increased among older adults in the United States. According to the FBI’s most recent Internet Crime Report, older Americans lost nearly $4.9 billion last year with an average loss of $83,000. Experts say that scammers commonly target older adults by asking for gift cards, faking charity appeals,...Read More
A multi-agency investigation led by the FBI San Diego Field Office made 19 arrests today as part of an investigation into an alleged international criminal network believed to have scammed senior citizens out of more than $400 million, authorities reported. A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of...Read More
Scammers will target anyone. Young people are often lured by shopping scams and fake job offers. People in their 30s and 40s fall for impersonation and investment scams. Seniors are targeted with just about everything. The FBI says Americans over 60 lost nearly five billion dollars to scams last year. Much of it started on...Read More
Don’t answer the phone and don’t open the door for anyone you don’t know. Those were the two main messages from a workshop for seniors on how to prevent scams. The event took place at the Clark W. Redeker Newark Senior Center on Wednesday, Oct. 29. It was organized by Senator Aisha Wahab’s Office and...Read More
Older adults lost $2.4 billion to fraud schemes in 2024, driven largely by reported individual losses of more than $100,000 to investment and romance scams, as well as impersonations, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s annual report to Congress. The FTC’s Protecting Older Consumers 2024-2025 report, released earlier this month, revealed that in 2024, older...Read More
