The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Aug. 7 that scammers posing as government officials or business representatives stole a total of $445 million from Americans over the age of 60 in 2024—an eightfold increase from the $55 million lost in 2020.
Individually, older adults admitted to being swindled out of $10,000 or more, sometimes their entire life savings, by these scammers. Reports of this high-tech theft have quadrupled in the past four years.
The FTC analysis indicates that while some younger consumers have also reported scams, older adults were more likely to report higher losses.
According to the report, scams usually involve someone contacting consumers to alert them to a purported problem with a bank account, credit card, tax payment, or computer security. The scammer then tries to persuade the unsuspecting consumer to transfer money to resolve the problem. In reality, the funds are being sent directly to the scammers….