Financial exploitation of older adults is rising at an alarming pace, with recent federal reports showing that Americans aged 60 and older lost an estimated $2.4 billion to fraud in 2024—a fourfold increase from approximately $600 million reported in 2020. The findings underscore a growing threat as scammers increasingly target older adults through sophisticated investment schemes, impersonation scams, and online fraud.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), overall consumer fraud losses reached a record $12.5 billion in 2024, with investment scams accounting for the largest share of reported losses. While younger adults report fraud more frequently, older victims typically suffer substantially higher financial losses per incident.

The scale of the problem extends beyond confirmed fraud reports. An analysis by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) found that financial institutions identified approximately $27 billion in suspicious elder financial exploitation activity between June 2022 and June 2023. Although these reports represent suspicious transactions rather than confirmed losses, they highlight the magnitude of financial abuse affecting older Americans.

Advocates for older adults warn that the true cost of elder financial abuse is likely much higher than official statistics indicate. The National Council on Aging estimates that financial exploitation costs older Americans at least $28.3 billion each year, with many incidents never reported because victims fear embarrassment, depend on the perpetrator for care, or have cognitive impairments that make reporting difficult.

Financial exploitation is one of several forms of elder abuse affecting the nation’s aging population. The National Council on Aging estimates that one in ten Americans aged 60 and older experiences some form of elder abuse, including financial exploitation, neglect, emotional abuse, or physical abuse.

Recent FTC data also show that adults aged 80 and older experience some of the highest median financial losses from fraud, exceeding $1,600 per reported case in 2024. Older consumers are particularly vulnerable to investment fraud, government impersonation scams, tech support scams, romance scams, and prize or lottery schemes. Many of today’s investment scams begin through social media platforms, where criminals build trust before persuading victims to transfer money.

Experts caution that fraud tactics continue to evolve alongside advances in technology. Artificial intelligence, spoofed phone numbers, convincing fake websites, and cryptocurrency payment requests have made many scams increasingly difficult to recognize, even for financially experienced adults.

Consumer protection agencies encourage older adults and their families to remain vigilant by verifying unsolicited requests for money, independently confirming the identity of callers claiming to represent government agencies or financial institutions, and discussing significant financial decisions with trusted family members or advisors before transferring funds.

As the U.S. population ages, researchers and policymakers warn that combating elder financial abuse will require stronger identification and reporting systems, increased public education, enhanced protections within financial institutions, and closer collaboration among law enforcement, banks, healthcare providers, and community organizations.

References

Federal Trade Commission. (2025). Protecting Older Consumers 2024–2025: A Report of the Federal Trade Commission.

Federal Trade Commission. (2025). New FTC Data Show a Big Jump in Reported Losses to Fraud to $12.5 Billion in 2024.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. (2024). FinCEN Issues Analysis on Elder Financial Exploitation.

National Council on Aging. (2024). Get the Facts on Elder Abuse.