Elder Financial Abuse is on the Rise

The cost of financial crimes against older Americans is on the rise. Between 2024 and 2025, it surged from roughly $4.8 billion to more than $7.7 billion.¹

Are criminals targeting seniors more? Or are there just more seniors to target? As fraudsters' methods become more advanced and more Americans turn 65 than ever before, it seems likely that both are contributing factors.²

Fortunately, government efforts and resources available to individuals and families to prevent elder fraud are also on the rise. Here's a close look at what's driving this particularly heinous financial crime, what's being done to curb it and how older Americans can protect themselves.

Types of Rising Elder Financial Fraud

According to the FBI, the types of elder crime having the most impact include:

Investment Scams

Investment/Crypto Focus: Investment and cryptocurrency fraud were the primary drivers, with seniors losing more than $740 million to investment scams in 2024 and more than $4.35 billion to crypto scams in 2025.¹ Overall, this represents a 37% increase in losses for older adults from 2024. This fraud is often presented to victims as a low-risk investment with surefire returns, including advanced fee frauds, Ponzi and pyramid schemes, real estate investing scams and more.³

Tech Support Scams

Tech support scams, in which a criminal poses as a customer service agent in order to collect payments or gain remote access to a victim's computer or financial accounts, saw older Americans losing approximately $982 million to this type of fraud between July 2024 and June 2025.¹ In 2025, more than 201,000 victims aged 60 and older reported financial losses to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), marking a significant increase in elder fraud. A little more than 58% of all tech support scam losses impacted the elder demographic.

Confidence/Romance Scams

Specifically for 2024, the FBI's IC3 report recorded 7,626 victims over 60 years old in confidence/romance scams, with approximately $389 million in losses.¹  Confidence/romance scams were a major category, with seniors losing $584 million, up 33.4% from 2024.

Government Impersonation

In 2025, the number of government impersonation scams reported to the FBI’s IC3 nearly doubled from 2024, surging to 32,424, according to the 2025 IC3 Annual Report. Total losses from these specific government impersonation scams reached $798 million in 2025, up from $406 million in 2024.

Protective Actions Underway

Between 2024 and 2025, the DOJ Fraud Section significantly increased its enforcement actions, charging 265 individuals and initiating 15 corporate enforcement actions in 2025 (up from 13 in 2024), involving more than $16 billion in intended losses and $1 billion-plus in corporate resolutions. 

These enforcement actions were part of the DOJ's Elder Justice Initiative, which also includes support for older victims, enhanced state and local justice efforts and raising public awareness about elder abuse and financial fraud.⁴

Elder Fraud Resources

Americans 60 and older and their family members can take action to prevent financial fraud and abuse against themselves and loved ones.

Elder Fraud Prevention Education:

• Educational resources: Both the DOJ and the FTC have publicly accessible educational resources on elder abuse for individual use or to use in community presentations.^5,6
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) Preventing Elder Financial Abuse Guide: This guide is designed for the family and friends of seniors living in nursing homes and assisted living communities.⁷
• PNFP.com/Fraud has several articles on common scams that target seniors and others.

Elder Fraud Reporting Resources:

• DOJ's Financial Exploitation Guide: Through stories and a series of questions, users can identify if they have experienced financial exploitation and how to report it.⁸
• DOJ's National Elder Fraud Hotline: Call 1-833-FRAUD-11 for non-life-threatening emergencies related to elder fraud and abuse.⁹

Supportive Services for Victims of Elder Fraud:

• DOJ's Elder Justice Neighborhood Resources: Seniors can find government agencies, programs and nonprofits available to assist with elder fraud in their state.¹⁰
• DOJ's Office for Victims of Crimes Directory of Crime Victim Services: Seniors and their families can search for specific services like identity theft counseling, emergency financial assistance and support groups.¹¹
• The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc.: This organization connects seniors to attorneys who specialize in providing quality legal services to older clients and people with disabilities.¹²

Just as they've changed every other aspect of society and culture, aging Baby Boomers are sharply increasing the number of seniors in the U.S., placing new focus on the long-running issue of elder financial fraud. As cybercrime and other types of financial fraud continue to evolve and more seniors become increasingly reliant on technology, the risk will only continue to increase. But with the right resources and awareness, older consumers and their loved ones can help prevent elder financial fraud and lessen the impact when it occurs.