Older adults lose an estimated $3 billion or more to financial fraud every year in the United States, and that number is almost certainly an undercount. Many victims never report what happened out of embarrassment or because they don’t realize they’ve been deceived until long after the damage is done. The people behind these schemes are not opportunists taking random shots in the dark, they’re deliberately targeting older adults because they know that age, isolation, and in some cases cognitive decline can make someone more vulnerable to manipulation. Understanding how these schemes work is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself or someone you love.
Loneliness and Romance Fraud
This is among the most emotionally devastating forms of elder fraud, and it has become significantly more sophisticated with the rise of artificial intelligence. The basic structure is straightforward: a stranger makes contact through social media, a phone call, or an online platform and invests weeks or even months building what feels like a genuine relationship. They are attentive, warm, and consistent, often making daily contact. Once trust is established, the requests for money begin, typically framed as an emergency like a medical crisis, a legal problem, a business deal gone wrong. By that point, the victim has formed a real emotional bond and finds it very difficult to say no.
What makes this especially dangerous today is that AI-generated voices and images are now convincing enough to impersonate real people. Scammers have used audio cloning technology to mimic the voices of family members or love interests in phone calls, making the deception nearly impossible to detect without knowing what to listen for.
How to spot it: Be cautious of anyone who contacts you out of the blue and moves quickly toward emotional intimacy. A major red flag is someone who is consistently unavailable for video calls or in-person meetings, which is often how scammers avoid revealing that their identity is fabricated. Any request for money, regardless of how convincing the reason sounds, from someone you have never met in person should be treated as a serious warning sign.
If you’ve been targeted: Stop all contact immediately and do not send any additional money. Report the fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov and to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If money was transferred, contact your bank as quickly as possible because in some cases transfers can be reversed if caught early enough. Don’t be ashamed to tell someone you trust what happened; these schemes are professionally engineered to deceive.
Sweepstakes and Lottery Fraud
The phone rings, or a letter arrives, and the news sounds incredible: you’ve won a prize! A cash jackpot, a luxury car, a sweepstakes you may or may not remember entering. All you have to do to claim it is pay a small fee upfront to cover taxes, processing, or shipping. The fee seems reasonable compared to the prize. So does the next one. And the one after that.
This scheme works because the excitement of winning is a powerful emotional trigger, and scammers are skilled at maintaining that excitement while slowly draining their victims’ accounts. They often create urgency by saying the prize must be claimed within 24 hours and instruct victims to keep the winnings secret, which conveniently cuts off any chance a trusted friend or family member might intervene. Victims who have paid once are frequently contacted again under a new pretense, since they have already demonstrated a willingness to send money.
How to spot it: A legitimate sweepstakes or lottery will never require you to pay money upfront to claim a prize. If you’re being asked to wire money, send gift cards, or pay fees of any kind before receiving your winnings, it’s fraud. Requests for secrecy are another immediate red flag, real prize notifications do not come with instructions to hide the news from your family.
If you’ve been targeted: Do not send any more money and cut off contact with whoever has been reaching out. Report the fraud to the FTC and to your state’s attorney general office, which often has a dedicated elder fraud unit. If gift cards were used, a common payment method in these schemes because it is difficult to trace, call the card issuer directly and report the fraud, as some issuers have been able to recover funds in recent cases.
Home Improvement Fraud
This one starts at the front door. A person claiming to be a contractor, inspector, or repair specialist knocks and delivers some version of the same story: they were working in the neighborhood, they noticed a problem with your roof or driveway or foundation, and they can fix it quickly and cheaply if you act now. The “problem” is either fabricated or wildly exaggerated. The work, if it gets done at all, is shoddy and overpriced, and in many cases, the contractor takes a large upfront payment and disappears entirely.
Older homeowners are disproportionately targeted because they are more likely to be home during the day, may be less familiar with going rates for repair work, and can be more susceptible to high-pressure sales tactics that create a sense of urgency. The rise of AI-generated fake reviews and professional-looking websites has also made it easier for fraudulent contractors to appear legitimate at a glance.
How to spot it: Legitimate contractors don’t typically solicit business by knocking on doors with urgent warnings. Be skeptical of anyone who pressures you to make a same-day decision, asks for full payment upfront in cash, or is unable to provide a written estimate, a business license, or verifiable references. Before hiring anyone for home repairs, get at least two or three independent estimates and check the contractor’s credentials through your state’s licensing board.
If you’ve been targeted: If you paid and the work was not completed or was done fraudulently, file a report with your local police department and your state’s attorney general. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also accepts complaints related to home repair fraud at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. If the contractor is still in contact or has not yet been paid in full, do not make any additional payments and consult with a local attorney about your options for recovering what you’ve already lost.
