In 2020, individuals aged 60 and above experienced a notable increase in financial losses due to online scams, with approximately $1 billion scammed from this demographic, as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This amount represents 28% of the total $4.1 billion lost by Americans to online scams in the same year, marking a $300 million increase from the previous year.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center’s analysis shows a worrying trend in states like Texas and California, where significant losses were recorded among the senior population. In Texas, the elderly faced nearly $70 million in losses, while in California, losses amounted to over $150 million. On average, victims over 60 lost about $9,175 in 2020, with nearly 2,000 victims losing more than $100,000.
To combat this rising issue, the FBI in Dallas, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Texas, have initiated public service announcements to educate and protect seniors from such scams.
The increase in online scam cases during the pandemic is attributed to the elderly spending more time online, often for shopping or seeking companionship, including through online dating platforms. The FBI has noted a surge in online romance scams, where fraudsters, after establishing a relationship with the victim, persuade them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.
These scams often involve directing victims to bogus investment platforms and using tactics such as allowing withdrawals of small amounts to gain further trust. Criminals frequently employ “money mules” to transfer and launder the stolen funds, adding complexity and obscuring the money’s trail.
The FBI categorizes these as “confidence fraud” or “romance fraud,” which accounted for the majority of the complaints received by the Internet Crime Complaint Center from seniors. In the first seven months of 2021, the center registered over 1,800 complaints related to such scams, with losses totaling approximately $133.4 million.
Romance frauds topped the list of financial losses, but the most common types of complaints were related to non-delivery and nonpayment scams. With many elderly individuals shopping online for the first time due to the pandemic, they became prime targets for scams, including those involving counterfeit health and beauty products. Another prevalent fraud type targeting this age group involved fake technical support schemes, where criminals pose as service representatives to resolve purported issues like compromised email or bank accounts.
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