Century Park Blog

Scams targeting older adults are on the rise. In 2022, there were 88,262 complaints of fraud resulting in $3.1 billion in losses from people age 60+.

The most common financial scams targeting older people include government impersonation scams, sweepstakes scams, and robocall scams.

Financial crimes against older adults can be devastating, often leaving people with no way to recoup their losses. Learn how to identify and stop the top 5 financial scams targeting seniors.

1. Government impersonation scams

In government impersonation scams (also known as government imposter scams), scammers call unsuspecting older adults and pretend to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration, or Medicare. They may say the person has unpaid taxes and threaten arrest or deportation if they don’t pay up immediately. Or they may say Social Security or Medicare benefits will be cut off if the person doesn’t provide personal identifying information. This information can then be used to commit identity theft.

2. Sweepstakes and lottery scams

The sweepstakes scam is one many people are familiar with. Here, scammers call an older adult to tell them they've won a lottery or prize of some kind. If they want to claim their winnings, the older adult must send money, cash, or gift cards up front— sometimes thousands of dollars' worth—to cover supposed taxes and processing fees. Scammers may impersonate well-known sweepstakes organizations (like Publishers Clearing House) to build trust among their targets. Of course, no prize is ever delivered. Sometimes, fraudsters are able to convince the older adult to send even more money by telling them their winnings will arrive soon. Many continue to call people for months and even years after defrauding them out of an initial sum of money.

3. Robocalls and phone scams

Robocalls take advantage of sophisticated, automated phone technology to dial large numbers of households from anywhere in the world. While there are legal uses for this technology, robocalls can also be used to carry out a variety of scams on trusting older adults who answer the phone. Some robocalls may claim that a warranty is expiring on the person's car or electronic device, and payment is needed to renew it. Like with government impersonation calls, scammers often spoof the number from which they're calling to make it appear as if the call is from a reputed organization.

4. Computer tech support scams

Technical support scams prey on older people’s lack of knowledge about computers and cybersecurity. A pop-up message or blank screen usually appears on a computer or phone, telling the user their device is damaged and needs fixing. When they call the support number for help, the scammer may either request remote access to the older person’s computer and/or demand they pay a fee to have it repaired.

5. The grandparent scam

The grandparent scam is so simple and so devious because it uses one of older adults’ most reliable assets, their hearts. Scammers call a would-be grandparent and say something along the lines of: “Hi, Grandma, do you know who this is?” When the unaware grandparent guesses the name of the grandchild the scammer most sounds like, the scammer is able to instantly secure their trust. The fake grandchild then asks for money to solve some urgent financial problem (such as overdue rent, car repairs, or jail bond). They may beg the grandparent not to tell anyone. Since fraudsters often ask to be paid via gift cards or money transfer, which don’t always require identification to collect, the older adult may have no way of ever recovering their money.

Scams are specially designed to catch us off guard, and they can happen to anyone. There’s nothing to be ashamed of if you think it's happened to you. Keep handy the phone numbers of resources that can help, including the local police, your bank (if money has been taken from your accounts), and Adult Protective Services.