Older Adults Reported $3 Billion in Scam Losses. Here's How Our Village Can Help
Pull up a chair, neighbor. Most of us know someone we would hate to see lose their savings to a stranger on the phone: a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, a friend from church. A new federal report says that worry is well founded, and it also points to simple habits that help.
On October 19, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent Congress its annual report on protecting older adults. Let's break down what it found, what it means for our families and small businesses, and what we can do about it together.
Here's What Happened
The report, Protecting Older Consumers 2025-2026, draws on fraud reports that people submit to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network. These are self-reported complaints, not a survey of every household. According to the FTC's announcement, the key findings include:
Reported losses have grown about fivefold. Adults ages 60 and over reported losing approximately $3 billion to fraud in 2025, up from about $600 million in 2020. The FTC says the increase was driven largely by growing reports of extraordinarily large individual losses.
Investment scams led the way. Reported losses to investment scams rose 42% in 2025 to more than $1 billion. The FTC says consumers report that scammers often reach them on social media.
Median losses are higher for older adults. Among people 80 and over, the median reported loss was $2,000.
Certain scams hit older adults more often. Older adults were more likely than younger adults to report losing money to tech support scams; prize, sweepstakes and lottery scams; romance scams; government impersonation scams; and scams impersonating friends or family.
The FTC also estimates that the overall cost of fraud to older adults in 2025 could be as high as $119.5 billion, because most fraud is never reported. The agency's estimates vary depending on the method used, so think of that number as a signal of scale rather than an exact count.
Here's a part of the story that often gets lost: the FTC says older adults continued to report losing money to fraud at lower rates than younger adults, and they filed no-loss reports (telling the FTC about a scam they spotted) at much higher rates. Many people are already catching these schemes.
Why It Matters
When the FTC says losses are being driven by extraordinarily large individual losses, it is describing a pattern where one successful scam can wipe out years of savings. That is why prevention matters more than recovery. Money sent by wire, cryptocurrency, payment app or gift card is notoriously hard to get back, and the FTC warns that scammers often insist on exactly those methods.
The report also shows that this is not only a technology problem. The FTC's enforcement work described in the report covers debt relief services, health insurance fraud, government and business impersonation, money-making opportunities and tech support scams. In other words, the scammers are using familiar names and familiar promises, and a calm pause is often the best defense.
What This Means for the Village
Retirees and older neighbors are the group most directly named in the report, but the takeaway is not that anyone is careless. Scammers build pressure, urgency and trust, and that can work on anyone on a busy or lonely day.
Adult children and grandchildren are often the first people who notice something is off, such as a sudden gift card purchase or a new "investment friend" online. A gentle conversation early can matter more than any technology.
Entrepreneurs and employers should note that business impersonation and "money-making opportunity" schemes appear in the FTC's work too. If you have older employees, customers or family members who help in your business, a five-minute team conversation about verifying requests is time well spent.
Churches, libraries, senior centers and neighborhood groups are natural places to share what scammers are saying this season. Neighbors telling neighbors is still one of the strongest tools we have.
What You Can Do Now
The FTC's guidance on how to avoid a scam boils down to a few habits anyone can practice:
Learn the four signs. Scammers pretend to be from an organization you know, say there is a problem or a prize, pressure you to act immediately, and tell you to pay in a specific way.
Never pay the way scammers ask. Be wary of anyone who insists you pay with cryptocurrency, a wire transfer, a payment app or a gift card. And never deposit a check and send money back to someone.
Verify on your own. If a call, text or email seems real, do not use the phone number, link or caller ID it gave you. Look up the organization's number from a website you trust. Caller ID can be changed by scammers, so the name and number on your screen might not be real.
Resist the pressure. Honest businesses and agencies give you time to decide. The FTC says it will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money or promise you a prize.
Stop and talk to someone you trust. Before you do anything else, tell a friend, family member or neighbor. Saying it out loud often reveals the scam.
Block and filter. Use your phone's tools to block unwanted calls and filter suspicious text messages.
Report it, even if you lost nothing. Tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If money has already left your account, contact your bank or payment company right away to ask about your options.
How the Village Can Help
Scams thrive in silence and embarrassment. Our best response is to make it easy to talk about them.
Start a friendly conversation. Try, "I read about some new scams this week. Have you gotten any strange calls or messages?" No lectures needed.
Agree on a family code word. If someone ever calls claiming a loved one is in trouble, the code word helps confirm it is really them.
Save the real numbers. Help an older relative store the true phone numbers for their bank, their doctor and their insurer, so they are not relying on a number a caller provides.
Host a coffee-and-scams hour. A church fellowship hall, library or community room is a great place to swap stories with a no-shame rule.
Know where real help is. The Department of Justice's National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311) is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. Callers are assigned a case manager who can help with reporting and connect them with other resources.
If you missed our earlier guide, Medicare Open Enrollment Is Open, and So Are the Scams, it has more tips for the older adults in your life. You may also like our look at what Social Security's 2027 cost-of-living adjustment means for retirees and families, and our recent reminder to check your receipt and protect your budget.
Front Porch Takeaway
A scam works best when someone faces a big decision alone, so let's be the neighbors who make sure no one has to.
Sources
Federal Trade Commission, FTC Issues Annual Report to Congress on Agency's Actions to Protect Older Adults (October 19, 2026)
Federal Trade Commission, Protecting Older Consumers 2025-2026 (report to Congress)
FTC Consumer Advice, How To Avoid a Scam
U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, National Elder Fraud Hotline
This content was generated by AI.
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