Don’t Fall for These 7 Common Elderly Phone Scams

According to reports by FBI, $3.4 Billion were lost to scams targeting seniors in 2023, 11% more than the previous year.

An average senior targeted by fraudsters suffered a loss of $33,915 while almost 6000 seniors lost more than $100,000 to a scam.

A Phone call is the most common method for scammers to contact and target the elderly.

Here are some of the most common elderly phone scams according to the reported data.

Read More: Top 10 Online Scams Targeting Seniors

1. Tech Support Scams

Tech support scam was number one reported crime type in 2023, according to FBI. More than 18000 seniors lost almost $600 millions to tech support frauds.

How it Works

The scammer calls pretending to be a computer technician from a well-known tech company and claims to find a problem with your computer.

They ask you to grant them remote access to your computer for a free diagnostic test. Then they try to convince you to make a payment to fix a problem that does not exist.

Through remote access to your computer, they can send a virus file or use other methods to steal your data and private information.

2. Investments Scams

While most seniors were victim of tech support scams, investment scams proved to be costliest to the elderly with losses exceeding $1.2 Billion in loss in 2023.

These types of elderly phone scams involve promises of big payouts and guaranteed returns by tricking you into investing money.

Older adults have savings and other assets and attract more investment scammers than other age groups.

How it Works

Investment fraudsters often pretend to be telemarketers or financial advisors that seem friendly and smart.

They earn your trust and present you with an “urgent investment opportunity” for a limited time to trick you into investing.

3. Grandparent Scam

This is one of the well-known phone scams targeting elderly, yet many seniors fall for it.

How it Works

The victim gets a call from someone posing as his/ her grandchild. The imposter tells the grandparent that they are in trouble because of some emergency, accident or arrest in a frantic-sounding voice.

The scammer makes some family references, gleaned from social media accounts, to make the whole scenario emotional and pretend to be in a hospital or stuck in a foreign land.

The caller urges the grandparent to send some money to get him/ her out of trouble and also begs to not tell anyone about his situation.

Sometimes the scammer pretends to be a police officer or lawyer trying to help the grandchild.

The grandparent scams are still common because the scammers play with the emotions of older adults.

Seniors, who even have knowledge about these types of scams, fall for them.

4. Lottery Scams

Next category of phone scams targeting elderly are sweepstakes and lottery scams. According to research by Federal Trade Commission, 10% of scams fall into this category.

How it Works

The fraudster tells older adults they have won a lottery or prize of some kind through a telephone call.

They use names of well-known organizations to seem legit. They ask you to pay some kind of fees for taxes or shipping and handling charges to claim your prize or lottery.

Some scammers may ask you for personal information or bank account details to transfer your prize to your bank.

They will pressurize to “act now” to claim your prize as it is a limited-time offer. These types of scams work because of greed, urgency and excitement.

5. Charity Scams

This type of phone scam is used to target seniors after a tragic event or major disaster such as a hurricane.

Charity scammers are also active during holidays when people donate more than at any other time.

How it Works

Scammers ask you to donate to an organization or person who is in trouble. They also emotionally trigger you to donate because it is the holiday season.

They often imitate the name and material of a real charity to gain your trust and make you believe that you are doing a great act of kindness.

6. Senior Benefits Scam Calls

You can access many benefits, perks and discounts for being a senior but it also makes you vulnerable to scams from fraudsters.

How it Works

Seniors get a phone call telling them that they need a new Medicare card or health insurance to get medical care.

The scammers may also tell seniors to claim a discount on their insurance by acting on a phone call immediately.

They use these types of telephone scams targeting elderly to steal personal data like date of birth and social security number.

7. Siri, Alexa and Google Home Scams

This is a type of scam where scammers are getting potential victims to make a call instead of receiving a call.

How it Works

The scammer tricks virtual assistant technology such as Alexa, Siri or Google Home to provide you with fake customer support numbers.

You have no idea that you are being scammed when making a call for customer service.

Scammers are successful in this type of scam because you reach out to them thinking it is the customer service number of an airline to change seats or tech support hotline from a printer company. They are ready to steal your information and money.

There are many other types of scams seniors should be aware of including romance scams, government imposter scams, and “can you hear me?” scams where the scammer only wants a “yes” from you to use it to sign for a service that you do not know exists.

The scammers keep coming up with new ideas and ways to use phone calls to scam older adults. It is important to know how to protect against these phone scams.

Report, If You Have Been a Target of a Scam

Many scams and frauds go unreported because either people are ashamed to admit that they have been scammed or they do not know how to report a scam.

Do not be ashamed to report if you have been a target of a scam, it only helps scammers to target more people.

Do the following things to make sure that the crime does not go unnoticed.  

• Report the Scam to FTC: You can report to FTC online or via phone
• Report Identity Theft: If you think you have shared personal or financial information with a scammer, go to the Identity Theft website to report the identity theft and get a recovery plan.
• National Elder Fraud line: If you or your loved one has been a victim of elder financial fraud or scam, reach out to Nation Elder Fraud Line. They assign you a case manager and treat you with respect and understanding.
• NAPSA: National Adult Protective Services Association helps you on local levels. This nonprofit works with older adults and disabled persons if they have been victimized financially.

Let your bank know if you have a victim of financial fraud to discuss the options to protect your financial information in the future.  

These are some of the elderly phone scams. The scammers keep coming up with new and sophisticated methods to target senior citizens via phone calls and texts.

Never share personal or financial information with anyone over the phone to avoid these scams and report if you have been a victim of financial fraud or identity theft.