Common Scams Targeting Seniors: How to Spot and Stop Them

How Common Are Scams That Target Older Adults?

If a scam caller has ever reached your house, you are in good company. The most common scams targeting seniors reach millions of households every year, and the people behind them are professionals. Falling for one is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that someone studied you.

The numbers are sobering. In 2025, Americans age 60 and older filed 201,266 fraud complaints with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, more than any other age group, and reported $7.75 billion in losses. That was a 59 percent jump from 2024, and the average reported loss was about $38,500. More than 12,400 people in this age group each lost over $100,000.

The Federal Trade Commission tells the same story. In its most recent report to Congress, released in December 2025, the FTC found that reported fraud losses among adults 60 and over grew from about $600 million in 2020 to $2.4 billion in 2024. Because most fraud is never reported, the FTC estimates the true 2024 cost to older adults was somewhere between $10.1 billion and $81.5 billion.

The FBI's figures come from its 2025 annual report, released in April 2026, which is the most recent full year of federal data as of June 2026. Here is the good news: nearly every scam leans on the same handful of tricks. Once you know them, they are much easier to spot.

Which Scams Hit People 50 to 85 the Hardest?

Scammers follow the money. They know who has savings, who owns a home, and who still answers the phone. These are the schemes federal investigators see most often among people 50 to 85.

The grandparent scam. A caller claims to be a grandchild in trouble, perhaps a car accident, an arrest, or a hospital stay, and begs you not to tell anyone. Some scammers now use artificial voice tools that sound eerily like a real family member. Then a "lawyer" or "officer" gets on the line and asks for cash, gift cards, or a courier pickup. The secrecy is the tell. Real emergencies do not require hiding things from your own family.

Government impersonation. Someone claims to be from Social Security, Medicare, or the IRS. They say your benefits will stop, or you will be arrested, unless you "verify" your information or move money to a "safe account." People 60 and older reported $413 million in losses to government impersonation scams in 2025. Real agencies send letters. They do not call to demand payment, and they never threaten arrest over the phone.

Tech support scams. A pop-up or phone call warns that your computer has been hacked, and a "technician" needs remote access to fix it. This one is enormous: tech and customer support scams cost Americans 60 and older $1.04 billion in 2025.

Robocalls and "free" offers. Recorded calls pitch free medical alert devices, prize winnings, or discount health products. In one case the FTC pursued, a company blasted out at least a billion robocalls pitching "free" medical alert systems that actually carried monthly fees and were hard to cancel. If a recorded voice offers you something free, the safest move is to hang up.

Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Annual Report.

Why Do Scammers Target Families After an Obituary?

An obituary is a loving tribute. To a scammer, it is also a data file. It can reveal a name, a town, the names of children and grandchildren, and sometimes the exact hour a house will sit empty during the service. That is why fraud aimed at surviving spouses so often begins within days of a funeral.

Fake debt collection is the most common version. A caller insists the person who died owed money and that the family must pay right away. Hold on to this fact: under federal law, family members usually do not have to pay a deceased relative's debts from their own money. Legitimate debts are paid from the estate, and if the estate cannot cover them, they generally go unpaid. Real collectors may discuss the debt only with certain people, such as the spouse, the executor or administrator, or someone else authorized to handle the estate's debts, and they are forbidden from lying about who owes what. A stranger demanding that you personally pay a late spouse's bill, today, by gift card, is not a collector. He is a thief.

Funeral-related schemes come next. Some callers claim the person who died ordered services or merchandise that must now be paid for. Others quietly pad a funeral bill with items the family never chose. The FTC's Funeral Rule is your shield here. Funeral homes must give you price information over the phone without asking who you are, must hand you an itemized general price list when you visit, and must let you choose only the goods and services you want.

Identity theft of the deceased rounds out the list. Criminals sometimes open accounts in a deceased person's name. Notifying banks, the Social Security Administration, and the credit bureaus promptly closes that door.

One more protection costs nothing: planning ahead. When funeral wishes and benefit details are written down before they are needed, a grieving spouse never has to make a financial decision alone at the worst possible moment. Our final expense planning checklist walks through exactly what to put on paper.

How Can You Check Out a Company Before You Share Information?

Every legitimate company can survive ten minutes of homework. Before you share your phone number, birth date, or banking details with anyone, run these checks.

1. Look the company up with the Better Business Bureau. BBB.org shows a company's rating, how long it has been in business, its complaint history, and whether it answers complaints.
2. Confirm the license. Agents who offer burial benefit plans must be licensed in your state. Your state's licensing agency can confirm a license in minutes, usually online, or your state attorney general's office can point you to the right desk.
3. Check state business records. Your secretary of state's website lists registered companies, including how long they have actually existed.
4. Search the company's name plus the word "complaint." Five minutes of reading tells you a great deal.
5. Call back on a number you find yourself. Not the number that called you. A legitimate company is happy to be reached through its published line.

Then hold every company to the standards legitimate businesses meet gladly. A trustworthy company never pressures you to decide on the spot. It never asks for gift cards or wire transfers. It puts the word "free" in writing and means it.

We built Affordable Final Expense Solutions to pass exactly this kind of inspection, because we ask families to trust us at a tender time. We have been in business since 1981, we are Family-Owned, and we hold a BBB A+ rating. Our request form is 100 percent free, with no cost and no obligation, and it takes about 2 minutes. A licensed agent then calls you back, which can take up to 72 hours. Save our number ahead of time: 1-800-947-0068. If you ever doubt a call, hang up and dial 1-800-947-0068 yourself. We would rather you double-check.

One last habit defeats almost every scam on this page: never decide alone. Tell an adult child or a trusted friend before you share information or money with anyone. A scammer's urgency rarely survives a second opinion. If money conversations feel awkward in your family, our guide on how to talk to your family about final expenses can help you start.

Red Flags That Should Stop You Cold

• Pressure to act immediately — Scammers manufacture urgency because time is their enemy. Any legitimate offer will still be there tomorrow, after you have talked it over.
• Unusual payment methods — Gift cards, wire transfers, and cryptocurrency machines are the currency of fraud. In 2025, cryptocurrency was involved in $4.35 billion of the losses reported by people 60 and older. No legitimate business is paid that way.
• Requests to "verify" what they should already know — Your bank knows your account number. Social Security knows your number. Anyone asking you to confirm it is collecting it.
• Demands for secrecy — "Don't tell your family" is the single brightest red flag there is. Trustworthy companies welcome a second set of eyes.
• Threats tied to a recent death — Anyone insisting you personally owe a late loved one's debt, right now, is almost certainly lying. Debts are settled by the estate, not by grieving relatives.
• A "free" offer that needs your bank details — Free things do not require your account number. If "free" comes with a form asking for banking information, walk away.

Sources: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Annual Report · FTC, Protecting Older Consumers 2024-2025 Report to Congress · FTC Consumer Advice, Debts and Deceased Relatives · FTC Consumer Advice, The FTC Funeral Rule