FBI warns seniors lost $7.7B to scams
FBI reports older adult victims lost over $7.7 billion to scams in 2025, with investment schemes and cryptocurrency frauds causing the most damage.
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The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 201,000 complaints from victims over 60 in 2025, representing a 37% increase in complaints and 59% increase in losses compared to 2024. The average loss per senior victim exceeded $38,000, with at least 12,400 victims reporting losses of $100,000 or more. Investment schemes accounted for the largest financial impact at $3.5 billion in losses, while cryptocurrency-related scams ensnared 42,000 older victims for $4.3 billion in losses.
Phishing and spoofing attacks generated the highest volume of complaints among seniors with over 48,000 reports, representing 24% of all claims. Government impersonation schemes produced 8,600 complaints from senior victims as part of 32,400 total complaints across all ages, with nearly $798 million in reported losses. In one case, an FBI agent uncovered a criminology professor in her 70s who had lost over $500,000 to scammers posing as DEA agents, including liquidating her home equity.
The FBI emphasizes that older adults are targeted due to accumulated savings, potential loneliness, and greater trust in unsolicited communications. Red flags include demands for secrecy, urgency, requests for payment via gift cards or wire transfers, and unsolicited contact. Recovery of funds lost to overseas scammers is unlikely. The Bureau recommends ignoring unsolicited communications, not engaging with unknown callers, reporting incidents to IC3.gov immediately, and contacting banks promptly when fraud is suspected.
Source reporting: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/scammers-target-older-adult-victims
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