Older Americans Reported $3 Billion in Fraud Losses in 2025, FTC Tells Congress
Updated: 5 hours ago
The Federal Trade Commission on October 19, 2026, released its annual report to Congress, Protecting Older Consumers 2025-2026, and the numbers point in one direction. People 60 and older reported more than $3 billion in fraud losses in 2025, up from about $2.4 billion in 2024 and roughly $600 million in 2020. The growth, the agency said, was driven largely by a rise in extraordinarily large individual losses: the number of older adults reporting a loss of more than $100,000 rose 496 percent from 2020 to 2025, from 1,136 reports to 6,769, and those cases made up 70 percent of older adults' total reported losses.
Because most fraud is never reported, the FTC also estimated the full cost. Its estimate of 2025 losses to older adults ranges from $13.3 billion to as much as $119.5 billion, depending on assumptions about how often victims report, and the agency cautions that the figures carry considerable uncertainty.
What the FTC found
Top schemes by dollars lost: Investment scams ranked first among older adults, and investment losses rose 42 percent in 2025 to more than $1 billion. Government impersonation ranked second and business impersonation third.
Impostors of federal agencies: Across all ages, people reported losing $161 million to scammers posing as the FTC, $144 million to Social Security impostors and $28 million to FBI impostors in 2025. Older adults accounted for 92 percent, 85 percent and 75 percent of those losses, respectively.
Payment methods: Bank transfers and cryptocurrency produced the largest aggregate losses. Since 2020, older adults' reported losses paid by bank transfer rose more than tenfold, and losses paid in cryptocurrency more than twenty-sevenfold. Gift cards were the most common payment method in tech support, romance, prize and family-impersonation scams.
How contact starts: Fraud that began on social media produced the largest total losses. Phone contact produced the highest median loss, $3,000. Losses from text-message scams rose 61 percent over 2024.
The oldest victims: The median loss for people 80 and over was $2,000, up 21 percent from 2024, and that group reported much higher losses from phone contacts than from any other method.
Vigilance is common: About 74 percent of older adults' fraud reports involved no monetary loss, a sign that many spotted a scam and reported it anyway.
Older adults were also more likely than younger adults to report losing money to tech support scams (more than four times as likely), romance scams, prize and lottery scams, and scams impersonating friends or family.
How the "protect your money" scam works
Government and business impersonation now sit just behind investment fraud in total dollars, and the mechanics are consistent. The FTC report describes people being told to transfer money, mail cash or deposit cash into Bitcoin ATMs to keep it "safe." In scams using the FTC's own name, victims were directed to mail cash, hand it to couriers, buy gift cards and read off the codes, or feed money into Bitcoin ATMs.
The FBI has described a common multi-stage version, which it calls the "phantom hacker" scam, in a 2023 public service announcement:
The hook. A pop-up, text, email or call claims a problem, such as a hacked computer or suspicious account activity. A fake technician gains remote access to the victim's computer and gets the victim to open financial accounts. The FTC says business-impersonation texts most often used the names of Amazon, Apple and banks, and high-dollar reports often involved impostors claiming to be the FTC, banks, Publishers Clearing House or Microsoft.
The handoff. A second impostor, posing as the victim's bank or brokerage, says a hacker has reached the accounts and that the money must go to a "safe" account by wire, cash or cryptocurrency. The victim is told to tell no one.
The badge. If the victim hesitates, a third impostor posing as a government employee sends official-looking letters or emails insisting the funds are still at risk and must be moved again.
The FTC's consumer education effort on these schemes, the Never Ever campaign, run with the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services through the Elder Justice Coordinating Council, carries a central message: government agencies will never tell you to move your money to protect it.
Who is at risk
Older adults bear the largest dollar losses, but the exposure is broader:
Families and caregivers, whose relatives' retirement savings and home equity are the targets.
Small-business owners, who receive the same impostor texts and calls and often control both personal and business accounts. A caller posing as a bank's fraud department can push for a transfer from either.
Businesses whose names are borrowed. Retailers, technology companies and banks see their brands used as the hook.
Front-line staff at bank branches and stores that sell gift cards, who may be the last people to see a victim before the money leaves.
Red flags
Anyone who says a government agency or your bank needs you to move money to protect it.
Instructions to pay with gift cards, cash by mail or courier, wire transfers to a new account, or a Bitcoin ATM.
Pressure to act immediately and keep the call secret, especially from bank staff or family.
A pop-up or text that supplies its own phone number for "support."
A caller who already knows some personal details and uses them to sound official.
A request to stay on the phone while you go to the bank.
Controls and documentation
For individuals and families:
Name a trusted contact. FINRA Rule 4512 requires brokerage firms to make a reasonable effort to obtain a trusted contact person for each individual account. Under FINRA Rule 2165, firms may place a temporary hold on a disbursement when they reasonably believe an older or vulnerable customer is being exploited, and must notify the trusted contact if one is available. Some banks offer similar options.
Turn on alerts for withdrawals, wires and new payees, and consider limits on daily transfers.
Adopt a verification habit. Hang up and call the institution using a number from a statement, card or official website, never one supplied by the caller or a pop-up.
Agree on a family pause rule that no large transfer happens without a conversation with a designated relative or adviser.
Write it down. Note dates, phone numbers, names used, amounts and account details for any suspicious contact. That record speeds reporting and any recovery effort.
For businesses:
Require call-back verification through known numbers for any request to change payment instructions or move funds.
Train employees who sell gift cards or handle large cash withdrawals to recognize scripted urgency, and give them a clear path to pause a transaction and escalate.
Monitor for spoofed use of your brand and post on your website how you will and will not contact customers.
Where to report
The FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The agency says it refers older adults with significant losses to the Justice Department's National Elder Fraud Hotline for further help.
National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311), for victims 60 and older.
The FBI: www.ic3.gov. Type the address directly into your browser.
Your bank, card issuer, gift card issuer or kiosk operator, immediately.
Local police, particularly when cash was handed to a courier.
If you or a relative has been victimized
Stop all payments and end contact with the scammer.
Call your financial institution at once and ask it to stop or recall any wire or transfer. Speed matters.
Contact the gift card issuer or Bitcoin ATM operator using the information on the card or machine, and keep receipts.
File reports with the FTC and IC3, and call the elder fraud hotline if the victim is 60 or older.
Secure accounts. Change passwords, enable multi-factor authentication and review credit reports. If personal information was shared, the FTC's IdentityTheft.gov provides a recovery plan.
Watch for the second wave. In a July 20, 2026 public service announcement, the FBI warned that criminals pose as FBI personnel and fake IC3 intake services to re-victimize people who have already lost money. The FBI says IC3 does not contact people by phone, email or social media, and never asks for payment to recover funds.
The takeaway
The FTC's data show that older adults are often good at spotting scams; most of their reports involved no loss. The damage is concentrated in a growing number of catastrophic cases, frequently built on a single false premise that money must be moved to be safe. Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Christopher Mufarrige said the agency "is committed to protecting older Americans from scams," including by acting to shut down fraud operations. For families, advisers and business owners, the practical defense is to make that false premise easy to recognize and hard to act on.
Sources
This article is general information, not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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