Technology is being used for example in “family emergency” scams—often called “grandparent” scams because grandparents often are targeted. Image: Collagery/Shutterstock.com
Scams against older persons are increasingly using artificial intelligence and are increasingly using person-to-person money transfers and cryptocurrency to get money from the victims, says the latest annual report on the topic from the Senate Aging Committee.
“While people of all ages can be victims of financial exploitation, older adults are often targeted because they tend to be trusting and are more likely to have accumulated assets from decades of work and saving,” it said, adding that such fraud “often goes unreported due to fear, embarrassment, or lack of resources.”
However, even fraud that is reported is increasing, with losses logged by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2024 increasing by a third in just one year—including losses reported by those age 60 and over up by more than four-tenths. Cryptocurrency-related losses increased by two-thirds and cryptocurrency kiosk complaints doubled, it said.
“Common fraud categories include imposter scams, online shopping and negative reviews, prizes and lottery scams, and investment-related fraud. Other less common, but still prevalent, scams include debt collection scams, mortgage scams, and home repair scams,” the report said.
The committee said the growth in use of AI in such scams continues to accelerate, making them “more convincing and easier to deploy on a larger scale.” That includes voice cloning technology that can imitate a person’s voice based on just a short recording of it, and deepfake video images. Such technology is being used for example in “family emergency” scams—often called “grandparent” scams because grandparents often are targeted—in which a family member is represented as being in legal or other trouble and needing money immediately.
Further, “Phishing attacks, where fraudsters deceive individuals into revealing sensitive information, have become increasingly sophisticated with the use of AI. Using AI, scammers can easily build emails for spear phishing attacks, which personalize phishing emails by imitating sophisticated dialogue and bypassing traditional spam filters, making it harder for individuals to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent communications.”
While money lost through such frauds previously involved transfers from bank accounts, payment through cryptocurrency now is “preferred by scammers because they get the money instantly, and the payments are typically irreversible. Cryptocurrency transactions may not be mediated by a trusted third party, are pseudonymous, and are difficult to track, which can make this payment method a useful mechanism for fraudsters.”
Person-to-person payment systems–transactions between two parties with separate bank accounts through a website or mobile app–also are increasingly being used “because, like cryptocurrency, scammers receive the money instantly after a transfer is initiated.”
“While many P2P payment companies employ advanced systems to flag and freeze suspicious transactions, these platforms are often unable to reverse a transaction once money is sent. These apps may also lack the same protection against fraud that traditional banks and credit cards now employ,” it said.
Meanwhile, scammers continue to use the more traditional method of theft from gift cards, in which “the victim sends the scammer the gift card number, the scammer immediately uses the balance, making it impossible to get the money back.”
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