Elder fraud is on the rise, with scammers stealing $3.4 billion from older U.S. adults in 2023 alone. That figure was 14% higher than the previous year, and it’s a safe bet that the 2024 numbers will eclipse those when they come in.

It’s harder to put a number on the psychological costs of elder fraud. But they are real, says Samantha Farro, PhD, who directs Behavioral Health and Integrated Programs for the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. And they are also on the rise.

“I’ve seen firsthand the detrimental psychological impact this can have on a patient,” Farro said. “We are definitely seeing it more frequently in clinic with our older-adult population.”

The scams range from feigned romantic interest, bogus investment schemes, Medicare fraud and conjured threats of legal trouble. The common denominators: They trigger base human emotions — greed and fear, mainly, with confusion stirred in — and then apply time pressure and insist on secrecy. That combination has a striking ability to stop our front-brain critical-thinking facilities from kicking in until it’s too late.

Older adults are fraud targets

Fraudsters have known all that since humans started accumulating wealth to be conned out of. What’s changed are the technological tools at their disposal in identifying and then exploiting their victims — most recently, artificial intelligence voice and video emulators that can sound and look like people you trust and even love.

While fraud is on the rise among all demographics, these criminals often target older adults. First, seniors tend to have cash and assets. They can be more trusting of authority. They may be less familiar with the technologies scammers now use. And they may have cognitive changes, impacting their ability to recognize malicious intent.

Farro, who sees patients at the UCHealth Seniors Clinic – Anschutz Medical Campus, described a longtime small-business owner who clicked on a phishing scam link. She recognized her mistake and took steps to minimize the damage quickly. But some financial damage — and significant emotional damage — was done.

Being exploited instilled a sense of shame and self-criticism in the patient, Farro says. That, in turn brought on a lot of anxiety and distress. Family members also involved in the business were upset with her, which made things worse.

Another patient lured into a scam experienced such anger and self-loathing that he had thoughts of suicide, Farro says.

The psychological toll of elder fraud differs depending on the patient

Farro treated these patients based on their very different needs. Approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy helped the woman business owner “mitigate unhelpful thinking traps that we know can make things like anxiety, anger, and stress worse,” Farro said.

In addition, Farro worked with the woman to reduce self-critical thinking and increase self-compassion. For example, she asked the woman what she would think of someone she loved if they were a victim of a crime – and then suggested that she apply that level of compassion to herself.

For the man considering suicide, Farro and colleagues intervened as they would with anyone in that state: safety planning and mitigation, particularly with respect to firearms; prompting to think about reasons for living and the purpose and meaning of his life; and helping him reconnect with “things aside from the experience of being a victim of a crime.”

“Even though the catalyst for the distress may be similar, if they’re the victim of fraud, how it manifests and impacts psychologically can vary,” Farro said.

She does share some consistent messages in her work with elder fraud victims, she says. Farro reminds them that they’re highly targeted simply because they’re older adults. And she emphasizes that it’s not their fault: They’re victims of crimes being committed at a massive, often international scale by sophisticated operators who exploit many, many people, old and young.

Experts weigh in on how to stiff-arm scammers

Of course, it’s best to avoid being scammed in the first place. Organizations such as the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) give common advice to that end:

• If the call is from an unknown number, don’t answer it. Let them leave a message.
• If you do pick up and you don’t know them, hang up.
• Check out inbox email addresses, not just the sender’s name. Something from “Amazon” could be from [email protected].
• Don’t click on email links/open attachments unless you’re absolutely sure the sender is legit.
• Delete texts from unknown senders (yes, text scams are a thing, too).
• If a scammer gets through, ask yourself: Do you know this person? Does this call make sense right now?
• Don’t rush – to act, to give money, to give in to pressure tactics. Scammers want you to act fast. They will foment confusion and then try to instill trust. They will trigger your empathy (common in romance scams and grandparent scams, where criminals pose as relatives), fear (government-impersonation scams, tech-support scams), or greed (financial scams). Slow down and let your powers of reason reassert themselves. You’ll have a better chance of seeing through the scammer-induced fog.
• Don’t agree to deposit a check from someone and then wire them the money (the check will bounce).
• Don’t buy gift cards from strangers, write checks for strangers, give money or credit card numbers to strangers, or send cryptocurrency to strangers.
• Don’t share personal information such as your Social Security number.

‘Safe words’ can root out AI clones

AI cloning of voices and video of celebrities, political figures, and even loved ones is an emerging threat. Fraudsters play digital puppeteer using familiar voices and even faces. It’s safe to assume that, sooner than later, these onscreen clones will be all but indistinguishable from the real thing. Experts recommend coming up with a predetermined safe word among loved ones or asking the caller a question only the actual person could answer.

If you suspect you’ve become a victim of fraud, quickly contact your financial institutions to protect your accounts and monitor for suspicious activity. The FTC has a good primer on this and other steps you should take.

Finally, report scams through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the FTC’s reportfraud.ftc.gov website.

The bottom line: Those committing elder fraud are only going to get more sophisticated, and they’ll keep calling, texting, and phishing as long as there’s money to be made. It’s up to us to protect our financial – and psychological – well-being.