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Americans aged 60 and over lost more than $ 745 million against scams in the first three months of 2025, almost $ 200 million more than at the same time last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Nowsweek contacted the FTC to comment by e-mail on Saturday.
Why it matters
Scams can take many forms, including romance diets to investment fraud to warn a delayed ticket or toll payment. Fraudsters often target the elderly and last year, adults over the age of 60 said they had lost more than $ 2.3 billion for fraud.
Crooks use a variety of methods, Including telephone calls, payment applications or service and social media applications.
So far, in 2025, there have been more than 677,000 fraud reports across the country, with more than $ 3.18 billion, according to the FTC.
What to know
Between January and March 2025, the Americans aged 60 to 69 said 60,379 fraud incidents, representing 16% of all fraud reports so far this year, according to the FTC. These reports led to around $ 355 million in losses, with a median loss of just under $ 600.
The elderly aged 70 to 79 have declared less cases of fraud, but with higher median losses. More than 45,000 incidents totaling $ 299 million in losses, the loss of media, just under $ 1,000.
With even fewer cases but much higher median losses, Americans aged 80 and over declared just over 12,500 scams from January to March, which costs $ 91 million in total and about $ 1,900 in median losses.
In total, the older Americans reported more than $ 745 million in losses against scams in the first quarter of 2025. Last year, the FTC noted that the Americans aged 60 and over said $ 546 million in scam losses.
Matthias Balk / Image-Alliance / DPA / AP Images
What people say
The FBI Miami wrote in a post of July 21 x: “Each year, millions of older Americans are victims of online financial fraud, although many do not report it. If you or a loved one are the victim of fraud, we encourage you to report fraud to the elderly at the FBI By Internet Crime Center Center at http://ic3.gov. “”
Kathy Stokes, director of AARP fraud prevention programs, said in a press release in May: “The seismic growth of reported fraud continues tirelessly. The impact on the elderly is often catastrophic.”
She noted that scams can cause “emotional and health damage, a heavy family dynamic and, in many cases, the reality that despite the secure retirement, they must survive on local, state and federal safety nets”.
What happens next?
The FTC and the FBI affected individuals to report the reports to reporterfraud.ftc.gov or IC3.GOV, because the reports help the surveys and help the authorities to follow the emerging models. Families are encouraged to speak with older parents of common scam tactics, to verify all unsolicited communications and to consult sources of trust such as FTC or AARP to obtain advice.
The FTC is organizing a “round table for virtual elderly” on July 31 at 1 pm. The Round Table discusses the latest scam trends, tools to protect consumers’ savings and resources to combat scams.
