For most Americans 60 and older who report losing money to a scam, the damage is painful but limited. Their median reported loss held at about $900 in 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s October 2026 report to Congress on older consumers.
Reports of losses over $100,000 made up just 6% of older adults’ loss reports in 2025, yet they accounted for 70% of the more than $3 billion people 60 and older reported losing. From 2020 to 2025, the number of those six-figure reports climbed from 1,136 to 6,769.
These figures represent only the losses people reported. The FTC estimates the full cost of fraud against older adults in 2025 at between $13.3 billion and $119.5 billion, depending on the method used.
Where the biggest losses come from
Investment scams produced far higher reported losses than any other type of fraud, and those losses jumped 42% in 2025. Government impersonation ranked second, followed by scammers posing as businesses, with fake bank representatives doing the most damage in that group.
The way people paid tells a similar story. Credit cards were the payment method older adults reported most often. The largest total losses, though, moved through bank transfers and cryptocurrency, channels that can empty an account in a few steps and are far harder to reverse.
Age matters, too. People 80 and older reported a median loss of $2,000, up 21% from 2024 and far higher than any other age group.
The script behind 6-figure losses
The FTC’s account of how large losses unfold reads like a playbook. Someone posing as the FTC, a bank or another trusted name says the target’s money is at risk and must be moved to keep it safe. Victims are then told to mail cash, hand it to a courier, buy gift cards or feed it into a bitcoin ATM.
Scammers often coach them on what to tell bank employees and warn them not to speak to friends or family.
Two rules from the FTC’s consumer warnings undo most of that script. A government agency will never tell you to move your money to protect it, and it will never ask you to keep a conversation secret. Anyone who does either is running the scam.
Ways to put a speed bump in front of your savings
- Name a trusted contact. Brokerage firms ask customers to name a trusted contact person, someone the firm can reach if it suspects financial exploitation. It costs nothing and gives the firm someone besides you to check with before money leaves.
- Set a waiting rule for big moves. Decide now that any request to move more than a set amount, say $5,000, waits a day and gets a second opinion from someone you trust. Scams that depend on urgency tend to fall apart once the clock stops.
- Call back on a number you look up yourself. If a bank or agency calls, hang up and dial the number on your statement or the official website. Fake fraud-department calls are a common opening in bank impersonation scams that can drain savings in minutes.
- Turn on alerts and lower your limits. Many banks let customers set alerts for large withdrawals and transfers and reduce daily transfer limits. A text about a wire you did not start is a chance to stop it. Paper carries its own risks, too, as check fraud shows.
When the money is already gone
Speed counts. Call the bank or brokerage first to try to stop or recall a transfer, then report the scam to the FTC and local police.
Family members can file on someone’s behalf, and many do. About 17% of reports for people 80 and older came from someone else.
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