For most of her marriage, Lori Hartman Weiss managed the household finances. She had degrees in engineering and business administration, so maintaining the family's budget came easily to her. Then, in 2019, she was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment at age 62, and her husband, Kevin, became more involved in paying bills and overseeing bank and credit card accounts.

A few months after her diagnosis, Weiss opened an email from PayPal, an online payment system. “The email said I had made a recent purchase, and if it was in error to call their 800 number, so I called to find out what the problem was,” says Weiss. “The person told me a virus was going around and that if I provided them full access to my computer, they could repair it. After they took over my computer and we ended the call, I started thinking more about what happened. And when the guy called back several times asking for more information, I became suspicious.” Weiss took her computer in for servicing right away. Her husband contacted their credit union, but the scammers had already accessed the couple's account and stolen $500. Kevin, now 60, immediately took control of the household finances and put limits on their credit cards and credit union to protect them.

Each year thousands of seniors are victims of fraud: More than 92,000 people over the age of 60 were affected in 2021, the FBI reported. Scams have gotten even more widespread during the pandemic. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that seniors lost $100 million in 2020 to COVID-19-related fraud. In 2021, financial scams cost seniors nearly $1.7 billion, up 74 percent from the previous year, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. The average loss per person was $18,246, and about 3,000 seniors lost more than $100,000.

In one pandemic-related incident reported to the fraud hotline of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, a senior in San Francisco received a telephone call about booking an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine. The woman became suspicious when the caller requested her Social Security number, and when she asked why he needed it, the caller hung up.

“Because scams change all the time, it's hard to keep track of which types will be next,” says Marti DeLiema, PhD, assistant professor of social work at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Cons not specific to the pandemic range from impersonating government officials to breaching personal data and have included threats of violence, according to the FBI. They can be initiated via email, text, regular mail, telephone call, or computer virus. “With robocalls, scammers can reach many more people,” DeLiema points out.

Anyone can fall for a scam, but people with dementia are particularly vulnerable, says Sarah Getz, PhD, FAAN, an instructor of neuropsychology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. They may be less aware and overestimate their competency in financial matters, she says. And the decision-making processes needed to avoid elder abuse decline with age. “Even cognitively intact older adults can have functional brain changes that may render them vulnerable,” says Dr. Getz.

“Awareness and education are the best defenses against potential scammers,” says Genevieve Waterman, director of economic security at the National Council on Aging in Arlington, VA.

She and other experts offer these recommendations for protecting loved ones.

Educate and Update

Tell your older relatives about typical scams. If you aren't already having these conversations, they should start as soon as a loved one shows signs of cognitive impairment or is diagnosed with dementia, says Beth Kallmyer, vice president of care and support at the Alzheimer's Association in New York. “In the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, people are more likely to understand the importance of these issues and appreciate knowing what to look out for when approached by scammers. If you wait, these concepts will be more difficult to comprehend as your relatives' memories and other executive functioning skills decline.” Kallmyer notes: “My mom doesn't have dementia, but she's getting older. So I frequently remind her not to purchase anything by telephone or respond to unknown email addresses.”

It's important to keep seniors aware of any new gimmicks that are out there, because scammers' tactics are constantly changing, Kallmyer says. An increasingly common type involves telephone calls or emails that appear to be from a bank, credit union, cable provider, or another company your loved one may have an account with, claiming that payment is late or money is owed. Instructions on how to rectify the situation may include a deceptive email or website address. Responding to or clicking on a link can lead to identity theft or a malicious software attack on your loved one's computer.

Consider Your Options

You can protect vulnerable family members in several ways: You can become a joint account holder, put a spending limit on credit cards, and establish a power of attorney. All these actions can help alert you to suspicious activity and thwart potential fraud. “Scammers try to isolate people so they can't get a second opinion,” says Dr. DeLiema. “If that person has a spouse or trusted caregiver to turn to, that may disrupt the crime.” When you broach the subject of intervening in loved ones' finances, be aware of their feelings and possible resistance. Instead of taking over completely, Kevin Weiss continues to involve his wife, Lori, in managing their finances. “I have to watch everything now, but I want her to maintain her skills for as long as possible, and staying engaged strengthens her confidence.”

Speak Up

No one should be afraid or embarrassed to report a scam, says Waterman, who helped develop the National Council on Aging's free educational program Seniors Against Scams, which identifies common scams and offers advice for avoiding them. “Waiting only makes things worse,” Waterman says. “By reporting fraud, you could help prevent someone else from becoming a victim.”

“These are crimes, pure and simple, and they need to be reported to local law enforcement and government agencies,” says Kallmyer. Contact the National Center on Elder Abuse local Adult Protective Services program, which investigates reports of financial exploitation. Services are confidential, and people's identities are protected. If the fraud is related to the IRS, Medicare, or Social Security, alert the Department of Justice through its Elder Fraud Hotline. Kallmyer adds that you should notify banks and credit card companies immediately so they can monitor for additional fraud and cancel cards if necessary, and you should change your passwords for account access.

Beware of These Common Scams

Tech Support

• How it works: While a person is using the internet on a computer or mobile phone, a pop-up message appears saying the device is damaged and needs repair. If the person responds, the scammer requests remote access to the device, or a fee to repair it or to purchase or renew software or security subscriptions.
• What to do: Do not respond. “Most tech support services do not proactively reach out to individuals to fix computer issues,” says Genevieve Waterman, director of economic security at the National Council on Aging.

Customer Service

• How it works: Reaching consumers by phone call, email, social media, or instant message, the scammers misrepresent themselves as customer support personnel from a financial institution or utility company. “The scammers persuasively ask people to make wire transfers to accounts, purchase large amounts of prepaid cards, or mail large amounts of cash overnight,” says Waterman. Often, those responding will be asked to enter personal details such as their Social Security or driver's license numbers. This can lead to identity theft, where perpetrators impersonate the victims to make purchases or otherwise exploit their assts—like submitting health insurance information to get medical care, or filing false tax returns under the Social Security number to show eligibility for benefits.
• What to do: “Never give out secure information to an unfamiliar third party,” says Waterman. That would include passwords and bank account numbers. Consider subscribing to an identity theft protection service, such as Lifelock ($10 to $30 a month), that monitors personal and financial information with real-time email and text message alerts about any suspicious activity.

Nondelivery/Nonpayment

• How it works: Victims make purchases from bogus vendors, so they never receive what they paid for, or they are sent an email or text claiming goods or services were shipped or provided but payment is still due. This tactic is common during the holidays, when scammers exploit people's desire to find products in short supply and make payments in return for quick deliveries.
• What to do: Pay close attention to the website or email address—often, it varies from a real company's address by one character, or the extension is different (ggoogle.com instead of google.com, for instance). Always verify an unfamiliar company's existence before making a purchase or submitting any money. “Low price is the top reason people fall victim to nondelivery scams after ‘purchasing’ a product online,” says Waterman. “If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.” If you know about fake vendor websites and emails, tell your loved ones about them.

Grandparent Fraud

• How it works: Perpetrators pretend to be a grandchild (or other relative) who is in trouble—having been in an accident or arrested in a foreign country—and urgently needs funds. Some scammers even send couriers to pick up cash or gift cards from the victims, says Waterman. That makes seniors vulnerable both financially and physically.
• What to do: Tell your older relatives about the scam, and suggest that they delete any emails like this without replying, and if they get a phone call with a message like this, that they hang up immediately and call the grandchild directly. Consider signing up your loved ones for the National Do Not Call Registry to prevent telemarketers and potential scam artists from reaching them.

Resources for Fraud Prevention

• AARP Fraud Watch Network: aarp.org
• Elder Fraud Hotline (Department of Justice): 833-372-8311
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov; 800-225-5324
• National Adult Protective Services Association: napsa-now.org
• National Center on Elder Abuse: ncea.acl.gov
• Social Security Administration Fraud Hotline: 800-269-0271
• United States Senate Special Committee on Aging's Fraud Hotline: aging.senate.gov; 855-303-9470