Senior Scam Prevention & Fraud Resources in Florida
Florida seniors reported $710 million in elder fraud losses to the FBI in 2025, with 17,147 victims aged 60 and older. This page provides Florida-specific scam prevention resources, official reporting contacts, and five years of FBI elder fraud data for the state.
Already been scammed? Read our First 24 Hours Emergency Guide for critical steps to take immediately.
I. Overview: Florida’s Senior Population & Key Cities
Florida has long been recognized as a retirement destination — and the numbers reflect it. As of 2024, Florida’s population is approximately 23.1 million, and more than 4.9 million residents are aged 65 and older, making up 21.2% of the state’s population — the highest percentage of seniors in the U.S.
This concentration of older adults makes Florida a prime target for scammers. In 2025, Florida seniors lost $710 million to fraud — an 83% increase from 2024. Investment scams led at $322 million (+110%), followed by tech support fraud ($122 million) and romance scams ($52 million). Government impersonation tripled to $25 million. Awareness and prevention are crucial across the state, especially in major population centers.
- Jacksonville (approx. 1.0 million people)
- Miami (approx. 450,000 city population; over 6 million in the metro area)
- Tampa (approx. 400,000 city population; 3 million in metro area)
These cities are home to large numbers of seniors and frequent fraud activity, including tech support scams, investment fraud, romance scams, and Medicare phishing attempts.
II. 2025 Victim Report: How Scammers Targeted Florida’s Seniors
In 2025, Florida had 17,147 victims aged 60+ who reported losses totaling $709,823,172 — up 44% in victims and 83% in losses compared to 2024 (11,903 victims / $388M).
Source: FBI IC3 2025 Annual Report. Florida ranked #2 nationally for elder fraud losses. View national statistics.
Loss by Crime Type
| Crime Type | 2025 Loss | 2024 Loss | Change |
| Investment | $322,464,043 | $153,438,979 | +110% |
| Tech Support | $122,218,354 | $73,817,666 | +66% |
| Romance | $52,066,239 | $36,522,146 | +43% |
| Lottery/Sweepstakes | $10,252,156 | $5,234,531 | +96% |
| Extortion | $1,544,963 | $1,652,720 | -7% |
| Government Impersonation | $24,984,669 | $8,230,216 | +204% |
Elder Fraud Loss Trajectory — Florida
5-Year Elder Fraud Trend — Florida (2021—2025)
| Year | Victims (60+) | Total Loss | YoY Change | Nat’l Rank |
| 2021 | 8,136 | $168,233,094 | — | #2 |
| 2022 | 8,480 | $327,414,114 | +95% | #2 |
| 2023 | 8,141 | $293,878,430 | -10% | #2 |
| 2024 | 11,903 | $388,462,628 | +32% | #3 |
| 2025 | 17,147 | $709,823,172 | +83% | #2 |
| 5-Year Total | 53,807 | $1,887,811,438 | +322% (2021—2025) | — |
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Annual Reports, 2021—2025. Covers victims aged 60 and older. National rank is by total dollar loss among 52 states/territories. National totals: $1.7B (2021), $3.1B (2022), $3.4B (2023), $4.9B (2024), $7.7B (2025) — $20.8 billion stolen from American seniors over five years.
Top Crime Types Targeting Florida Seniors (2025 vs. 5-Year)
| Crime Type | 2025 Victims | 2025 Loss | 5-Year Total | Growth (2021—25) |
| Investment | 1,750 | $322,464,043 | $706,674,641 | +1,196% |
| Tech Support | 2,062 | $122,218,354 | $329,026,720 | +435% |
| Romance | 1,019 | $52,066,239 | $215,320,761 | +10% |
| Personal Data Breach | 1,294 | $48,776,244 | $126,573,981 | +217% |
| BEC | 444 | $46,715,688 | $188,980,831 | +47% |
| Gov. Impersonation | 1,016 | $24,984,669 | $63,061,255 | +740% |
Top 6 crime types by 2025 losses. Growth calculated from 2021 to 2025. For national crime type trends, see our Crime Type Migration Analysis.
What the data reveals: Florida ranks #2 nationally in total elder fraud losses at $710 million, up 83% from $388 million in 2024. Over 17,100 seniors were victimized — more than any state except California. Investment fraud more than doubled (+110%), and government impersonation surged 204%. Notably, lottery and sweepstakes scams nearly doubled as well, rising 96%. Statewide, that comes to roughly one senior victim for every 1,363 Florida residents.
National context: Florida ranks #7 in per-capita victim rate (73.36 per 100,000) — significantly above the national average. With nearly 5 million residents over 65 and its reputation as a retirement destination, Florida remains one of the most heavily targeted states. The 83% year-over-year loss increase well exceeds the national average of 57%.
For the full national picture, including how Florida compares to every other state, visit our national hub page with interactive data and rankings.
III. Emergency & Official Contacts
Local Police Departments – Elder Fraud Units
1. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office – Economic Crimes Unit
- Phone: (904) 630-0500 (non-emergency)
- Website: www.jaxsheriff.org
- Tip: Request Economic Crimes Unit for elder financial fraud reporting.
2. Miami Police Department – Fraud Division
- Phone: (305) 603-6640 (non-emergency)
- Website: www.miami-police.org
- Tip: Ask for assistance with elder scams or cyber fraud.
3. Tampa Police Department – Economic Crimes Section
- Phone: (813) 276-3200 (non-emergency)
- Website: www.tampa.gov/police
- Ask to be connected to the fraud investigations team.
FBI & Federal Support
FBI Miami Field Office
- Phone: (754) 703-2000
- Website: www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/miami
FBI Tampa Field Office
- Phone: (813) 253-1000
- Website: www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/tampa
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- Website: www.ic3.gov
- Use for online scam reporting by seniors or family members.
Florida Attorney General – Elder Fraud & Abuse Division
Office of the Florida Attorney General – Senior Protection Team
- Fraud Hotline: (866) 966-7226
- Website: www.myfloridalegal.com/consumer-protection/senior-protection
This dedicated team works on:
- Investigating scams targeting seniors
- Coordinating with local and federal agencies
- Consumer education and outreach
Additional Elder Assistance & Reporting Contacts
Stop Elderly Scams
Email: [email protected]
Website: stopelderlyscams.com
Florida Adult Protective Services (APS) – 24/7 Elder Abuse Hotline
- Phone: (800) 962-2873
- Website: www.myflfamilies.com
Miami-Dade Elder Fraud Hotline (State Attorney’s Office)
- Phone: (305) 324-2962
- Website: www.miamisao.com
Florida Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)
- Phone: (800) 963-5337
- Website: www.floridashine.org
Elder Helpline – Area Agencies on Aging
- Phone: (800) 96-ELDER (800-963-5337)
- Helps locate local services and legal support across all counties.
Be Informed, Be Ready
- Keep these numbers posted near your phone or saved on your mobile device.
- Never be afraid to report suspicious emails, calls, texts, or money requests.
- Florida seniors lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually to scams, but many frauds are stopped early thanks to you reporting them.
- Visit our Education Hub to learn how scams work and how to fight back.
Recent Florida scam news
Recent news coverage of scams affecting Florida seniors, updated from our alerts desk. Each item links to the original outlet; victims and defendants are kept anonymous.
Sweepstakes call asked for a gift card, then her email account was secretly taken over
A Florida sheriff's office says a caller claiming to represent Publishers Clearing House told a 75-year-old woman she had won a prize and needed to send a $500 gift card to collect it. Investigators say her email account was then quietly altered, with the password changed and the account switched to an address she never created, so she would not notice signs of trouble. Over the following days she lost roughly $25,000 through gift cards, cash withdrawals, and unauthorized card charges before a family member and investigators caught on. If you are told you won a prize but must pay or share account access first, slow down and verify directly with the company through a number you look up yourself; Think First, Verify Always.
Read at FlaglerLive →A Florida woman converted $691,500 into gold coins after a fake Treasury Department call
According to a sworn affidavit described in recent reporting, a Florida woman wired $150,000 and separately bought 150 one-ounce gold coins worth $691,500 after a caller claiming to be with the U.S. Treasury Department told her that her identity had been stolen and that she needed to help catch the people responsible. She later handed the coins to someone she believed was assisting with the investigation in a supermarket parking lot. Federal prosecutors have since brought a wire-fraud charge in the case. This gold-bar scam pattern, where a caller posing as a federal official instructs a victim to convert savings into gold or cash for supposed safekeeping, has turned up in cases around the country. No real government agency will ever ask you to buy gold, withdraw cash, or hand valuables to a stranger to protect your money. Anyone contacted this way should slow down and report it to the DOJ's National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311.
Read at Yahoo News →At a Gulfport, Florida senior center, a workshop breaks down how AI is changing phishing and robocall scams
The Gulfport Senior Center in Florida held its first class on artificial intelligence, drawing more than 20 residents to learn how AI is changing phishing and robocall scams. The instructor walked through real examples: fake "grandchild in an emergency" calls using AI-cloned voices, romance scams in which an online partner claims to need money for a medical procedure, and fake account-hacking alerts designed to look like they come from a real company such as Amazon. The FBI reported that seniors lost $352 million to AI-related scams in 2025. Practical tips shared at the workshop included checking your credit report regularly, reviewing bank statements for small, repeating withdrawals that can signal a scam in progress, and agreeing on a family code word, something only you and your family would know, to verify a caller's identity, while never sharing that word by email or text where it could be discovered. Several attendees said they feel real anxiety about new scam technology, which is exactly why organizers say ongoing, hands-on sessions like this one matter.
Read at Tampa Bay Times →Florida seniors lost nearly $710 million to cybercrime last year; here's what to do if it happens to you
Floridians 60 and older filed more than 17,000 fraud complaints and lost nearly $710 million to cybercrime in 2025, part of a national pattern in which investment fraud alone accounted for about $8.6 billion in reported losses across all ages. One Florida woman in her early 70s lost about $100,000 after callers posing as her bank and as Microsoft tech support convinced her to move her money into cryptocurrency. If you or a loved one has been scammed, experts recommend acting quickly: contact your bank or financial institution right away, save every email, text, screenshot, and transaction record you have, report the incident to the FBI's IC3.gov, your local police, and your state attorney general's office, change your passwords and turn on multifactor authentication on your accounts, and be on alert for a common follow-up scam in which someone poses as a fund-recovery specialist offering to get your money back for a fee. Experts also encourage victims to seek support from a mental health professional, since the emotional toll of a scam can be as serious as the financial one.
Read at WLRN (NPR) →A romance scam becomes the first real test of Florida's new elder-exploitation law
Florida's "Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults" law, signed in 2025, includes a provision that lets an attorney freeze a bank transfer to an unidentified scammer by formally notifying them through the same method the scammer used to contact the victim in the first place, such as a messaging app. In what a Florida Bar elder-law expert believes is the first real-world use of that provision, a Jacksonville widower was contacted through a messaging app by someone he believed he was falling for online, and over four days he wired more than $450,000 to various accounts before his family stepped in. An elder-law attorney used the new law to freeze an additional $200,000 transfer before it could go out. The FBI's latest data shows a 59 percent jump in elder-fraud losses last year, reaching $7.7 billion nationally, with Florida seniors alone accounting for about $709.8 million of that total. The lesson for families: if you suspect a loved one is being financially exploited by someone they met online, act fast and get an elder-law attorney or law enforcement involved immediately, since new legal tools now exist specifically to freeze money before it disappears.
Read at The Florida Bar News →A Central Florida woman lost thousands in a romance scam before she realized it wasn't real
A Central Florida woman built an online relationship over months with someone impersonating a well-known social media influencer, first contacted through Facebook. As the relationship deepened, the person asked her to pay for plane tickets, a hotel, and VIP event tickets for a trip to finally meet in person, none of which was ever delivered, then for Apple gift cards, and eventually talked her into depositing a fraudulent $4,000 check. Her bank is now requiring her to repay that amount at $130 a month, taken directly out of her Social Security check. Florida had more than 550 reported romance scam victims with combined losses of $22.2 million in 2025, part of a national total of more than 23,000 complaints and nearly $930 million lost. A local police chief's advice: ask to see and speak with anyone you meet online live on video before trusting them, never send money through a gift card, and let any check fully clear at your bank before you spend it or send money based on it. If you think you've been scammed, don't be embarrassed, report it to local law enforcement right away, and if a wire transfer was involved, contact your bank immediately to try to stop it.
Read at WKMG News 6 (ClickOrlando) →IV. Learn More: Florida Scam Prevention Guides
Explore Florida-specific guides on the most common scams targeting seniors in your state:
- Tech Support Scams in Florida — Learn to recognize fake pop-ups, phone calls, and remote access schemes.
- Investment Scams in Florida — Protect your retirement savings from fraudulent advisors and crypto scams.
- Romance Scams in Florida — Spot the warning signs of fake online relationships designed to steal money.
- Government Impersonation Scams in Florida — Know what real government agencies will never ask you to do.
- How to Report Scams in Florida — Step-by-step guide to reporting fraud and starting recovery.
For national-level data on each scam type, see our Investment, Tech Support, Romance, and Government Impersonation national guides.
See how Florida compares. Curious where Florida ranks in the national picture? Stolen Trust, our 2026 special study, ranks every state and territory using five years of FBI data and lays out one practical plan to fix elder fraud.