Senior Scam Prevention and Fraud Resources in West Virginia
West Virginia seniors reported $19 million in elder fraud losses to the FBI in 2025, with 931 victims aged 60 and older. This page provides West Virginia-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: West Virginia’s Senior Population and Key Cities
As of 2024, West Virginia has a population of approximately 1.75 million, with over 360,000 residents aged 65 and older , accounting for roughly 20.6% of the population. This ranks West Virginia among the top five states with the highest percentage of older adults.
Due to the state’s largely rural makeup, seniors in West Virginia face heightened vulnerability to online fraud. In 2025, investment scams were by far the biggest threat, accounting for $6.3 million — a staggering 818% increase from 2024. Romance scams ($4.0 million) and tech support fraud ($3.3 million) rounded out the top three. Limited digital literacy and geographic isolation can make older adults especially vulnerable, but awareness, connection, and reporting can stop the cycle.
The top three cities where elder-focused scam reports are most common include:
- Charleston (approx. 48,000 people)
- Huntington (approx. 46,000 people)
- Morgantown (approx. 31,000 people)
II. 2025 Victim Report: How Scammers Targeted West Virginia’s Seniors
In 2025, West Virginia had 931 victims aged 60+ who reported losses totaling $18,953,441 — up 57% in victims and 227% in losses compared to 2024 (593 victims / $6M).
Loss by Crime Type
| Crime Type | 2025 Loss | 2024 Loss | Change |
| Investment | $6,270,768 | $683,320 | +818% |
| Tech Support | $3,271,772 | $770,600 | +325% |
| Romance | $3,969,190 | $1,336,635 | +197% |
| Lottery/Sweepstakes | $327,425 | $29,140 | +1,024% |
| Extortion | $100,205 | $18,270 | +448% |
| Government Impersonation | $1,189,120 | $804,125 | +48% |
Elder Fraud Loss Trajectory — West Virginia
5-Year Elder Fraud Trend — West Virginia (2021—2025)
| Year | Victims (60+) | Total Loss | YoY Change | Nat’l Rank |
| 2021 | 335 | $2,577,741 | — | #50 |
| 2022 | 340 | $4,460,124 | +73% | #49 |
| 2023 | 387 | $11,829,114 | +165% | #39 |
| 2024 | 593 | $5,790,439 | -51% | #50 |
| 2025 | 931 | $18,953,441 | +227% | #44 |
| 5-Year Total | 2,586 | $43,610,859 | +635% (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 West Virginia Seniors (2025 vs. 5-Year)
| Crime Type | 2025 Victims | 2025 Loss | 5-Year Total | Growth (2021—25) |
| Investment | 41 | $6,270,768 | $9,367,720 | +2,785% |
| Romance | 101 | $3,969,190 | $12,669,019 | +278% |
| Tech Support | 129 | $3,271,772 | $6,726,550 | +601% |
| Gov. Impersonation | 59 | $1,189,120 | $2,349,070 | +118,812% |
| Personal Data Breach | 50 | $419,474 | $904,053 | +6,454% |
| Lottery/Sweepstakes | 35 | $327,425 | $1,055,314 | +229% |
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: West Virginia saw one of the sharpest year-over-year increases in the country — total losses surged 227%, from $5.8 million in 2024 to nearly $19 million in 2025. Every single crime category increased. Investment fraud exploded by 818%, rising from $683,000 to $6.3 million and now accounting for one-third of all losses in the state. Romance scams nearly tripled. Statewide, that comes to roughly one senior victim for every 1,901 West Virginia residents.
National context: West Virginia ranks #44 out of 52 states and territories by total loss, reflecting its smaller population. However, the 227% year-over-year increase is among the highest in the nation, suggesting that scammers are increasingly targeting rural and smaller states where victims may have fewer resources and support networks. For comparison, the national average increase was 57%. West Virginia’s growth rate was four times the national average.
For the full national picture, including how West Virginia compares to every other state, visit our national hub page with interactive data and rankings.
III. Emergency and Official Contacts
Local Police Departments – Elder Fraud and Financial Crimes
1. Charleston Police Department – Investigations Division
- Phone: (304) 348-6400 (non-emergency)
- Website: charlestonwv.gov
- Contact for scam, identity theft, or elder financial fraud reports.
2. Huntington Police Department – Financial Crimes
- Phone: (304) 696-4470 (non-emergency)
- Website: www.cityofhuntington.com
- Ask for financial crimes or fraud reporting support.
3. Morgantown Police Department – General Inquiries
- Phone: (304) 284-7522 (non-emergency)
- Website: morgantownwv.gov
- Report scams, phishing attempts, or elder abuse.
FBI and Federal Scam Reporting
FBI Pittsburgh Field Office (serving West Virginia)
- Phone: (412) 432-4000
- Website: www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/pittsburgh
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- Website: www.ic3.gov
- Use to report phishing, online scams, and digital fraud targeting older adults.
West Virginia Attorney General – Elder Fraud and Consumer Protection
Office of the West Virginia Attorney General – Consumer Protection Division
- Consumer Protection Hotline: (800) 368-8808
- Website: ago.wv.gov
- Provides assistance for scam victims, elder fraud reporting, and complaint resolution.
Statewide Elder Services and Medicare Fraud Support
West Virginia Adult Protective Services (APS)
- APS Hotline: (800) 352-6513
- Website: dhhr.wv.gov
- Investigates elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.
West Virginia Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)
- Phone: (855) 254-1720
- Website: www.wvship.org
- Supports seniors in identifying and reporting Medicare billing fraud and ID theft.
West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services
- General Info Line: (877) 987-3646
- Website: www.wvseniorservices.gov
- Offers legal assistance, caregiver support, fraud education, and elder rights advocacy.
Act Early. Protect Yourself and Others.
- West Virginia seniors lose millions of dollars each year to scams , but early reporting can stop the harm.
- Save these contacts, share them with others, and don’t hesitate to ask for help.
- Visit our Education Center for practical tools, scam red flags, and how to respond safely.
- If in doubt, slow down and verify. Never share personal information with someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
Recent West Virginia scam news
Recent news coverage of scams affecting West Virginia seniors, updated from our alerts desk. Each item links to the original outlet; victims and defendants are kept anonymous.
West Virginia deputies warn that scammers may record a senior's voice to fake calls to family and banks
Law enforcement officials in Taylor County, West Virginia visited a local senior center this week to warn residents about a rise in scams, including romance schemes, government impersonation, and tech support cons. Officials said scammers now use spoofing apps to mirror real phone numbers and names, and warned that if a scammer keeps someone on the phone long enough, they may record the person's voice and later use AI to imitate them in calls to family members or a bank. The advice: never share personal or financial information on an unexpected call, keep any conversation with a suspected scammer short, and slow down to verify by calling the agency or family member back using a number you look up yourself.
Read at WV News (Mountain Statesman) →WV officials warn of new cybersecurity threat
West Virginia officials warn that fake government websites are being used to steal logins, with seniors at high risk.
Read at WVNS →Elder scams on the rise; Beckley police share how not to fall victim
Police in Beckley, West Virginia warn that elder scams are rising and offer tips to help seniors avoid them.
Read at WOAY-TV →The 'phantom hacker' scam: how a months-long con convinces victims to hand cash or gold to a courier
Federal prosecutors describe a growing 'phantom hacker' scheme in which a caller falsely claims a victim's bank or investment account has been compromised, then, days or weeks later, someone posing as a government official tells the victim their money needs to be moved to a 'safe' government account to protect it. After building trust over an extended period, the scammers convince victims to withdraw cash or buy gold and hand it to someone who arrives in person posing as a government agent, sometimes claiming to be a U.S. Attorney or other official. In one related Arizona case, a victim transferred more than $400,000 in assets before realizing it was a scam. No real government agency or bank will ever ask you to withdraw money, buy gold, or hand valuables to a courier to 'protect' them, so if you get a call like this, slow down, hang up, and verify by contacting the agency or bank directly using a number you look up yourself.
Read at U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona →House committee report calls for an 'all-of-ecosystem' approach to fighting scams, including elder fraud
A U.S. House Financial Services Committee report is calling for a coordinated national strategy against fraud and scams, arguing that stopping them requires cooperation across banks, technology platforms, telecommunications carriers, and law enforcement, not just the moment a payment happens. The report cites FTC data showing more than 3 million fraud reports and $15.9 billion in reported losses in 2025, and specifically flags elder exploitation among the scam types it wants better addressed alongside impostor schemes, phishing, and crypto fraud. It recommends stronger consumer education, deliberate friction to slow suspicious transactions, more cross-industry data sharing, and wider use of AI-powered fraud-detection tools, and it launched a new public resource site explaining common scam red flags in plain language. The American Bankers Association welcomed the report's call for a coordinated approach that brings platforms, carriers, and financial institutions into the effort together.
Read at JD Supra →Senate Aging Committee presses nine major AI companies for safeguards protecting older users
The Senate Special Committee on Aging sent letters to nine major AI companies asking what safeguards their AI chatbot 'companion' products have for older adults, people with disabilities, and people in crisis, including how the products are tested, how harms are tracked, and whether independent researchers can access data to study the effects on older users. Companies have until August 31, 2026 to respond. The letters follow a bipartisan committee hearing, held by the committee's Republican chairman together with its Democratic ranking member and another Democratic senator, examining how AI has been used in scams against seniors; at that hearing the committee released a new report citing the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center for almost $21 billion in cybercrime losses in 2025, with $893 million tied to AI-enabled scams. The report's recommendations include a centralized federal scam-reporting portal that would automatically route complaints to the right agency, expanded law enforcement training and cryptocurrency-tracing tools, and new protections against unauthorized AI-generated voice and image replicas. The committee framed it directly: protecting older Americans from AI-enabled fraud and expanding their access to helpful AI tools 'are not competing priorities; they are two sides of the same obligation.'
Read at McKnight's Senior Living →IV. Learn More: West Virginia Scam Prevention Guides
Explore West Virginia-specific guides on the most common scams targeting seniors in your state:
- Tech Support Scams in West Virginia — Learn to recognize fake pop-ups, phone calls, and remote access schemes.
- Investment Scams in West Virginia — Protect your retirement savings from fraudulent advisors and crypto scams.
- Romance Scams in West Virginia — Spot the warning signs of fake online relationships designed to steal money.
- Government Impersonation Scams in West Virginia — Know what real government agencies will never ask you to do.
- How to Report Scams in West Virginia — 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 West Virginia compares. Curious where West Virginia 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.