Senior Scam Prevention and Fraud Resources in Rhode Island
Rhode Island seniors reported $22 million in elder fraud losses to the FBI in 2025, with 581 victims aged 60 and older. This page provides Rhode Island-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: Rhode Island’s Senior Population and Key Cities
As of 2024, Rhode Island has a population of approximately 1.1 million, with nearly 200,000 residents aged 65 and older , about 18% of the total population. With one of the oldest populations by percentage in the U.S., Rhode Island’s seniors are a frequent target of online and phone-based scams.
Rhode Island’s seniors face growing threats. In 2025, losses reached $22 million. Investment scams surged 247% to $5.6 million, tech support doubled (+106%), and government impersonation exploded 1,464% from $92K to $1.4 million. Lottery/sweepstakes dropped 86%. Seniors in both urban and coastal areas remain at risk.
The three cities with the highest concentration of seniors and reported scam activity are:
- Providence (approx. 190,000 people)
- Cranston (approx. 82,000 people)
- Warwick (approx. 83,000 people)
II. 2025 Victim Report: How Scammers Targeted Rhode Island’s Seniors
In 2025, Rhode Island had 581 victims aged 60+ who reported losses totaling $21,561,918 — up 79% in victims and 242% in losses compared to 2024 (324 victims / $6M).
Loss by Crime Type
| Crime Type | 2025 Loss | 2024 Loss | Change |
| Investment | $5,622,901 | $1,620,381 | +247% |
| Tech Support | $3,219,973 | $1,560,334 | +106% |
| Romance | $1,546,096 | $1,166,538 | +33% |
| Lottery/Sweepstakes | $27,228 | $195,817 | -86% |
| Extortion | $14,050 | $12,300 | +14% |
| Government Impersonation | $1,439,301 | $92,020 | +1,464% |
Elder Fraud Loss Trajectory — Rhode Island
5-Year Elder Fraud Trend — Rhode Island (2021—2025)
| Year | Victims (60+) | Total Loss | YoY Change | Nat’l Rank |
| 2021 | 230 | $4,284,962 | — | #41 |
| 2022 | 219 | $7,314,666 | +71% | #43 |
| 2023 | 274 | $7,377,668 | +1% | #46 |
| 2024 | 324 | $6,309,411 | -14% | #49 |
| 2025 | 581 | $21,561,918 | +242% | #43 |
| 5-Year Total | 1,628 | $46,848,625 | +403% (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 Rhode Island Seniors (2025 vs. 5-Year)
| Crime Type | 2025 Victims | 2025 Loss | 5-Year Total | Growth (2021—25) |
| BEC | 18 | $7,420,705 | $9,557,589 | +3,012% |
| Investment | 40 | $5,622,901 | $12,646,849 | +1,125% |
| Tech Support | 74 | $3,219,973 | $8,385,931 | +319% |
| Romance | 27 | $1,546,096 | $8,062,462 | -31% |
| Gov. Impersonation | 31 | $1,439,301 | $2,394,561 | +1,499% |
| Personal Data Breach | 28 | $113,206 | $1,171,571 | -48% |
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: Rhode Island’s elder fraud losses reached $22 million in 2025, with 581 seniors victimized (+79%). Investment scams surged 247% to $5.6 million. The most alarming trend: government impersonation exploded 1,464% from just $92K to $1.4 million — one of the steepest increases in this category in the entire country. Tech support doubled (+106%) and romance grew 33%. Lottery/sweepstakes dropped 86%. Statewide, that comes to roughly one senior victim for every 1,914 Rhode Island residents.
National context: Rhode Island ranks #34 in per-capita victim rate (52.23 per 100,000), near the national midpoint. The 1,464% government impersonation surge — from $92K to $1.4 million — is among the largest in the country and may reflect a targeted campaign against the state’s small, densely concentrated senior population. As the smallest state geographically, Rhode Island’s tight communities could be both a vulnerability and an asset for rapid awareness spreading.
For the full national picture, including how Rhode Island 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. Providence Police Department – Financial Crimes Unit
- Phone: (401) 272-3121 (non-emergency)
- Website: providenceri.gov
- Assists with fraud reporting, elder abuse, and scam investigations.
2. Cranston Police Department – Investigative Division
- Phone: (401) 942-2211 (non-emergency)
- Website: cranstonpoliceri.com
- Handles reports of identity theft, financial exploitation, and elder scams.
3. Warwick Police Department – General Inquiries
- Phone: (401) 468-4200 (non-emergency)
- Website: warwickpd.org
- Offers support for elder fraud, suspicious calls, and financial abuse.
FBI and Federal Scam Reporting
FBI Boston Field Office (covers Rhode Island)
- Phone: (857) 386-2000
- Website: www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- Website: www.ic3.gov
- For reporting online scams, phishing, tech support fraud, and elder cybercrime.
Rhode Island Attorney General – Elder Fraud and Consumer Protection
Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General – Consumer Protection Unit
- Consumer Helpline: (401) 274-4400
- Website: riag.ri.gov
- Investigates elder abuse, phone scams, and deceptive business practices.
Statewide Elder Services and Medicare Fraud Support
Rhode Island Adult Protective Services (APS)
- APS Hotline: (401) 462-0555
- Website: oha.ri.gov
- Assists with cases of elder neglect, abuse, and financial exploitation.
Rhode Island Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)
- Phone: (888) 884-8721
- Website: oha.ri.gov/SMP
- Helps seniors recognize and report Medicare fraud, billing abuse, and medical ID theft.
Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging (OHA)
- Info Line: (401) 462-3000
- Website: oha.ri.gov
- Offers elder rights support, scam awareness, legal aid referrals, and caregiver resources.
Stay Safe. Stay Connected. Report Quickly.
- Rhode Island seniors lose millions each year to scams , but early action can stop further harm.
- Save these contacts, stay informed, and check in regularly with family and neighbors.
- Visit our Education Center for scam prevention tools, sample scripts, and reporting guides.
- Never feel pressured to act fast. Slow down, verify, and report. Help is available.
Recent Rhode Island scam news
Recent news coverage of scams affecting Rhode Island seniors, updated from our alerts desk. Each item links to the original outlet; victims and defendants are kept anonymous.
Presentation on elder fraud at Hope Library
A local library will host a presentation to help older adults and families recognize and avoid elder fraud.
Read at Valley Breeze →Washington Trust helps seniors steer clear of scams
A Rhode Island bank is helping older customers learn to recognize and avoid scams.
Read at Johnston Sun Rise →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 →Expert: AI voice cloning is making grandparent and impersonation scams more convincing
At a fraud-prevention session, a consumer-protection expert explained how AI is raising the stakes on scams that already target seniors: fraudsters can pull audio from social media to clone a family member's voice for a fake emergency call, and use AI to alter faces and voices on video calls to look and sound legitimate. He said government agencies never initiate contact by phone, so any call claiming to be the IRS, Social Security, or the FBI is a scam, and that any request to pay through a cryptocurrency ATM is always a scammer. Other advice: legitimate tech companies do not send pop-up warnings with a phone number to call, so restart your computer instead of clicking a link or handing over remote access; use unique passwords and multi-factor authentication; and place a security freeze on your credit report. According to FTC data cited at the session, Americans reported losing a record $15.9 billion to fraud and scams in 2025, an all-ages figure that is separate from the FBI's own reporting on losses to adults 60 and older.
Read at HousingWire →IV. Learn More: Rhode Island Scam Prevention Guides
Explore Rhode Island-specific guides on the most common scams targeting seniors in your state:
- Tech Support Scams in Rhode Island — Learn to recognize fake pop-ups, phone calls, and remote access schemes.
- Investment Scams in Rhode Island — Protect your retirement savings from fraudulent advisors and crypto scams.
- Romance Scams in Rhode Island — Spot the warning signs of fake online relationships designed to steal money.
- Government Impersonation Scams in Rhode Island — Know what real government agencies will never ask you to do.
- How to Report Scams in Rhode Island — 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 Rhode Island compares. Curious where Rhode Island 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.