Protecting America’s Seniors from Online Scams – 2025

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Each year, tens of thousands of older Americans fall victim to online scams, losing billions of dollars in hard-earned savings and retirement funds. In 2025 alone, more than 201,000 seniors reported losing approximately $7.7 billion to cybercriminals, according to data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). That means, tragically, every three minutes, another older American’s financial security, dignity, and independence are severely compromised.

Online scammers deliberately target older adults, exploiting their trust, isolation, and sometimes limited experience with technology. The consequences extend far beyond financial losses, causing severe emotional distress, family turmoil, and lasting damage to health and independence. It is crucial, therefore, to understand the types of scams most commonly faced by American seniors and how best to prevent them.

2025 at a Glance: A Crisis Accelerating

The 2025 FBI IC3 data reveals a sharp acceleration in elder fraud. Compared to 2024, total reported losses surged 57% — from $4.9 billion to $7.7 billion — while the number of senior victims rose 37%, from 147,000 to over 201,000. The average loss per victim now stands at approximately $37,900, meaning each successful scam costs a senior roughly the equivalent of a year’s worth of Social Security payments.

Beyond these well-known schemes, two additional crime types are devastating seniors across every state: Lottery, Sweepstakes, and Inheritance scams ($136 million in losses), where victims are told they’ve won a prize but must pay fees or taxes to collect, and Extortion ($54 million), including a sharp rise in AI-generated sextortion targeting older adults. Both categories saw dramatic year-over-year increases in most states.

Five Years of Elder Fraud: The National Crisis in Numbers (2021—2025)

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has tracked elder fraud nationally since 2019, but the five-year window from 2021 through 2025 tells a particularly alarming story: losses have grown +366% while victim counts more than doubled. In total, American seniors have reported losing $20.1 billion to cybercriminals over these five years — a figure that likely represents only a fraction of actual losses, since the FBI estimates fewer than 1 in 5 victims ever file a report.

Year	Victims (60+)	Total Losses	Avg. Loss/Victim	YoY Change
2021	88,949	$1,594,013,929	$17,920	—
2022	85,001	$3,005,614,067	$35,359	+89%
2023	91,085	$3,321,761,680	$36,468	+11%
2024	143,522	$4,749,294,840	$33,091	+43%
2025	196,200	$7,431,715,400	$37,878	+56%
5-Year Total	604,757	$20,102,399,916	$33,240	+366% (2021—2025)

Key takeaways from the five-year trend:

Losses nearly quintupled — from $1.6 billion in 2021 to $7.4 billion in 2025, a +366% increase.
Victim counts more than doubled — from 88,949 in 2021 to 196,200 in 2025 (+121%), meaning criminals are casting a far wider net.
Average loss per victim surged — from $17,921 in 2021 to $37,878 in 2025, showing scammers are extracting more from each target.
The steepest jump was 2021—2022 — losses nearly doubled (+89%) in a single year as crypto investment scams exploded.
2024—2025 saw the largest dollar increase — an additional $2.7 billion in losses, driven by AI-enhanced fraud techniques.

Every state page on this site now includes a 5-year trend table showing how elder fraud has grown locally. For a deeper analysis, see our Fastest Growing States page, which ranks all 52 states by growth rate and identifies where elder fraud is accelerating most rapidly. For the full data-driven analysis, read our Five Years of Elder Fraud in America report, or explore how crime types have shifted over five years. Use the state links below to see your state’s specific trajectory, or read on for the most common scam types targeting seniors today.

Common Elder Scams in the United States

Among the various frauds that seniors face, certain types occur with troubling frequency. Investment scams are a leading threat, where criminals offer fake or misleading opportunities promising high returns with little or no risk. Often, these scams begin subtly on social media or dating platforms before escalating into cryptocurrency schemes or complex pyramid structures. In 2025, investment fraud cost seniors $3.5 billion — the largest loss category.

Tech support scams are another major threat. Criminals pose as representatives from trusted companies like Microsoft, Apple, or internet service providers, falsely claiming a senior’s computer or personal data is compromised. They pressure their victims to provide remote access to their devices, eventually stealing financial information or charging exorbitant fees for fake services. In 2025, tech support fraud cost seniors over $1 billion.

Romance scams tragically exploit emotional vulnerability, loneliness, and isolation. Scammers establish seemingly genuine relationships online, quickly expressing strong feelings of love or friendship. Once trust is established, these scammers fabricate emergencies or urgent needs, convincing victims to send money, often repeatedly and in large amounts. Romance fraud cost seniors $584 million in 2025.

Government impersonation scams are particularly malicious, as fraudsters pretend to be officials from respected agencies like the IRS, Medicare, Social Security Administration, or even law enforcement. They threaten seniors with arrests, suspended benefits, or fines, creating panic and pressuring immediate payment through untraceable methods, such as wire transfers or gift cards. Government impersonation cost seniors $789 million in 2025.

Lottery, sweepstakes, and inheritance scams lure seniors with fake notifications of prizes or inheritances they never entered. Victims are told they must pay fees, taxes, or processing charges to claim their “winnings.” These scams are persistent and often target the same victims repeatedly. Lottery and sweepstakes fraud cost seniors $393 million in 2025.

Extortion scams use fear and threats to extract money from seniors. Criminals may claim to have compromising information, threaten legal action, or use intimidation tactics including fake arrest warrants. Extortion cost seniors $275 million in 2025.

AI-powered scams represent the fastest-growing threat to seniors. Artificial intelligence enables criminals to clone voices, create deepfake videos, generate flawless phishing messages, power chatbots that maintain fake relationships for months, and fabricate official documents and trading platforms. The FBI’s 2025 IC3 report included an AI section for the first time, documenting $893 million in AI-enabled losses. For seniors aged 60+, AI-related fraud accounted for $352 million in reported losses — a figure the FBI acknowledges is a significant undercount, as many victims do not realize AI was involved.

Heat Map – Elder Fraud Victims Per State: 2024 vs 2025

Elder Fraud Victims per State (2024)

Elder Fraud Victims per State (2025)

Rank	State / Territory	2024 Loss	2025 Loss	Change
1	California	$832,710,048	$1,403,975,911	+69%
2	Florida	$388,436,198	$709,823,172	+83%
3	Texas	$489,790,386	$678,564,081	+39%
4	New York	$257,658,301	$408,741,632	+59%
5	Arizona	$190,686,835	$343,984,935	+80%
6	New Jersey	$133,397,512	$249,808,786	+87%
7	Virginia	$106,575,141	$220,941,233	+107%
8	Georgia	$174,744,201	$218,218,618	+25%
9	Pennsylvania	$151,096,514	$215,887,466	+43%
10	Illinois	$133,794,241	$189,491,209	+42%
11	Washington	$107,052,160	$179,706,909	+68%
12	Maryland	$80,128,654	$176,380,737	+120%
13	Michigan	$92,378,793	$169,931,948	+84%
14	North Carolina	$87,449,567	$164,214,173	+88%
15	Ohio	$95,441,773	$163,748,647	+72%
16	Colorado	$74,760,501	$144,529,956	+93%
17	Nevada	$81,400,930	$115,267,384	+42%
18	Massachusetts	$99,804,762	$113,880,471	+14%
19	Minnesota	$52,262,721	$111,387,313	+113%
20	Tennessee	$61,882,884	$108,305,976	+75%
21	South Carolina	$58,581,997	$97,344,480	+66%
22	Wisconsin	$50,525,457	$92,041,492	+82%
23	Missouri	$63,530,750	$91,563,419	+44%
24	Indiana	$37,209,947	$81,517,309	+119%
25	Oregon	$48,116,839	$77,481,475	+61%
26	Connecticut	$30,918,559	$73,178,714	+137%
27	Utah	$44,155,961	$65,946,070	+49%
28	Kentucky	$26,139,251	$64,441,069	+147%
29	Alabama	$33,200,314	$58,838,411	+77%
30	New Mexico	$30,034,919	$55,820,259	+86%
31	Kansas	$23,511,153	$55,730,977	+137%
32	Hawaii	$18,851,052	$55,385,929	+194%
33	Oklahoma	$50,203,394	$53,333,350	+6%
34	Iowa	$34,991,114	$44,136,901	+26%
35	Idaho	$18,663,392	$37,394,229	+100%
36	Arkansas	$27,253,501	$36,958,369	+36%
37	Louisiana	$37,512,993	$35,856,847	-4%
38	Mississippi	$28,870,444	$33,087,218	+15%
39	Montana	$12,056,193	$31,773,898	+164%
40	Nebraska	$21,414,248	$28,430,567	+33%
41	New Hampshire	$15,840,854	$25,068,671	+58%
42	Maine	$12,980,616	$23,317,413	+80%
43	Rhode Island	$6,309,411	$21,561,918	+242%
44	West Virginia	$5,790,489	$18,953,441	+227%
45	Alaska	$8,173,395	$16,252,410	+99%
46	Delaware	$12,293,619	$16,189,240	+32%
47	South Dakota	$8,975,829	$14,708,875	+64%
48	District of Columbia	$251,454,544	$10,077,243	-96%
49	Vermont	$4,177,269	$8,548,782	+105%
50	Puerto Rico	$20,183,422	$8,167,452	-60%
51	Wyoming	$8,648,675	$5,923,260	-32%
52	North Dakota	$5,781,845	$5,895,155	+2%

What the numbers reveal: Just five states — California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Arizona — account for 48% of all elder fraud losses nationwide. California alone represents nearly one in five dollars lost. Losses increased in 48 of 52 states and territories, with Rhode Island (+242%), West Virginia (+227%), and Hawaii (+194%) experiencing the most dramatic surges. Only four jurisdictions saw decreases: the District of Columbia (-96%, falling from an anomalous 2024 spike), Puerto Rico (-60%), Wyoming (-32%), and Louisiana (-4%).

Heat Map – Elder Fraud Victims Rate Per State: 2024 vs 2025

Elder Fraud Victims Rate – Per 100,000 Population (2024)

Elder Fraud Victims Rate – Per 100,000 Population (2025)

Based on Official U.S. Census Bureau July 1, 2024 Population Estimates

Rank	State	Victim Count	2024 Population	2025 Rate	2024 Rate	Change
1	Arizona	9,834	7,582,384	129.70	88.14	+47%
2	Nevada	3,008	3,267,467	92.06	70.36	+31%
3	Alaska	666	740,133	89.98	62.96	+43%
4	Massachusetts	5,463	7,136,171	76.55	45.17	+69%
5	Delaware	796	1,051,917	75.67	48.86	+55%
6	New Hampshire	1,063	1,409,032	75.44	44.92	+68%
7	Florida	17,147	23,372,215	73.36	50.93	+44%
8	Maryland	4,573	6,263,220	73.01	51.59	+42%
9	Montana	814	1,137,233	71.58	38.51	+86%
10	Colorado	4,061	5,957,493	68.17	52.50	+30%
11	Oregon	2,910	4,272,371	68.11	53.53	+27%
12	New Mexico	1,449	2,130,256	68.02	53.99	+26%
13	Kansas	2,013	2,970,606	67.76	38.01	+78%
14	Washington	5,392	7,958,180	67.75	46.40	+46%
15	Wyoming	397	587,618	67.56	45.44	+49%
16	Vermont	436	648,493	67.23	37.47	+79%
17	Utah	2,341	3,503,613	66.82	50.26	+33%
18	Connecticut	2,360	3,675,069	64.22	32.90	+95%
19	Hawaii	917	1,446,146	63.41	44.74	+42%
20	Virginia	5,509	8,811,195	62.52	43.60	+43%
21	Indiana	4,199	6,924,275	60.64	76.91	-21%
22	Illinois	7,701	12,710,158	60.59	47.71	+27%
23	Oklahoma	2,449	4,095,393	59.80	45.36	+32%
24	Ohio	6,948	11,883,304	58.47	45.34	+29%
25	South Carolina	3,136	5,478,831	57.24	41.86	+37%
26	Idaho	1,136	2,001,619	56.75	38.72	+47%
27	Michigan	5,731	10,140,459	56.52	31.04	+82%
28	California	22,157	39,431,263	56.19	45.87	+22%
29	District of Columbia	382	702,250	54.40	38.01	+43%
30	Pennsylvania	7,088	13,078,751	54.19	48.57	+12%
31	North Carolina	5,942	11,046,024	53.79	45.54	+18%
32	Arkansas	1,658	3,088,354	53.69	34.42	+56%
33	West Virginia	931	1,769,979	52.60	33.56	+57%
34	Rhode Island	581	1,112,308	52.23	29.13	+79%
35	Missouri	3,247	6,245,466	51.99	35.20	+48%
36	Maine	721	1,405,012	51.32	43.27	+19%
37	Wisconsin	3,014	5,960,975	50.56	29.94	+69%
38	Tennessee	3,525	7,227,750	48.77	35.18	+39%
39	Kentucky	2,127	4,588,372	46.36	29.11	+59%
40	Texas	14,410	31,290,831	46.05	30.28	+52%
41	Minnesota	2,550	5,793,151	44.02	31.69	+39%
42	Georgia	4,865	11,180,878	43.51	32.40	+34%
43	New Jersey	4,111	9,500,851	43.27	30.71	+41%
44	South Dakota	398	924,669	43.04	28.01	+54%
45	New York	8,537	19,867,248	42.97	31.33	+37%
46	Louisiana	1,906	4,597,740	41.46	29.84	+39%
47	Alabama	2,057	5,157,699	39.88	30.38	+31%
48	Nebraska	781	2,005,465	38.94	27.48	+42%
49	Iowa	1,202	3,241,488	37.08	24.77	+50%
50	Mississippi	959	2,943,045	32.59	20.52	+59%
51	North Dakota	251	796,568	31.51	21.84	+44%

Why per-capita rates matter: Raw dollar losses favor large states, but the per-capita victim rate tells a different story. Arizona leads the nation at 129.70 victims per 100,000 residents — meaning roughly 1 in every 770 seniors in Arizona reported being victimized. Smaller states like Alaska (#3), Delaware (#5), and New Hampshire (#6) rank among the hardest-hit when population is factored in, despite appearing lower in the total-loss table. Critically, 50 out of 51 states saw their per-capita rate increase year-over-year; only Indiana saw a decrease. This is not a regional problem — it is a nationwide crisis that is getting worse everywhere.

Recognizing the Warning Signs

Though scams vary widely, certain consistent warning signs can help seniors and their families identify potential threats. Offers or demands that seem unusually urgent, requests for secrecy, or promises of guaranteed returns are common indicators of fraud. Legitimate organizations will never insist on payments via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrencies. Likewise, official agencies will not threaten arrest or legal action over unsolicited phone calls, texts, or emails.

A sudden, unexpected outreach from anyone demanding personal information or payment should always be viewed with suspicion. Seniors should always take their time, consult a trusted family member or advisor, and independently verify the identity of the person or organization contacting them.

What to Do if Targeted by a Scam

If you or someone you care about suspects a scam, immediate steps are critical. First, pause and refrain from engaging further with the scammer—never provide financial details, send money, or allow remote computer access. Save any available evidence, such as emails, text messages, or voicemails, to aid authorities in investigating the scam.

It’s vital to inform someone you trust immediately. Speaking openly about the incident can not only help you avoid becoming a victim but can also help stop others from falling prey to similar schemes.

Reporting a Scam: Key Resources and Agencies

Reporting fraud promptly is essential in combating these crimes and preventing future victimization. To report online fraud or scams, you can contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) through their official website, ic3.gov. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also offers a straightforward reporting mechanism at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

If a scam involves government impersonation, particularly related to Social Security, reports can be made directly to the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov.

In cases involving financial loss, always notify your bank or financial institution immediately. They may be able to halt fraudulent transactions or help recover lost funds.

Empowering Families: The 15-Minute Conversation

Protecting seniors from scams is not only an individual responsibility but also a family and community effort. Families can greatly reduce risk by having open, compassionate conversations about online safety. Taking just 15 minutes during family gatherings or holidays to discuss a simple fraud prevention protocol can significantly increase resilience against these threats.

Consider establishing family rules: for example, agreeing on a secret family code word to verify identity in case of emergencies, promising to discuss unexpected financial requests with another family member, or committing to always independently verify unsolicited calls or messages before responding.

Staying Safe, Staying Informed

Education and awareness are your best defenses against scammers. Take advantage of free, reputable resources provided by organizations such as the FBI, FTC, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. These organizations offer detailed guides, instructional videos, printable checklists, and other tools specifically designed to help seniors and families remain informed, vigilant, and protected against fraud.

Scam patterns evolve constantly, making it essential to stay updated on emerging threats. Regularly checking trusted sources or subscribing to fraud alerts can make a significant difference in recognizing and preventing scams.

Together, through awareness, vigilance, and proactive communication, we can protect America’s seniors, ensuring that the dignity and financial security they’ve worked so hard to build remain safeguarded against criminals who seek to exploit them.

For a data-driven view of the crisis, visit our Elder Fraud Statistics & Research hub, which compiles five years of FBI IC3 data into interactive state-by-state comparisons, national trend analysis, and crime type breakdowns.

Get Help, Find Your State

This national resource provides critical guidance to protect American seniors, but help is also available closer to home. Each state has specific resources and contacts for local assistance. As you explore our site further, you’ll find dedicated pages for each state, containing local contact information, reporting procedures, and support networks designed specifically for residents in your area.

If you’ve been targeted by scammers, don’t hesitate to reach out, you’re not alone. Let’s build safer communities together, one family at a time.

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