Senior Scam Prevention and Fraud Resources in Delaware
Delaware seniors reported $16 million in elder fraud losses to the FBI in 2025, with 796 victims aged 60 and older. This page provides Delaware-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: Delaware’s Senior Population and Key Cities
As of 2024, Delaware has a population of approximately 1.02 million, with over 210,000 residents aged 65 and older , making up more than 20% of the total population. Delaware’s senior population is growing faster than the national average, with many retirees settling in coastal and suburban areas.
Older adults in Delaware face disproportionate risk — the state has the #5 highest per-capita victim rate in the nation. In 2025, losses reached $16 million. Investment scams led at $7.2 million (+86%), and government impersonation surged 471% to $1.1 million. Lottery/sweepstakes dropped 81%.
The three largest cities where elder scam reports are most common are:
- Wilmington (approx. 70,000 people)
- Dover (approx. 40,000 people)
- Newark (approx. 31,000 people)
II. 2025 Victim Report: How Scammers Targeted Delaware’s Seniors
In 2025, Delaware had 796 victims aged 60+ who reported losses totaling $16,189,240 — up 55% in victims and 32% in losses compared to 2024 (514 victims / $12M).
Loss by Crime Type
| Crime Type | 2025 Loss | 2024 Loss | Change |
| Investment | $7,174,698 | $3,852,275 | +86% |
| Tech Support | $2,924,979 | $2,540,564 | +15% |
| Romance | $1,686,893 | $967,449 | +74% |
| Lottery/Sweepstakes | $64,075 | $344,368 | -81% |
| Extortion | $3,628 | $63,440 | -94% |
| Government Impersonation | $1,070,568 | $187,370 | +471% |
Elder Fraud Loss Trajectory — Delaware
5-Year Elder Fraud Trend — Delaware (2021—2025)
| Year | Victims (60+) | Total Loss | YoY Change | Nat’l Rank |
| 2021 | 344 | $5,769,966 | — | #37 |
| 2022 | 305 | $14,023,134 | +143% | #38 |
| 2023 | 313 | $15,363,401 | +10% | #35 |
| 2024 | 514 | $12,293,619 | -20% | #44 |
| 2025 | 796 | $16,189,240 | +32% | #46 |
| 5-Year Total | 2,272 | $63,639,360 | +181% (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 Delaware Seniors (2025 vs. 5-Year)
| Crime Type | 2025 Victims | 2025 Loss | 5-Year Total | Growth (2021—25) |
| Investment | 36 | $7,174,698 | $15,252,934 | +820% |
| Tech Support | 114 | $2,924,979 | $10,572,603 | +715% |
| Romance | 41 | $1,686,893 | $7,228,581 | -7% |
| Gov. Impersonation | 34 | $1,070,568 | $9,028,671 | +3,865% |
| Personal Data Breach | 64 | $1,060,952 | $5,302,211 | +109% |
| BEC | 18 | $280,541 | $8,124,185 | -73% |
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: Delaware’s elder fraud losses reached $16 million in 2025, with 796 seniors victimized. Investment scams grew 86% to $7.2 million. Government impersonation surged 471% from $187K to $1.1 million — one of the steepest increases in this category nationally. Romance scams rose 74% and tech support 15%. Lottery/sweepstakes dropped 81%. Statewide, that comes to roughly one senior victim for every 1,322 Delaware residents.
National context: Delaware ranks #5 in per-capita victim rate (75.67 per 100,000), despite ranking only #46 in total losses. This means an individual Delaware senior is more likely to be targeted than those in California, Texas, Florida, or New York. Delaware’s small geography and concentrated senior population may make it easier for scammers to target multiple victims through the same channels.
For the full national picture, including how Delaware 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. Wilmington Police Department – Investigative Services Division
- Phone: (302) 654-5151 (non-emergency)
- Website: wilmingtonde.gov
- Handles financial crimes and elder fraud complaints.
2. Dover Police Department – Criminal Investigations
- Phone: (302) 736-7111 (non-emergency)
- Website: doverpolice.org
- Contact for scam reports, identity theft, and abuse of older adults.
3. Newark Police Department – General Inquiries
- Phone: (302) 366-7111 (non-emergency)
- Website: newarkde.gov
- Responds to consumer fraud, tech scams, and elder exploitation reports.
FBI and Federal Scam Reporting
FBI Baltimore Field Office (covers Delaware)
- Phone: (410) 265-8080
- Website: www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/baltimore
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- Website: www.ic3.gov
- Use to report online scams, phishing, tech support hoaxes, and financial fraud.
Delaware Attorney General – Elder Fraud and Consumer Protection
Delaware Department of Justice – Senior Protection Initiative
- Consumer Protection Hotline: (800) 220-5424
- Website: attorneygeneral.delaware.gov
- Investigates scams, abuse, and financial exploitation targeting seniors. Offers complaint forms and guidance.
Statewide Elder Services and Medicare Fraud Support
Delaware Adult Protective Services (APS)
- APS Reporting Line: (800) 223-9074
- Website: dhss.delaware.gov
- Investigates elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including financial fraud.
Delaware Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)
- Phone: (800) 223-9074
- Website: smpresource.org (search “Delaware SMP”)
- Helps seniors identify and report Medicare fraud, billing errors, and identity misuse.
Delaware Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD)
- Main Line: (800) 223-9074
- Website: dhss.delaware.gov
- Provides elder rights advocacy, fraud prevention education, caregiver support, and legal aid.
Protect Yourself and Loved Ones
- Delaware seniors lose millions of dollars each year to preventable scams.
- Reporting early helps protect not just yourself, but your entire community.
- Visit our Education Center to explore common fraud types, learn how to respond, and report scams safely.
- If something seems suspicious, don’t engage. Stop. Ask. Report.
Recent Delaware scam news
Recent news coverage of scams affecting Delaware seniors, updated from our alerts desk. Each item links to the original outlet; victims and defendants are kept anonymous.
A physician explains why memory loss raises the risk of falling for a scam
A physician who also cared for her mother through Alzheimer's disease writes that memory loss and mild cognitive impairment are linked to a higher risk of falling for scams and financial exploitation. Part of the danger, she explains, is a condition called anosognosia, where a person with cognitive decline may not recognize that money is missing or that they were deceived. She recommends families start money conversations early, before decline sets in, treat scam awareness as a shared family responsibility rather than a private embarrassment, use phones that screen or block unknown callers, review accounts and credit reports together regularly, and consider a limited power of attorney while the person can still take part in that decision.
Read at Being Patient →Before the holidays, make a family plan to spot scams
With holiday calls and visits picking up, a fraud risk analyst is urging families to agree on a verification plan before a crisis call ever comes in, covering tactics like a caller claiming a grandchild has been arrested, a fake bank or government warning that an account is at risk, a tech support pop-up, or an online relationship that turns into a investment pitch. The core advice is to pause, verify, and talk: hang up, call the person or agency back using a number you already know, and loop in a trusted family member rather than acting alone. Suspicious contacts can be reported to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Agreeing on this plan now, before the holiday season's spike in calls and visits, gives families a calm playbook instead of a panicked decision.
Read at Philadelphia Today →Fake 'psychic' letters promising a windfall defrauded thousands of older Americans of millions
Federal prosecutors describe a mail fraud scheme that sent personalized letters made to look like they came from a psychic, telling recipients they were due a financial windfall that required a payment to 'unlock.' Thousands of people across the country, many of them elderly or otherwise vulnerable, sent checks that were deposited into accounts opened under the fake psychic names and then moved overseas, collecting more than 4 million dollars over several years. No real windfall, inheritance, or prize ever requires you to pay money up front to receive it. If a letter like this arrives, the safe move is to slow down, do not mail a check or payment, and talk it over with a family member or call the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov before responding.
Read at JNS →Medicare 'brace scam' case shows how to catch durable medical equipment fraud on your statement
A major federal case made news this week over a nationwide scheme that billed Medicare for back, knee, shoulder, and wrist braces that patients never needed. Fraud operators used offshore call centers and sham telemedicine visits to generate unnecessary prescriptions, then billed Medicare for the equipment. The scheme generated more than $365 million in fraudulent claims, with Medicare paying out roughly $199 million before it was caught. Beneficiaries can protect themselves by reviewing their Medicare Summary Notice for any brace or equipment charges they do not recognize, declining unsolicited calls offering a free brace, and contacting their local Senior Medicare Patrol program if something looks wrong.
Read at Medical Daily →DOJ's eighth annual elder fraud report tallies 350 enforcement actions in a year
The Department of Justice's eighth annual Elder Justice Report, covering July 2025 through June 2026, found the government pursued nearly 350 criminal and civil enforcement actions against 712 defendants linked to more than $4.8 billion stolen from more than 711,000 older victims. The cases spanned about 40 different scam types, from investment and tech support fraud to government impersonation, and nearly half involved schemes run from overseas. The department also pointed to $52 million in federal funding for elder abuse victim services working alongside its criminal cases. For families, the scale is a reminder to slow down before wiring money or sharing account access, and to verify any urgent financial request by calling the company or agency directly at a number you look up yourself.
Read at U.S. Department of Justice →What to do right away if a loved one has been scammed
A cybersecurity educator described helping a neighbor in her 70s after a scam that started with a locked bank account and what sounded like a tech support call, but was actually scammers. A fake warning claimed her computer had been hacked and told her to contact Microsoft, and the callers convinced her to move her savings into cryptocurrency to keep it safe, money that was then gone for good. The piece lays out concrete first steps for any family facing this: call the bank right away, save every text, email and transaction record, report the crime to local police and the FBI's IC3.gov (or identitytheft.gov if an identity was stolen), lock down every account with a new password and two-factor login, and stay alert because scammers sometimes target the same person again. The core message: slow down, and verify any urgent computer or bank warning by calling the real company yourself at a number you look up independently, never one given to you during the call.
Read at The Washington Post →IV. Learn More: Delaware Scam Prevention Guides
Explore Delaware-specific guides on the most common scams targeting seniors in your state:
- Tech Support Scams in Delaware — Learn to recognize fake pop-ups, phone calls, and remote access schemes.
- Investment Scams in Delaware — Protect your retirement savings from fraudulent advisors and crypto scams.
- Romance Scams in Delaware — Spot the warning signs of fake online relationships designed to steal money.
- Government Impersonation Scams in Delaware — Know what real government agencies will never ask you to do.
- How to Report Scams in Delaware — 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 Delaware compares. Curious where Delaware 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.