Overview
Elder fraud is financial fraud or exploitation that targets an older adult. It can be committed by a stranger, an organized criminal group, a business, a caregiver, a family member, a friend, or another trusted person.
Common schemes include government and business impersonation, tech support scams, investment fraud, romance scams, lottery and prize scams, family-emergency scams, identity theft, and fraudulent requests to move or “protect” money. Financial exploitation by someone the person knows may involve unauthorized withdrawals, misuse of a power of attorney, coerced changes to accounts or estate documents, or pressure to provide money or property.
Older adults are not responsible for being targeted. Scammers use professional scripts, manipulated caller ID, stolen personal information, artificial intelligence, and sustained pressure to make a false story appear credible. Anyone can be deceived under the right circumstances.
How It Works
A scammer commonly follows several stages:
- Make contact and establish credibility. The person may claim to represent a government agency, bank, technology company, retailer, law-enforcement organization, investment firm, or family member.
- Create fear, trust, or opportunity. The story may involve an account problem, criminal accusation, compromised computer, family emergency, romantic relationship, investment return, prize, or refund.
- Isolate the target. The scammer may demand secrecy, keep the person on the phone, discourage contact with family or financial institutions, or instruct the person to lie about the transaction.
- Move the money. Payment may be requested by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift card, cash, gold, payment application, check, or transfer to a supposedly “safe” account.
- Continue or repeat the fraud. After an initial payment, the scammer may invent new fees, taxes, emergencies, or recovery services. Victims may also be targeted again by people claiming they can recover the money for an upfront payment.
When the person causing the harm is known to the older adult, the exploitation may be gradual. It may involve access to accounts, control of mail or devices, unexplained changes in spending, or pressure to sign documents that are not fully understood.
Warning Signs
Warning signs in a message, call, or financial request include:
- A demand to act immediately, remain on the phone, or keep the matter secret.
- A claim that money must be moved to a “safe” or “protected” account.
- A request for gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, cash, gold, or repeated payments.
- Threats of arrest, account closure, deportation, loss of benefits, or harm to a family member.
- A caller who says bank employees, law enforcement, family members, or technology staff cannot be trusted.
- An unsolicited investment with guaranteed returns, little risk, or pressure to invest before reviewing written information.
- A new online relationship that quickly becomes a request for money, account access, or help moving funds.
- A person claiming to be a relative who refuses independent verification or asks that no one else be contacted.
- A request for passwords, MFA codes, remote access to a device, or access to financial accounts.
Possible signs of financial exploitation by someone known to the older adult include:
- Unexplained withdrawals, transfers, unpaid bills, missing property, or sudden changes in financial activity.
- A new person taking unusual control over communication, mail, transportation, appointments, accounts, or devices.
- Changes to beneficiaries, account ownership, powers of attorney, deeds, or estate documents that the older adult does not understand or appears pressured to make.
- Signatures that appear unusual or documents completed without clear explanation.
- An older adult who appears fearful, isolated, confused about transactions, or reluctant to speak without another person present.
A single sign does not prove fraud or exploitation. It is a reason to ask careful questions and verify what happened.
How to Protect Yourself
- Pause before making a financial decision. End the call or conversation and take time to verify the story.
- Contact the organization independently. Use a number on an account statement, payment card, official government website, or other source you already trust.
- Do not move money to “protect” it. Legitimate government agencies, banks, and law-enforcement organizations do not require you to transfer assets to a secret safe account.
- Do not provide passwords or MFA codes. Do not allow an unexpected caller to remotely control a computer or phone.
- Discuss unusual requests with a trusted person. A second perspective can interrupt the pressure and help verify the claim.
- Use account alerts and review statements. Promptly investigate unfamiliar withdrawals, checks, transfers, new payees, or changes to contact information.
- Limit account authority. Give financial access, powers of attorney, or device access only to people you have chosen carefully, and understand what authority the arrangement provides.
- Protect mail, identity documents, and account records. Secure items containing Social Security numbers, account numbers, signatures, and other personal information.
- Be cautious with investment opportunities and new online relationships. Verify licenses, organizations, and claims independently before sending money or sharing account access.
- Recognize recovery scams. Do not pay an unknown person who promises to recover fraud losses, especially when the contact was unsolicited.
How Family, Friends, and Colleagues Can Help
If you are concerned about an older adult:
- Speak privately, calmly, and without blame. Shame or confrontation may make it harder for the person to discuss what happened.
- Ask what the caller or other person said, what actions were requested, and whether money, information, or device access was provided.
- Help contact the financial institution, payment provider, or affected company through an independently verified channel.
- Preserve messages, phone numbers, receipts, transaction records, account information, and written instructions.
- Do not contact or threaten the suspected scammer. This may increase pressure on the older adult or interfere with recovery and reporting.
- Consider Adult Protective Services or law enforcement when there is suspected exploitation, coercion, theft, or immediate safety concern.
- Respect the older adult's autonomy whenever possible. Focus on verified facts, available protections, and the person's stated needs.
What You Should Do at UM
If the suspected fraud involves a UM email account, UM device, university message, UM employee or student identity, or a university financial process:
- Stop further communication and transactions. Do not send additional money or information.
- Preserve the message and transaction details. Do not alter or forward sensitive information more broadly than necessary.
- Use Outlook's Report Message tool and report a suspicious UM email as phishing. Delete the message after reporting it. The Report Message tool may remove it automatically.
- Contact the UM IT Helpdesk or UM Information Security Office for incidents involving UM accounts, devices, messages, or data.
- Contact the appropriate UM financial or business office through a trusted method when university funds, payment instructions, payroll, benefits, or another UM process may be affected.
If a UM password was entered on an unfamiliar site, an MFA code was shared, or an unexpected MFA request was approved, change the UM password through the normal UM account-management process and contact the UM IT Helpdesk or UM Information Security Office.
For exploitation or fraud involving personal money, personal accounts, or a non-UM device, contact the relevant financial institution, payment provider, platform, law-enforcement agency, or protective service. UM support should still be notified when a UM account, device, message, identity, or business process was part of the incident.
Additional Questions
For an elder-fraud concern involving UM, contact the UM IT Helpdesk and the UM Information Security Office. Involve the relevant UM financial, human-resources, student, or business office when a university process is affected.
For a personal elder-fraud or exploitation concern:
- Contact the bank, credit union, card issuer, investment firm, payment provider, or other financial institution immediately when money or account access is involved.
- Contact local law enforcement for theft, coercion, threats, or an immediate safety concern.
- Use the U.S. Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative to locate Adult Protective Services and other help when abuse or exploitation by a caregiver, family member, or trusted person is suspected.
- Report internet-enabled fraud to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Report consumer fraud to the Federal Trade Commission.
- Use IdentityTheft.gov when personal information has been used to open accounts, make transactions, obtain benefits, file taxes, or otherwise impersonate the individual. Not every scam attempt requires an identity-theft report.
Additional Resources