First, the reassurance
This happens to careful, intelligent people, and the scams are engineered to bypass good judgment.
Older adults reported nearly $4.9 billion in fraud losses to the FBI in 2024 across more than 147,000 victims age 60 and over.
Your parent is not foolish. They were targeted.
Leading with blame makes them less likely to tell you the full story, which is exactly what you need.
Do these first (today)
- Stop the bleeding. Call their bank's fraud line the same day to flag accounts, stop pending wires, and reissue cards. If money moved by wire, also ask about a recall.
- Call the free hotline. The DOJ National Elder Fraud Hotline, 1-833-372-8311, has case managers who walk families through reporting step by step.
- Report it. File with the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If their identity was used, add IdentityTheft.gov.
- Preserve evidence. Save messages, call logs, receipts, gift-card numbers, and wire confirmations before deleting anything.
Then, protect them going forward
- Lock down accounts: new passwords, two-factor authentication, and a check for any added phone numbers or recovery emails the scammer may have set.
- Watch for the second wave: within weeks, “recovery agents” or fake “FBI investigators” often call promising to get the money back for a fee. That is a second scam. The rule: never pay an up-front fee to recover a loss.
- Connect to support: the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 links families to local services, and Adult Protective Services can help if there is ongoing risk.
When to bring in an investigator
For a large loss, a case headed to court, or repeated targeting, a forensic examiner can preserve court-admissible evidence and support a filing, honestly, including when recovery is not realistic.
Elder fraud investigation explains the options.
Reaching out is free and there is no obligation.
See also: Scam & Fraud Recovery Help, the hub that maps every scam type and the free reporting steps.
Sources
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 2024 Internet Crime Report — Elder Fraud, 2024. https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2024_IC3Report.pdf
- U.S. Department of Justice, Elder Justice Initiative, National Elder Fraud Hotline (1-833-372-8311). https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Report Fraud to the FTC. https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
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