People over 60 lost more money to scams in 2023 than the previous year, an 11% increase, totaling more than $3.4 billion, according to a new report released Tuesday by the FBI .
Commonly referred to as “elderly fraud,” financial crimes against the elderly totaled $3.4 billion in 2023, up from $3.1 billion in 2022, according to the FBI’s “Elderly Fraud Report.” of 2023.
There was also a 14% increase in complaints filed with the FBI by elderly victims. According to FBI data, 101,068 complaints were filed by people over 60 in 2023, compared to 88,262 in 2022. The average loss was $33,915, and 5,920 people lost more than $100,000, according to FBI data. the FBI.
The FBI says only about half of the more than 880,000 complaints received by its Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2023 included age data.
Last year, as in 2022, tech support fraud was the #1 crime type affecting complainants over the age of 60. According to the FBI, tech support scams typically involve scammers pretending to have support from a legitimate company and informing the victim of fraudulent information. activity or potential reimbursement of a subscription service. The scammer tells the victim that he has a refund for the victim. However, money can only be sent by downloading software that allows the scammer to view the victim’s bank account.
In this Feb. 2, 2018, file photo, the Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is displayed in front of FBI headquarters in Washington.
TJ Kirkpatrick/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
FBI data found that investment scams remain the costliest for seniors in terms of financial losses suffered – with total losses of more than $1.2 million in 2023. Tech support scams are coming in second place for losses with more than $589,000.
James Barnicle, head of the FBI’s financial crimes section, urged financial institutions to do more to protect seniors from scams. He told reporters in a conference call Tuesday that once the transfer is made, they don’t “touch it anymore.”
“We believe financial institutions need to do more, take some level of fiduciary responsibility and help protect their customers from the risk of becoming victims – particularly among older victims,” he said.
He also urged victims to report losses sooner, so the FBI can attempt to recover the money more quickly.
In the United States, illegal scam calls, involving people posing as fake government or customer service representatives, grossed more than $700 million in 2023, with nearly half of those over 60 years old. years.
Barnicle said some of the scams originated from call centers in India, West Africa, Laos and Cambodia. He said the FBI seeks not only to educate victims of the scams, but also to hold them accountable.
“We’re looking to arrest people,” Barnicle said. “We will work with law enforcement around the world, in whatever jurisdiction is most convenient for us and can intervene in certain countries. Maybe we can’t get our hands on an offender, but maybe our partners can, whether it’s Australia, Japan or the UK, so we’re looking to arrest people.”
Christopher Sé, deputy chief of the FBI’s financial crimes section, said he was recently contacted by scammers, and when he did not want to continue engaging with them, the conversation turned violent.
“The tone of the text messages took a really aggressive turn: threats of violence against me and my family,” he said. “There were some pretty graphic photos of what was going to happen to me. And he got pretty aggressive.”
Be said this is a pattern they are seeing more and more from scammers.
“They were taking steps to really intimidate me…and someone, especially an older American, my mother and my grandmother, would definitely have been very terrified by that,” Be said.
ABC News
