Protecting older adults from the latest fraud scams

When you think about older individuals and fraud, you may imagine a bad guy in a basement somewhere, maliciously targeting a sweet grandma. In reality, fraud targeting seniors is often committed by someone they know.

"A huge majority of the abuse is being conducted by people they trust. That just makes it more heart-wrenching," said Beth Klug, senior manager of fraud risk and governance at BOK Financial®.

AARP reported that around 72% of fraud cases against the older population are perpetrated by someone known to the victim, such as a family member, friend or caregiver.

And this abuse can be costly: Scams targeting individuals aged 60 and older resulted in over $3.4 billion in losses in 2023. Often the crimes go unreported because the victim:

• Doesn't realize what's happening,
• Doesn't believe someone they’re close to would do anything to harm them,
• Doesn’t want to admit they fell for a scheme or
• Doesn’t know whom to call.

Sometimes, the fraudster is someone that the victim has met online through social media and chat sites, both of which provide the fraudsters with ample opportunities to befriend the older person or to send them phishing messages in order to gain access to their accounts and pursue transfers.

Klug warns of several recent types of fraud to be aware of:

Pig butchering
In this scenario, a person befriends an older person through an online hobby group, chat or dating site. They engage with them through email or texting, befriending the victim over an extended period of time, known as "fattening the pig." The victim begins to feel they've made a new friend and grows close to them. Then, the fraudster moves in for the "slaughter" by asking for money for some sort of emergency. Because the target now cares about them, they are more likely to give the money—and then the “new friend” suddenly disappears with the money.

Deep fake voice fraud
Artificial intelligence (AI) has made it more difficult for people to know the difference between a fraudster calling and impersonating a loved one and the real deal.

"The older person gets a phone call from a so-called loved one, saying something like, 'Hi grandma, it's me, Mary, I'm in a lot of trouble right now. I got in a car accident or I'm on a trip and there's been an accident, and this guy is going to sue me, and I need five thousand dollars as soon as possible,'" explained Klug. "The older person is convinced it's their grandchild and they're desperate to help immediately, so they often send the money."

Klug says it's sometimes hard to convince an older person that their loved one is okay and not the person on the phone. She recalls having to bring a grandson and grandfather into a bank branch in person so the grandfather could see that his loved one was not in a crisis situation.

"The senior community is the prime victim because they may have hearing impairments or dementia,” she said. “And the fraudsters play on their emotions because they just want to help their loved one."

Online banking
Another common type of fraud is a corrupt family member, or caregiver, who may try to convince a senior that they want to help take care of their finances. The caregiver begins by convincing the victim to go to a bank branch and add them to their account. The fraudster then starts making transfers to themselves, often through online banking or payment portals like Zelle, said Klug.

She added that even when the fraud team does catch a loved one committing the fraud, it's sometimes hard to convince the older person. "The hardest part is telling them their loved one deceived them.”

Protecting older adults
Klug says it is important for family members to remain vigilant in protecting the older loved ones in their life. She suggests several strategies a family member can take.

1. Financial power of attorney. A designated family member can work with an estate lawyer to get financial power of attorney and take that paperwork to the bank to get set up on the older person’s account. “Keep in mind this needs to be done when the older person is cognitively able to make that decision,” she said. “Once the power of attorney is in place, you can help make changes on their account to add a few layers of protection.”
2. Set limits on the older person’s credit cards. Set a very low limit, like $2,000 or something in line with their normal spending, in case someone tries to convince them to make excessive purchases or gets ahold of their card.
3. Set up automatic payments. Enroll in automatic bill payment for household bills so there's not a check being mailed or a chance of someone getting access to a checkbook.
4. Set up alerts. Get notified for banking withdrawals over a certain amount or large credit card transactions to check with the senior to see if they're the one actually making the transaction and why.
5. Monitor accounts. Help your older family member set up online access to bank and credit card accounts for themself, so they can monitor for unusual spending activity.
6. Set up separate accounts. Establish one account to pay household living expenses and bills and another account to give the senior a “slush fund” or refillable debit card for discretionary purchases that only has a limited amount of cash. Then keep a majority of their money in a safeguarded separate account.
7. Enroll them in the do-not-call registry. A power of attorney is not needed to register a loved one's phone number on the Do Not Call registry. Simply go to DoNotCall.gov and enter their email and phone number (with their consent) to block telemarketing calls that your loved one may fall prey to.

How to talk to your older loved ones about protection
It's important to have conversations with older loved ones about scams and fraud. Klug says an easy way to bring it up is to mention reading an article about it. If the older person feels they are being told what to do, Klug suggests asking if they would be open to having a conversation with a bank representative about how to protect their accounts.

"Discuss options to safeguard their money and let them choose. That way they feel like they're the ones in control of making the decisions."

Learn more about BOK Financial's online security or call 844-517-3308 to report suspicious activity on BOK Financial-related accounts. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also keeps an up-to-date list of current threats.