The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report tells a sobering story: fraud losses in the U.S. hit $20.88 billion last year, a 26% increase from the prior year. And while scams target everyone, older adults are disproportionately victimized. The FTC reports that tech support scams alone resulted in $1.23 billion in losses, with seniors filing thousands of complaints.

This isn’t because older adults are foolish. Criminals target them specifically because they tend to have more savings, are more likely to be home to answer calls, and often grew up in an era when trusting authority figures — police, government officials, tech companies — was a reasonable default. Scammers exploit that trust methodically.

Here are the scams your parents are most likely to encounter, and how to help them.

The Tech Support Scam

A popup appears on the screen: “Your computer has been infected with a virus. Call Microsoft Support immediately at 1-800-XXX-XXXX.” Or the computer slows down and they call what they believe is Apple or Microsoft for help.

The “support agent” is a criminal. They’ll ask for remote access to fix the “problem” — and once they’re in, they install real malware, find banking information, and often convince the victim they need to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to remove the infection.

The key fact to share: Microsoft, Apple, Google, and your antivirus company will never call you unsolicited, and a popup on your screen asking you to call a phone number is never legitimate. If you see one, close your browser (or restart your computer) and call a family member before calling any number from the screen.

The IRS / Social Security Impersonation Call

“This is the IRS. We have a warrant for your arrest due to unpaid taxes. To avoid arrest, you must pay immediately using gift cards.”

Gift cards. The IRS. Gift cards. The IRS does not accept gift cards. It does not call to threaten arrest. It sends letters — by mail, to your address on file — before escalating anything.

Neither does the Social Security Administration threaten to suspend your Social Security number. Neither does Medicare demand payment to maintain coverage.

Any call claiming to be a government agency and demanding immediate payment — especially via gift cards, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency — is a scam. Every single time.

The Romance Scam

This one is particularly painful because it exploits loneliness. A stranger connects on a social platform or dating site, builds a relationship over weeks or months through messages and sometimes video calls (which may use deepfakes), and then has an “emergency” — a medical crisis, a stuck investment, trouble getting money out of the country. Could you help?

Romance scams extracted over $1 billion from Americans in a recent year, and the victims are disproportionately widows and widowers. The emotional manipulation can be as devastating as the financial loss.

The “Grandchild in Trouble” Scam

I covered this in detail in my post on AI voice cloning scams, but it bears repeating here: criminals call grandparents claiming to be (or to represent) a grandchild in an emergency — car accident, arrest, hospital — and beg for immediate money. The voice may now be AI-cloned from social media.

The defense: a family safe word that only real family members know. Ask for it before sending anything.

How to Have the Conversation

This is the hard part. Nobody wants to make their parents feel incompetent or under surveillance. Here’s how I’d approach it:

Lead with love, not alarm. “I’ve been reading a lot about scams targeting people, and I want to make sure we’re all protected — I set up the same things on my own accounts.”

Make it a family thing, not a parent thing. Acknowledge that these scams fool everyone. You’re not suggesting they’re not sharp — you’re suggesting that criminals are professionals at this.

Come with solutions, not just warnings. Offering to help set up two-factor authentication, review their email settings, or add them to a credit monitoring service makes the conversation productive.

Establish the safe word. Make it feel like a fun family insider thing rather than a security protocol.

Practical Protections

  • Freeze their credit — Just like yours, a credit freeze prevents anyone from opening new accounts in their name
  • Set up two-factor authentication on their email and financial accounts and make sure they control it
  • Add their number to the Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov — it won’t stop scammers, but it reduces legitimate telemarketing noise that can be confusing
  • Consider a call-blocking service — apps like RoboKiller or Nomorobo can significantly reduce the volume of scam calls that get through

Bottom line: Criminals target the elderly deliberately and skillfully. The best protection is a combination of technical safeguards and a family that talks openly about these threats — without making anyone feel embarrassed or diminished. Have the conversation. Do it soon.