Elder Fraud Statistics [2026]

In 2024, more than 147,000 Americans aged 60 and older reported $4.8 billion in fraud losses to the FBI IC3 2025 — a 43 percent jump from 2023 and the highest elder fraud total ever recorded. This post compiles cross-jurisdictional fraud research for the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with breakdowns by age cohort, fraud type, and reporting gap.

What Is Elder Fraud — and Who Counts as a Victim?

Elder financial exploitation encompasses two related categories of crime. The first is financial abuse: money or property misused by someone the older adult knows and trusts — a family member, caregiver, or appointed fiduciary. The second is financial fraud: losses inflicted by a stranger through scams, impersonation, or deceptive schemes. Both forms affect adults aged 60 and older and cause serious financial, physical, and emotional harm, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative. The age threshold of 60 is used by U.S. law-enforcement reporting systems including the FBI IC3 and the FTC Consumer Sentinel; the UK and Canada use similar but not identical thresholds across different datasets.

The distinction between abuse (known perpetrator) and fraud (stranger) matters for understanding who is most at risk. According to analysis of calls to the National Center on Elder Abuse resource line, cited by the National Council on Aging, nearly 47 percent of elder financial abuse incidents were carried out by family members, while medical caregivers accounted for a further 13 percent — meaning that in the majority of cases where a known perpetrator is involved, the relationship is close and the access is trusted. Only a small fraction of such cases involved complete strangers.

The scale of undetected abuse compounds the documented losses. Approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60 and older experiences some form of elder abuse, a figure that rose to roughly 1 in 5 during the COVID-19 pandemic period, according to the National Council on Aging. Reported cases represent only a fraction of actual incidents: only an estimated 1 in 24 cases reaches authorities, per the same source. For the broader prevalence picture across all five WHO abuse types — physical, psychological, sexual, financial, and neglect — see our companion post on elder abuse statistics, or the abuse research hub for related research.

The Scale of the Problem: Headline Losses in 2024–2025

The 2024 data represents a significant escalation from prior years. U.S. adults aged 60 and older reported $4.8 billion in fraud losses to the FBI IC3 2025 — up 43 percent from $3.4 billion in 2023 — making seniors the age group with both the most complaints (147,000+) and the highest total losses of any cohort. The IC3 notes that only about half of its complaints include victim age data, meaning true totals are likely higher still.

The Federal Trade Commission captures a separate, partially overlapping stream of reports. The FTC 2025 reported that fraud losses by adults 60 and older reached $2.4 billion in 2024 — a four-fold increase from roughly $600 million in 2020. Because most fraud is never reported to the FTC, the agency estimated the true cost to older Americans in 2024 may be as high as $81.5 billion, once underreporting rates are factored in.

Among Canadian seniors, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) 2025 recorded 17,000 fraud cases involving victims aged 60 and older in 2024, with losses of $137.9 million CAD — representing 40 percent of all dollar losses reported to the CAFC that year. The CAFC estimates that 90 to 95 percent of fraud goes unreported, meaning true losses are likely ten to twenty times higher than the reported figures.

In the United Kingdom, an estimated 1.9 million older people were defrauded in 2024, with victims losing an average of approximately £4,000 each — totalling nearly £7.4 billion in aggregate losses, according to research commissioned by Independent Age and conducted by Opinium across 2,000 UK adults in May 2024. Because this figure derives from a commissioned survey rather than a law-enforcement reporting database, it reflects a broader net than the IC3 or CAFC tallies and should be interpreted as an order-of-magnitude estimate rather than a precise administrative total.

Elder Fraud Losses by Age Group

Age shapes both the likelihood of victimization and the severity of the loss. The following table draws on FTC 2025 Consumer Sentinel data and FBI IC3 2025 figures for 2024, with the 2023 FTC per-case average included for the oldest cohort.

The age gradient is steepest for investment fraud specifically. According to FTC 2025, those in their 70s reported a median loss of $20,000 to investment scams — nearly 13 times the $1,551 median loss reported by victims in their 20s for the same fraud type. This cohort-specific vulnerability to investment fraud reflects both larger retirement savings balances being targeted and the greater social isolation that can limit access to informal second opinions.

For high-value losses, the 60-plus cohort accounts for a disproportionate share. The FBI IC3 2025 found that 7,500 adults aged 60 and older lost $100,000 or more to a single fraud event in 2024, with an average loss of $83,000 among that subgroup — more than four times the all-ages average of just over $19,000.

FTC data from 2023 showed that adults aged 80 and older face the highest average loss per fraud case ($5,030 per case), compared to $4,924 for those aged 60–69. Older victims consistently show larger average losses per incident than younger cohorts, driven in part by larger retirement savings being targeted and, in some cases, diminished capacity to recognize deceptive tactics at the earliest stage of a scheme.

Most Common Types of Elder Fraud (and What They Cost)

The following breakdown is drawn from FBI IC3 2025 and FTC 2025 data for U.S. adults aged 60 and older in 2024, supplemented with Canadian data from the CAFC 2025:

• Investment scams — $1.8 billion in IC3-reported losses in 2024, and $744 million in FTC-reported losses, making this the top-loss category across both reporting systems. Victims in their 70s report a median per-incident loss of $20,000 — far exceeding losses in any other fraud category for this cohort.
• Tech support scams — the most common fraud type by complaint volume among adults 60 and older, according to the IC3, generating $982 million in reported losses in 2024. These schemes typically begin with a pop-up or cold call claiming the victim’s computer is infected, then escalate to requests for remote access and bank transfers.
• Confidence and romance scams — $389 million in IC3-reported losses by adults 60 and older in 2024. These scams exploit loneliness and trust-building over weeks or months before financial demands begin. For the cross-jurisdictional breakdown of romance-scam losses by age, platform, and payment method, see our companion post on romance scam statistics.
• Business email compromise (BEC) — $385 million in losses among the 60-plus cohort in 2024, per IC3. BEC schemes target individuals and businesses by impersonating executives, vendors, or financial institutions to redirect payments.
• Business impersonation scams — $377 million in FTC-reported losses by older adults in 2024. Government impersonation scam losses jumped 47 percent year-over-year to $375 million, per the FTC 2025. The FTC documented a more than four-fold increase in reports of impersonation scammers stealing $100,000 or more from older adults.
• Canadian fraud landscape — Among Canadian seniors, the CAFC 2024 data show that investment scams represent the single largest loss category across all ages ($310 million total). Cyber-enabled fraud accounts for 75 percent of total reported losses in Canada, underscoring digital literacy as a key protective factor. The top categories for all-ages CAFC losses include investment scams, account takeovers, confidence scams, cryptocurrency scams, and identity theft. For a Canadian-context breakdown of these scam typologies and how they target seniors specifically, see most common scams in Canada.

How Elder Fraud Losses Compare Across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom

Comparing elder fraud statistics across jurisdictions requires caution: the three countries use different reporting systems, different age thresholds, and different collection methodologies. The figures below are each drawn from their respective primary source for 2024 and should be read as indicative comparisons rather than precisely equivalent measures.

The disproportionate burden on older adults emerges clearly even within these different measurement systems. Total fraud losses reported to U.S. authorities across all ages reached $16.6 billion in 2024, per the FBI IC3 2025, of which adults 60 and older accounted for $4.8 billion — roughly 29 percent — despite representing approximately 22 percent of the U.S. population. In Canada, the 60-plus group accounts for 40 percent of total CAFC-reported losses despite being a smaller share of the population, underscoring a consistent pattern of disproportionate vulnerability across both countries.

In the United Kingdom, courier fraud provides a specific window into elder targeting. City of London Police documented that the UK’s senior population lost more than £12.6 million in one year to courier fraud — a scam type where criminals impersonate police or bank staff to persuade older victims to hand over cash or valuables. City of London Police data from 2023 showed that almost two thirds (64 percent) of courier fraud victims were aged 70 to 89, confirming the concentration of sophisticated, in-person fraud schemes within the oldest age cohorts.

Warning Signs and Why Elder Fraud Is Chronically Underreported

Underreporting is one of the defining features of elder fraud. Only 19 percent of fraud victims aged 60 and older reported their incident to police, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2017 National Crime Victimization Survey Supplemental Fraud Survey — the most methodologically rigorous probability-based sample of elder fraud victimization available. A further 84 percent reported to at least one other person or group — a family member, bank, or consumer agency — but the gap between experiencing fraud and contacting law enforcement remains vast.

Peer-reviewed research confirms the chronic gap between true prevalence and reported cases. A meta-analysis of 12 studies covering 41,711 individuals, published in the American Journal of Public Health (2017), found that approximately 1 in 18 cognitively intact, community-dwelling older adults experiences financial fraud or scams each year — a one-year prevalence of 5.4 percent. The researchers noted this figure “likely underestimates the true population prevalence” because cognitively impaired seniors — among the most vulnerable — were excluded from most studies reviewed.

The psychological barriers to disclosure are significant. Research published in Frontiers in Psychology (2022) found that victims commonly experience “depression and anxiety, and psychological pressure, such as anger, self-blame and shame” after being defrauded — creating a vicious cycle where emotional distress increases vulnerability to further victimisation while simultaneously discouraging disclosure to police or family.

Warning signs of elder financial exploitation, as documented by AARP 2024:

• Isolation — abusers, often family members or caregivers, systematically limit the older adult’s contact with other relatives to conceal their actions; this is the primary behavioral warning sign identified by elder law practitioners
• Unexplained changes in bank accounts or financial documents — sudden large withdrawals, new account signatories, or missing statements
• New “best friends” with financial access — unfamiliar individuals who have recently entered the older adult’s life and gained trust or authority over financial matters
• Missing funds or possessions — cash, jewellery, or valuables that the older adult cannot account for
• Unpaid bills or service interruptions — utilities, housing costs, or medical bills going unpaid despite apparently adequate income
• Confusion or anxiety about financial matters — expressed by the older adult or noticed by a concerned family member after interactions with a new contact

What This Means for Older Adults and Their Families

The financial consequences of elder fraud extend well beyond the immediate loss. The National Council on Aging estimates that elder financial abuse costs older Americans at least $28.3 billion annually in direct losses, with additional downstream costs to family caregivers and public safety-net programs when victims are left impoverished. For victims where a fiduciary — a lawyer, accountant, or financial adviser — was the perpetrator, the average loss was $83,600 per victim, underscoring the severity of professional exploitation.

The health consequences are equally serious. In the United Kingdom, 31 percent of older scam victims reported negative mental health effects and 12 percent experienced worsened physical health after being defrauded, according to Independent Age’s October 2024 report. NIJ-funded research separately found that elder financial mistreatment significantly increases the likelihood of depression, PTSD, and generalised anxiety disorder.

Enforcement action has increased but remains a fraction of what the data suggests is needed. From July 2023 to June 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice pursued over 300 enforcement actions against more than 700 defendants charged with stealing nearly $700 million from approximately 225,000 elder fraud victims, according to the DOJ’s 2025 Annual Report to Congress on elder fraud and abuse. That $700 million in prosecuted fraud represents roughly 15 cents of every dollar reported lost to the IC3 by the 60-plus cohort in 2024 alone.

As licensed private investigators operating across the GTA, we encounter the aftermath of elder fraud in client cases most often in three contexts: families investigating a caregiver or new relationship that has been granted financial access; adult children tracing the origin of unexplained transfers from a parent’s accounts; and individuals who have been targeted by investment or romance schemes and need documentation of the fraud trail before approaching law enforcement. The data is consistent with what we see: losses are concentrated in investment schemes and impersonation fraud, victims are reluctant to report out of shame, and by the time a family contacts us the loss has often been accumulating for months. Where the loss involves online platforms or impersonation across messaging apps and dating sites, our social media and internet investigations team is typically engaged to preserve evidence before accounts are deleted.

Families who suspect elder financial exploitation can take concrete protective steps: review bank and credit card statements for unexplained transactions, place an account alert or limited access freeze with financial institutions, contact the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501 (Canada) or the FTC’s ReportFraud.ftc.gov (U.S.), and consider whether a professional background check on a new caregiver or financial contact would surface prior fraud history. Our background screening services are used by families in exactly these situations — verifying the history of individuals who have been granted access to a vulnerable older adult’s finances or home before that access creates an irreversible loss.