The FTC says a surge in high-value investment, romance and impersonation scams drove reported losses from $600m in 2020 to $3bn in 2025.
Older Americans reported fraud losses rising fivefold between 2020 and 2025, with the total climbing from $600 million to $3 billion, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report released on Monday, 20 October. The agency said the increase was driven largely by a surge in very large individual losses, especially cases involving sums above $100,000.
According to the FTC’s annual report to Congress, “Protecting Older Consumers 2025-2026”, the sharp rise was fuelled by investment scams, romance scams and impersonation schemes. The commission said older adults are still less likely than younger people to report losing money to fraud overall, but when they are targeted, they are more exposed to certain types of scams, including tech support fraud, prize and lottery cons, government impersonation schemes and scams posing as friends or family members.
The report also estimated that the overall cost of fraud to older adults in 2025 could reach as much as $119.5 billion, underscoring how much money is at risk even when only a fraction of victims file reports. The FTC said its response includes law enforcement, consumer education, outreach and monitoring for new fraud patterns.
Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the agency’s release that the commission remains committed to protecting older adults from scams and shutting down fraud operations. The warning comes as policymakers in Washington also move to strengthen enforcement: in September, the House approved the GUARD Act, which would give state and local authorities more flexibility to use federal grant money in financial fraud investigations and allow help with blockchain-tracing tools.
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