The number of scams and fraud’s out there seem to be multiplying every day. While anyone can be susceptible, the elderly are often targets because they have a lifetime of savings, may be suffering from some cognitive decline, and are more likely to be more isolated than younger folk. They may also be less comfortable with modern technology and less likely to be aware that online communications are not what they appear to be.
According to the FBI, Americans lost $16.6 billion to internet crimes in 2024. Of this amount, $4.9 billion was lost by Americans aged 60 or older, $100 million attributed to older residents of Massachusetts.
This is actually a small drop in the bucket compared to the $27 billion in elder financial exploitation reported by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for the period of June 2022 to June 2023, often by family members and other trusted individuals, such as a caregivers, friends, financial professionals, or business associates.
Steps to Protect
In its 2025 report, “Age of Fraud: Scams Facing Our Nation’s Seniors,” the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging provides the following recommendations for seniors to protect themselves from predations:
- Plan to protect your assets and ensure your wishes are followed.
- Shred anything that has your personal information on it, including receipts, bank statements, mail and even unused credit card offers before throwing them away.
- Lock up important financial and sensitive information when others are in your home.
- Do not allow others to have access to your financial information.
- Verify those you plan to hire by checking references and credentials.
- Regularly review your credit report.
- Never share personal information with anyone over the phone unless you initiated the call and know the communication is legitimate. This information includes your Social Security number, bank account number, or other sensitive information.
- Do not rush to make a financial decision. Consider a second opinion and request additional information in writing.
- Consult with a professional you trust, such as your financial advisor or attorney, before signing something you don’t understand.
- Trust your gut: If something doesn’t feel right, it may not be right.
The Committee also has its own Fraud Hotline (855-303-9470) where its staff offers resources and guidance for anyone who feels they may have been scammed or defrauded. The Department of Justice also has a hotline for reporting elder fraud (833-FRAUD-11).
Other advice about steps everyone can take to protect themselves from scams includes using double authentication for online accounts, never responding to people who contact us, and never click on an unsolicited link no matter how authentic it may appear.
Any Special Sauce?
All of this is good advice but doesn’t answer my question of how we elder law attorneys can protect our clients from becoming victims of scams and fraud other than spreading the word about these precautions they should take.
But my question is what can we elder law attorneys do to help protect our clients from becoming victims of scams and fraud? This is the reason I attended a session on fraud prevention presented by two speakers from the AARP at the most recent national conference of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
One speaker described the many types of scams targeting seniors and others, including government impersonation scams, investment scams, romance scams and tech support scams. (Criminals are creative.) He offered good advice on recognizing these scams and about fraud prevention in general, as well as the resources offered by the AARP including its help line (877-908-3360). Again, all good, but not why I was there.
The other speaker, a lawyer, talked about class action cases brought against Brookdale Senior Living and how it was difficult to find potential plaintiffs who had not signed arbitration clauses as part of the boilerplate admission packages. The one action step I took from that was to review our durable power of attorney form to make sure it does not permit the agent to agree to arbitration of disputes with assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
Set Up a Revocable Trust with a Co-Trustee
So, I guess I’m on my own. And here’s my advice: Set up a revocable trust and name someone you trust as co-trustee.
Here are the advantages of taking this step:
- By retitling your accounts in the name of the trust, you will consolidate them and have a better fix on your finances.
- This means that you will also update your access, implementing more modern double-authentication.
- At the same time, you will add your co-trustee to the accounts, making it much easier for them to step in when and if necessary. This is much easier than a durable power of attorney (which is also important to put in place), but requires them to go to the bank or financial institution when it’s time to get involved which can delay their intervention. It’s much better to take this step when there’s no urgency.
There are other benefits to revocable trusts don’t involve scam and fraud protection such as allowing you to continue to manage your accounts, avoiding probate, and providing for more nuanced planning for your heirs.
So take all the steps the Senate Aging Committee and the AARP recommend and set up your revocable trust with a co-trustee.