Summary
Internet and telephone scams have grown “exponentially,” expert says. Victims rarely get their money back, including older people who have lost life savings. Some police departments don’t take financial scams as seriously as other crime, expert says, and victims wind up discouraged.
Federal prosecutors file hundreds of elder fraud and abuse cases annually. The Federal Trade Commission says the “vast majority’ of frauds go unreported. A 2023 AARP study calculated that Americans over 60 lose $28.3 billion each year to fraud.
The Justice Department says the U.S. can’t prosecute its way out of the problem. Banks say they are investing heavily in new technologies to stop fraud. The American Bankers Association says it’s working on a program to coordinate real-time communication among banks.
