Scammers stole more than $3.4 billion from older Americans last year, according to an FBI report.
Losses from scams reported by Americans over the age of 60 were up 11% compared to the previous year.
Driving the news: The FBI received over 100,000 complaints from victims of scams over the age of 60, with nearly 6,000 people losing more than $100,000.
- Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to trick older Americans into giving up their life savings, including posing as technical or customer service representatives and convincing victims to move their money to a new account controlled by the scammers.
- There has been a rise in scams involving live couriers collecting cash or gold from victims who have been convinced that their bank accounts have been hacked.
- The losses to older Americans may be undercounted, as only about half of the reported complaints included information on the age of the victim.
