A fast-growing scam is draining the life savings of many Americans, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken notice, warning consumers about the concerning trend.
The scam, which typically targets older adults but has also targeted younger consumers, involves scammers impersonating trusted government agencies or businesses to convince consumers to transfer money to protect it. In reality, however, the scammers are attempting to steal the money.
The FTC shared some information about how to recognize the scam and keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Scams on the Rise
Analysis from the FTC showed that since 2020, there has been a fourfold increase in reports from older adults who say they lost $10,000 or more as a result of one of these scams. Sometimes, they’ve even lost their entire life savings.
Even more staggeringly, the FTC notes that combined losses reported by older adults who lost more than $100,000 have increased eightfold over the past four years, from $55 million in 2020 to $445 million in 2024.
This lines up with other data from IdentityIQ’s Fraud Restoration Department, which reported an almost 60% increase in 2024 compared to the year before. According to IdentityIQ, which is an identity theft and credit monitoring platform, early data shows these scams are on track to surpass last year’s numbers in 2025.
While older adults were much more likely to report massive losses in these scams, which makes sense, considering they have had much longer to save money, younger people have been targeted and fallen victim, too.
The Lies Scammers Tell
According to the FTC, these scams typically involve someone contacting a consumer, impersonating a government agency or a trusted business to alert them to a fake and urgent problem. The scammer then proceeds to try to persuade them to transfer their money to “keep it safe” or for some other false reason.
These scams around three different types of lies, according to the FTC:
- Someone is using your accounts: In this version of the scam, the scammers claim to be from your bank or another well-known company like Amazon. They lie and tell you that they are contacting you to inform you of suspicious activity on your account.
- Your information is being used to commit crimes: In this version of the scam, the callers claim to be a government officer who is informing you that your Social Security number or other personal information is being used to commit a serious crime, such as drug smuggling or money laundering.
- There’s a security problem with your computer: In this version of the scam, scammers will target computers or devices with an on-screen security alert – usually a pop-up on a website – that looks like it’s from Microsoft or Apple. The fake “warning” often includes a phone number. If you call the number, the scammers will tell you that your online accounts have been hacked.
If you or someone you know has received a text message, an email, or a phone call from someone who seems to fit these descriptions, there’s a chance they were targeted in one of these popular scams.
Other Red Flags
While these lies are the first sign that something might be amiss, there are a few other red flags that could serve as evidence of a scam.
The goal of all of these scams is to steal money away from a consumer, so you should be wary of anyone who asks you to transfer your money anywhere.
You should be extra suspicious if anyone asks you to purchase gift cards, deposit cash into Bitcoin ATMS, or even hand off stacks of cash or gold to couriers, as these are things that no legitimate business would ever ask you to do.
How to Avoid These Scams
The FTC has a few recommendations to help you or your loved ones avoid these types of scams.
- Don’t move money to “protect it.” Never transfer or send money to anyone, no matter who they say they are, in response to an unexpected call or message.
- Hang up and verify. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from a government agency or business, contact the company or agency using a phone number or website you know is real. Don’t trust the phone number or name they provide. Even if the number they called you from appears to be legitimate, hang up and call back – scammers can spoof a number.
- Block unwanted calls. Learn about call blocking options to stop many of these scammers before they reach you. Many modern cell phones offer built-in services to block unknown numbers before
You can learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
