Americans 60 and Older Lost $7.7 Billion to Scams in 2025 as Identity Theft Risks Deepen
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 30
Americans 60 and Older Lost $7.7 Billion to Scams in 2025 as Identity Theft Risks Deepen
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 30
Older Americans filed 201,266 FBI internet-crime complaints in 2025 and reported $7.7 billion in losses, the highest total of any age group.
Average losses for victims 60 and older reached nearly $38,500—almost double younger filers—as scammers exploited personal data such as birth dates, addresses and partial Social Security numbers exposed in years of breaches.
FTC data show severe cases are rising fast: reported losses above $100,000 jumped from $55 million in 2020 to $445 million in 2024, while the FBI logged $893 million in AI-related scam losses in 2025, including $352 million among older victims.
The report says older adults are especially exposed because they hold more bank, brokerage, Medicare, Social Security and pension accounts, giving criminals more chances to clear weak verification checks and access larger balances.
It urges families to act early by freezing credit, securing IRS and federal benefit accounts, enabling two-factor authentication and using family code words to blunt AI voice-cloning and identity-theft scams.
As AI makes scams nearly perfect, is the advice we give seniors to stay safe becoming useless?
With data breaches costing seniors billions, what will finally force companies to protect our information?
If Social Security numbers fuel fraud, what's delaying a modern, secure national digital identity system?