Americans aged 60+ report losing $3 billion to fraud — CNBC
In the United States, people aged 60 and older reported losing about $3 billion to fraud in 2025. This is 25% more than the $2.4 billion in 2024 and five times the 2020 figure, when reported losses totaled $600 million. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission provided these data in its annual report to Congress, CNBC reports.
The largest losses were borne by a small number of victims
Only 6% of older people who reported fraud lost at least $100,000. At the same time, such cases accounted for 70% of all reported losses in this age group — $2.1 billion. The number of victims reporting losses of $100,000 or more increased nearly sixfold, from 1,136 people in 2020 to 6,769 in 2025.
The Federal Trade Commission noted that due to the large number of unreported cases, older Americans' actual losses in 2025 may have ranged from $13.3 billion to $119.5 billion. For 2024, the agency estimated a possible range of $10.1 billion to $81.5 billion.
Investment schemes became the most costly
Investment scams caused the largest losses for older consumers: they exceeded $1 billion, rising 42% compared with 2024. According to the FTC, such schemes often begin with investment advertisements on social media or messages from people posing as financial advisers. Victims may then be directed to fake trading platforms.
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Scams involving impersonation of government agencies ranked second in reported losses, at $448 million. Fraud in which perpetrators posed as company employees caused $422 million in losses. In other schemes, perpetrators impersonate representatives of banks or government institutions and persuade people to transfer funds, send cash, or use cryptocurrency ATMs, supposedly to protect their assets.
Congress considers support for victims
In September, the House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Tax Relief for Fraud Victims Act by 408 votes to 17. It provides for removing restrictions on the tax deduction of fraud losses and, under certain conditions, exempting people from the 10% penalty for early withdrawals from retirement accounts. The document was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.
Separately, in June, the House of Representatives approved the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act by 414 votes to two. The bill would allow certain financial institutions to temporarily delay transactions if they reasonably suspect the financial exploitation of a client.
