WASHINGTON (AP) — Scammers stole more than $3.4 billion from older Americans last year, according to an FBI report released Tuesday that shows a rise in losses through increasingly sophisticated criminal tactics to trick the vulnerable into giving up their life savings.
Losses from scams reported by Americans over the age of 60 last year were up 11% over the year before, according to the FBI’s report. Investigators are warning of a rise in brazen schemes to drain bank accounts that involve sending couriers in person to collect cash or gold from victims.
“It can be a devastating impact to older Americans who lack the ability to go out and make money,” said Deputy Assistant Director James Barnacle of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “People lose all their money. Some people become destitute.”
The FBI received more than 100,000 complaints by victims of scams over the age of 60 last year, with nearly 6,000 people losing more than $100,000. It follows a sharp rise in reported losses by older Americans in the two years after the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, when people were stuck at home and easier for scammers to reach over the phone.
Jude Bellingham's new model girlfriend Laura Celia Valk looks sensational in a figure
California is poised for major earthquake THIS YEAR
REVEALED: The truth about viral food influencer Eddie Abbew
Travellers share snaps of the worst behaved flight passengers
National Television Awards 2024 nominations: Michelle Keegan and Leo Woodall go head
Six ways to use up surplus chocolate, meat and vegetables from Easter according to top chefs
The Elle Woods effect: Good looking lawyers have more success in court, study finds
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
Last month was officially the hottest March on RECORD with global temperatures 0.73°C above average
Justin Timberlake set to bring his The Forget Tomorrow World Tour to Australia in 2025
China and Russia hold first joint navy patrol in Pacific