Protecting your older loved ones: Understanding and preventing scams.
Key takeaways:
- Scammers often pretend to be trusted organizations or family members and use fear or urgency to push quick decisions.
- Simple habits — like checking unknown callers, sharing less online, and monitoring account activity — can greatly reduce the risk of fraud.
- If a scam occurs, reporting it quickly and contacting your bank right away can help limit the damage.
Scammers use pressure, secrecy and confusion to trick older adults into sharing personal information or sending money. As a caregiver, understanding how these scams work — and the warning signs to watch for — can help you better protect the people you care about.
Why are older adults frequently targeted?
- Politeness: Many older adults are respectful and may not want to challenge someone who sounds official. Scammers use this to their advantage.
- Financial assets: Retirement savings, home equity and good credit make older adults attractive targets for scammers looking for quick money.
- Social isolation: Older adults who live alone or rarely see family may be more willing to talk with strangers, which gives scammers a chance to build false trust.
- Cognitive and emotional factors: Stressful or emotional situations — especially involving loved ones — can make it harder to think clearly. Scammers use this to pressure victims.
“While some scammers use urgency, others will groom their victims over a couple of months. They find the victim’s vulnerability and exploit it. An example could be an elderly woman, caring for her spouse with dementia, whom a fraudster offered assistance by being her advisor since her husband could no longer fill that role. “In a situation like this, she would likely feel overwhelmed, so the scammer could be perceived as a trusted source of relief,” says Catherine Riebschlager, systems support and data analyst, bankcard fraud for Commerce Bank. “In general, most people I talk to are more upset by the loss of their ‘friend’ than the actual money they have lost .”
Common scams targeting older adults.
By knowing the scams your loved one may encounter, you can spot potential issues sooner.
Scammers often rely on believable stories, false urgency and official-sounding language. Common scams include:
Government impersonation – Criminals pose as agencies or officials to pressure people into sharing personal or financial information.
Tech support scams – Fraudsters claim to represent trusted tech companies and attempt to gain remote access or charge for fake services.
Gift card scams – Scammers insist on payment through gift cards and request the codes — a tactic used to avoid detection.
Charity scams – Criminals pretend to represent legitimate charities or disaster-relief groups to collect fake donations.
These forms of fraud are among the most common and harmful for older adults. “Financial institutions are also seeing more scams involving imposters posing as celebrities,” says Riebschlager. “The victim could interact with a country singer, sports figure or TV personality and could strike up a friendship, then have money issues and need a loan.”
Everyday habits that help prevent scams.
Protecting yourself from scams often comes down to small, consistent habits. And if you’re supporting an older adult, having open, judgment free conversations can make a big difference. Encourage them to talk with you before responding to unfamiliar calls, texts or requests for money. Remind them that it’s ok to slow down, ask questions, and verify anything that feels off. Here are simple ways to stay safe and help your loved ones learn how to prevent scams:
- Hang up and verify: Don’t trust caller ID. Hang up and call the organization using a number from the back of your credit card or other formal document from the organization or website.
- Watch for pressure: If someone demands quick action or payment, it’s likely a scam.
- Protect personal information: Never share Social Security numbers, login information or one time passcodes.
- Limit online sharing: Scammers scan social media for personal details and they may also pretend to be someone you trust, so keep what you share and who you interact with to a minimum.
- Use technology wisely:
- Turn on spam filters and call blocking: Enable these features on your phone or through your carrier to automatically screen suspicious calls and reduce unwanted messages.
- Keep devices updated: Install the latest software and security updates on your phone, tablet and computer to protect against new bugs and vulnerabilities scammers may exploit.
- Use trusted antivirus tools: Install reputable antivirus software and keep it updated so it can scan for threats, block suspicious activity, and protect your devices from malware scammers may use.
- Turn on multifactor authentication: Add an extra layer of protection by enabling multifactor authentication on your online accounts, so logging in requires a second step — like a text code or authentication app — beyond just a password.
- Strengthen passwords: Use unique passwords or a password manager.
- Monitor accounts regularly: Watch for unusual transactions and consider placing credit freezes.
Learn more about secure account features at Commerce Bank.
- Stay connected: Talk with family members about suspicious calls or messages. Staying connected is one of the best ways to prevent fraud against elderly loved ones.
“The best defense is not to answer a call or text unless you know them. The caller can leave a message if it is legit. The scammers are so good that just about anyone can be sold by them, so it is best not to engage,” says Riebschlager. “Most elderly people are overly trusting and serve as a soft target. This demographic will do anything not to lose their independence and worry if they talk to their children about suspicious interactions, they may lose some freedom. If you want to help your parents, be supportive and call them. If most victims had people to talk to and be with, they probably wouldn’t fall for scams as easily.”
What to do if your loved one has been scammed.
If you need to report a scam, these resources can help you act quickly on behalf of the older adult you’re supporting:
Report scams:
- FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
- IRS impersonation: TIGTA.gov
- Online crimes: IC3.gov
- Commerce Bank customers: commercebank.com
If you believe your loved one’s information or money is at risk, contact their bank immediately. Fast reporting may help limit losses, secure accounts and prevent additional fraud. You can also visit Commerce Bank’s fraud page to find tools and services that support identity protection and secure account features.
Community centers, libraries, AARP and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also offer helpful workshops, alerts and guides on how to prevent scammers from taking advantage of older adults.
“If something doesn’t feel right, call the bank and tell us the whole story,” says Riebschlager. “Scammers will give you a script to follow with strict warnings not to tell the bank what you are really doing.
Our goal is to protect you from losing a lifetime’s savings, and can only do that if we know the entire story.”
Stay protected with tools that support your loved one’s financial security.
Commerce Bank offers resources to help you and your loved ones stay informed and secure — including alerts, secure online banking features, and identity theft protection tools. These features can help caregivers stay ahead of new scams and reduce the risk of fraud targeting older adults.
Disclosures:
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