Recognizing Common Impersonation and Investment Scams

A scam call rarely sounds like a crime. It sounds like help. A voice says it is from your bank, from Social Security, or from a tech firm, and it says there is a problem only you can fix, right now, by moving money. This guide shows how to spot the two scam types that cost older adults the most: impersonation scams and investment scams.

This guide is part of our Aging at Home hub. Its sister guides cover helping a parent manage bills while respecting independence, keeping records when managing someone else's money, and power of attorney, joint accounts, trusted contacts, and representative payees.

Key takeaways

• Older adults reported losing $2.4 billion to fraud in 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says, up from about $600 million in 2020.
• Investment scams took the most, at $744 million in reported losses. Business impersonation scams took $377 million, and government impersonation scams took $375 million.
• The FTC estimates the true cost is far higher, between $10.1 billion and $81.5 billion, because most fraud is never reported.
• No real agency or bank will demand payment by gift card, wire transfer, or crypto, and none will tell you to keep a payment secret.
• The safest move is to stop, hang up, and call the office or bank on a number you already trust.

The size of the problem

The FTC's report Protecting Older Consumers 2024–2025 draws on reports sent to its Consumer Sentinel Network in 2024. Adults age 60 and over reported $2.4 billion in fraud losses that year. That is about four times the roughly $600 million reported in 2020. Much of the rise came from a smaller set of very large losses, often over $100,000, tied to investment scams, romance scams, and impersonation.

The reported figure is a floor, not the full cost. The FTC says most fraud goes unreported. When it allows for that, it estimates the true cost to older adults in 2024 could be between $10.1 billion and $81.5 billion. The wide range shows how much never reaches any office. It also shows why a report matters: each report helps the FTC spot patterns and warn others.

How impersonation scams work

In an impersonation scam, the criminal claims to be someone you trust. The FTC found that business impersonation scams cost older adults $377 million in reported losses in 2024, and the largest share of those came from scams posing as banks. Government impersonation scams cost $375 million, a jump of 47 percent in one year, and the largest share of those losses came from scams posing as the FTC itself and as Social Security.

The scripts vary, but the moves are the same:

Each move has a purpose. Urgency stops you from thinking. Secrecy stops others from warning you. Odd payment methods stop the bank from pulling the money back. A real bank or agency does not work this way. Social Security does not call to demand payment. The FTC does not call at all to ask for money. Your bank will never tell you to lie to its own staff.

• The contact comes out of the blue, by phone, text, email, or a pop-up on your screen.
• The story is urgent. Your account is at risk. Your benefits will stop. A warrant has your name on it.
• You are told to act at once and to tell no one, not even your family or your bank.
• You are told to move money in a way that is hard to undo: a wire, gift cards, a cash pickup, or crypto.

How investment scams work

Investment scams cost older adults more than any other fraud type: $744 million in reported losses in 2024, the FTC says. Many start on social media, with an ad, a message, or a new online friend. The pitch offers high returns with low risk, often in crypto. Small test sums may seem to grow on a fake app or site. Then the victim is urged to put in much more. When they try to take money out, they are told to pay fees or taxes first, and the money is gone.

The warning signs are plain once you know them:

No real investment pays high returns with no risk. If a pitch cannot survive a week of thought and a check with a trusted person, it is not a missed chance. It is the scam showing itself.

• Returns are promised, or called safe, at rates far above bank rates.
• You are pushed to act fast, before the chance is gone.
• The seller cannot be found in any public register, or avoids your questions.
• You are asked to keep the deal secret, or to move money to a new platform you did not choose.
• A new online friend or romance starts to give you money advice.

What to do in the first hour

If a call, text, or message pushes you to move money, stop the contact. Hang up. Do not call back on the number they gave you. Call your bank or the agency on the number printed on your card or statement, and ask if there is any real problem.

If you already paid, act fast. Call your bank at once and ask it to stop or recall the payment. Quick action does not promise you will get the money back, but delay makes it far less likely. Save every record: numbers, texts, receipts, and names used. Then report it. You can report fraud to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If the scam posed as Social Security, you can also report it to the Social Security Office of the Inspector General. A report protects others, and it creates the paper trail your bank may need.

Who covers what

• Original Medicare: does not cover money lost to fraud. Medicare will never call you to demand payment, and a caller who claims it will is a scammer.
• Medicaid: does not cover money lost to fraud.
• Private pay: a fraud loss falls on the person who was scammed, unless a bank can stop or reverse the payment. That is why the first-hour steps above matter so much: a wire, gift card, or crypto payment is very hard to pull back once sent.
• Family help: family members can help by making the reports, saving records, and sitting with the person at the bank. There is no fee to report fraud to the FTC.

Sample Situation

Frank, age 79, gets a call that says it is from his bank's fraud team. The caller says his savings are at risk and tells him to wire the money to a safe account at once, and to tell no one. Frank hangs up and calls the number on his bank card. The real bank says his account is fine and no one from the bank called him. Frank reports the call to the FTC the same day, with the number the scammer used. The call was a known bank impersonation script, and his report joins the data the FTC uses to warn the public.

Your next step

Scam losses hit a household budget hard and at once. Our Costs section shows what care and coverage cost, so you can see what a fraud loss would put at risk and plan how to guard it.

Sources

• https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-issues-annual-report-congress-agencys-actions-protect-older-adults.