FBI reports increase in elderly scam victims
ST. LOUIS – The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that the amount of money scammed from the elderly population continues to rise.
The FBI released its annual elder fraud report Monday, which found an increase in the number of victims and the amount of money lost.
Chris Crocker, acting special agent in charge of the FBI St. Louis office, hopes spreading awareness will help slow down the prevalence of these crimes.
“It’s a huge priority for our financial crimes squad here in St. Louis. We have a squad dedicated to working those matters,” he said.
The report found a $3.4 billion loss to fraud among elderly Americans in 2023, an 11% increase from 2022. Investment fraud was the costliest scam, while tech support fraud was the most common.
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One recent scam involves claiming a bank account was compromised and cash needs to be swapped for gold. The victim is told a courier will pick up the gold bars and bring them to the bank.
“The criminal just makes off with those gold bars at that point,” Crocker said.
Agents recently stopped the gold bar scam in the St. Louis area before it was too late.
“If they suspect they’ve fallen victim to one of these schemes, they should definitely reach out because potentially, if it’s early enough, we could actually get involved and stop the fraud from ever happening,” he said.
Crocker encourages anyone who believes they have been the victim to contact law enforcement and file a report. He also encourages younger individuals to report any suspected scams on behalf of their parents or grandparents.
“We can go talk to them, get the details of what happened, and we can determine whether it’s legitimate or not,” Crocker said.
The report found elderly Missourians were scammed out of more than $34.9 million. Illinois’ elderly population lost more than $75.9 million.
Remembering the phrase “always doubt; check it out” can help prevent falling victim to a scam.
“If you receive unsolicited emails or texts asking you to click on a link or provide financial or personal identifying information, you shouldn’t do it,” Crocker said.
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