Financial scams that target older adults are becoming more advanced, with artificial intelligence (AI) playing a growing role in deceiving victims. A recent article in Scientific American, co-authored by two experts from Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, highlights the increasing sophistication of these scams and their impact on seniors.
Thomas Blomberg, dean and Sheldon L. Messinger Professor of Criminology at FSU and executive director for the Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research, says that scammers often focus on older adults because “they’re easy targets and often they are fairly affluent,” adding, “I think that’s pretty consistent throughout our research. They’re often not as skeptical. They believe someone’s word is their bond.”
Julie Brancale, an assistant professor at the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, studies financial exploitation among older adults. She emphasizes the importance of education as a preventative measure: “The big thing that we have found is skepticism is important,” Brancale said. “In order to build that skepticism, you need to be educated. What that means is constantly keeping up to date with these scams that are happening and the tactics that people are using. They’re so sophisticated and they’re getting more sophisticated every single day.”
Common tactics include AI-generated voice calls, urgent fraudulent phone calls demanding payment, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and schemes like the “grandparent scam,” which has been used since 2008 to impersonate family members in distress.
Blomberg notes changes in how older adults view money: “What we found is that for a lot of older people, the idea of money is a little different. When they get to a certain age, it doesn’t have the same significance as when they were younger — struggling and worried about every bill or whether they can afford another car.” He also points out psychological vulnerabilities: “There is a cognition issue where they don’t have as much self-confidence. There’s a lack of skepticism often. And that’s the one thing we try to push in their education is building skepticism through education and awareness and building self-confidence.”
Brancale suggests ways families can help protect seniors: “With family members, there’s a couple of things that they can do to protect aging loved ones: the first is being in tune with the older adult… Having regular conversations and being in touch regularly with their family member to protect, and perhaps notice subtle changes in their cognition and their physical abilities, is also important.” She adds that prevention requires ongoing effort: “I don’t think that there’s a really quick fix. I think this is like a long-term relationship and really building that trust between the parents and children or siblings across generations.”
To prevent victimization, Brancale recommends education about current scams: “It’s building education about what’s happening…and then that helps to build that sense of skepticism and confidence in a person’s ability to say no or to delay making a decision.” She advises having trusted contacts available for advice without judgment.
Both researchers highlight social support groups, practical protections such as monitoring suspicious activity, reporting concerns to law enforcement or advocacy groups, and maintaining open communication as effective strategies against scams targeting seniors.
Media interested in further information can contact Dean Blomberg at tblomberg@fsu.edu or Professor Brancale at Julie.Brancale@fsu.edu.
