Older adults lost $2.4 billion in scams in 2024, four times higher than the $600 million lost in 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Online scams, or cyber scams, are one common way that fraudsters will try and get money from seniors. This can include lottery, tech support or romance scams as well as government impersonation scams, which are the leading types of scams where older adults lose their money.
Health care-related online scams, including Medicare scams, are another way that seniors (or really, anyone) may be tricked into sharing their money or personal information. Here’s why.
[SEE: How to Avoid Medicare Fraud]
Why Are Older Adults Vulnerable to Online Health Care Scams?
There are a few reasons why older adults may be more prone to health care-related online scams:
Trust in authority figures
Older adults are more likely to trust others, especially when they seem like authority figures.
“If a message appears to be from the police, doctors, the government, bank or other important third party they normally deal with, (older adults) are less likely to question the validity of the communication compared with younger people,” says France Bélanger, the R.B. Pamplin Professor and Byrd Senior Faculty Fellow in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia.
[Read: Elder Abuse: Signs, Types and What to Do]
Isolation and loneliness
Isolation or loneliness
makes people more likely to engage with scammers. When you don’t have someone to turn to when you receive a slightly suspicious text or email, you don’t get that “reality check” that a friend might offer. Being a part of a senior living community, staying socially connected and talking to others about scams they’ve encountered, can help reduce the chance of being the victim of a scam.
Digital literacy skills
Older adults may not have the digital literacy skills to know that some of the messages they receive are scam-related, and certain emails or text messages can look legitimate, with only subtle differences compared to real messages. This is reinforced through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by scammers.
“With AI, the tone and writing of the messages sounds more natural, and it’s easy to collect publicly available information to make the scam message more personalized,” Bélanger says.
This means that a scam message might even include personal details, like your age, address and names of family members.
Cognitive decline
Some (not all) older adults experience cognitive decline or brain changes beyond normal aging.
“This would make some older adults more prone to making less-than-ideal decisions,” says S. Duke Han, director of the Han Research Lab and a professor of psychology, family medicine, neurology and gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Poor health or lack of tech know-how aren’t the only factors that can lead to a scam. “Older adults may not be vulnerable in any way and still may experience cyber scams because of aggressive, targeted tactics,” Han says.
[READ: Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms of Dementia]
Examples of Online Health Care Scams
Here are just some examples of online health care scams that may target anyone but that may affect older adults the most. These may target older adults by phone, email or by text:
— Messages that promote counterfeit prescription drugs, health and beauty products. “Seniors like to try and order online and get sucked into health and beauty products that they pay for but are never delivered,” says Melissa Leedom, owner of Secure Aging, a Bradenton, Florida-based company that helps older adults with care, estate, and financial management.
— Messages that say they are from Medicare or a health insurance company and demand personal information or payment from the recipient. If the recipient doesn’t pay or follow through, the fraudulent sender may threaten to arrest or prosecute them.
— Messages that say there is a billing issue that needs to be resolved before the recipient can get test results, schedule a procedure or receive medication. These messages may request making a payment via a peer-to-peer app like Venmo or Zelle.
“Again, AI is again helping scammers make these more personalized and legitimate-looking or sounding,” Bélanger says.
Can You Detect an Online Health Care Scam?
Take our quiz to see if you can tell which messages are scams:
Protecting Older Adults From Online Health Care Scams
The best defense against online health care scams that target older adults is a good offense. Here’s what older adults and their caregivers can do to stay safe.
— Don’t share personal info online. It’s especially important to not share your bank account number and Social Security number.
— Review your online bank account information at least every couple of days or even daily. If you get your bank and credit card statements only monthly by paper, make sure you review each transaction, Leedom advises. If you’re not able to do this yourself, you can work with someone you trust to regularly review your account information.
— Don’t click on texts and emails that are unclear. Links in texts and emails can contain viruses. When in doubt, avoid the text or email entirely.
— Contact agencies, companies or medical offices directly. Instead of replying to a message, verify the office phone number (which may be on any paperwork you’ve received from the office) or other contact information independently and reach out that way.
— Watch out for demands in messages. Scam messages often create a sense of urgency (which may say something like “act immediately”), asking you to pay in nontraditional ways, such as with gift cards or wire transfers, or telling you not to tell anyone.
— Update your electronic device software and security. Work with a trusted IT partner or family member or friend to help with this if you’re not sure how to do it yourself.
— Check privacy settings. When possible, limit the data that your devices and online accounts share. You’ll often opt out of this when you sign up for an account or can do so in the settings.
— Stay aware of popular scams. “If something seems too good to be true, it’s likely a scam and should be double-checked with reliable sources,” Han says.
— Trust your instincts. “If something doesn’t feel right, say no,” Leedom advises.
Scam prevention tips for caregivers
If you’re a caregiver for an older adult, there are some additional things that you can do to further prevent your loved one’s risk for online health care scams:
— Regularly discuss frauds and scams that happen, but also let your loved one know that they can happen to anyone.
— Get ready for some repetition, and be patient. “Even though you may have told your loved one many times not to do this or that, when they are alone and bored, they click on links and phishing messages coming at them on their devices,” Leedom says. If you lose patience, they’ll stop coming to you if they think they may have done something wrong.
— Check devices occasionally to see what online subscriptions are active.
— Review bank and credit card accounts regularly with the older adult in your life. “If you don’t recognize a charge, file a dispute,” Leedom advises.
— Keep your older loved one socially active. “Social isolation is known to be one of the most significant risk factors for financial abuse and exploitation of older adults,” Han says. Staying socially active may help combat this.
Immediate Action: What to Do If You or a Loved One Is Scammed
There are a few steps you can take if you realize you’ve been scammed. Work with a trusted family member or caregiver to complete these steps if you’re not sure how to do them yourself.
— Report what happened via the FTC’s fraud report website.
— You also can report the scam via the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
— Let local law enforcement know what happened.
— Let your bank or credit card company know. Follow any steps they may recommend for freezing your credit or placing a fraud alert on your information through the credit bureaus.
— Don’t initiate or respond to any other contact with the scammer.
Online health care scams, just like any type of online scams, can feel devastating, even if the amount of money lost was relatively small. However, it may be reassuring to know that people of all ages can fall victim to them.
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How to Stop Online Health Care Scams: 9 Critical Ways to Protect Older Adults originally appeared on usnews.com
