Is Cybercrime Draining Elders’ Retirement Accounts, Preventing the Great Wealth Transfer?
At the end of her long life, Elizabeth Collins' mother Jane had saved well, with money left over to pass on — or so she thought. In the year before Jane's death at 84, Collins received a notification about suspicious activity on one of her mother's investment accounts.1 Sure enough, $245,000 was missing, funneled away by Jane's trusted caregiver.
Before Jane's death in November 2025, her caregiver pleaded guilty to fraud and was ordered to pay the bank back. And yet, Jane received demands for payment from the bank instead; she died under the threat of being sent to collections, leaving her daughter to fight the bank's fraud denials as she mourned her mother.
Collins' experience was a far cry from the early 2020s headlines that foretold that The Great Wealth Transfer would flood millennials with $30 to $68 trillion inherited from baby boomers in the coming years.2 While that estimate has only grown in the last several years to a $110 trillion wealth transfer, an array of expensive obstacles — assisted living and medical care chief among them — are threatening to tap into that wealth before millennials ever see it.3 This has left millennials with just 14% of U.S. wealth compared to boomers' 48%, despite outnumbering their elders.4
Elder fraud is swiftly becoming one of those obstacles, as the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported $7.7 billion in fraud losses from victims aged 60 and older in 2025 alone.5 As boomers continue to age, they and their loved ones should take precautions to prevent their life savings from becoming part of a Great Wealth Drain rather than a Transfer.
Where Boomers' Money Is Going
Despite the billions in annual losses, elder fraud is often left out of the discussion about the forces tapping into boomers' accumulated wealth. The cost of long-term care is often the topline issue, and deservedly so: A 2026 study found that middle-class individuals who utilize long-term care permanently lose 68% of their wealth.6 Recent Medicare cuts may exacerbate this drain, as Medicaid covers more than half of all long-term care in the U.S.7
Structural issues may siphon off a portion of the Great Wealth Transfer as well. Tax changes from 2019, for example, require children inheriting traditional IRAs to empty the account within 10 years.7 Demographics and timing make it likely that those 10 years fall during the inheritors' prime earning years, unnecessarily pushing them into a higher tax bracket.
Finally, boomers are simply spending their money on themselves as they live longer lives.3 Whether benevolent or otherwise, all of these financial diversions add up while drawing down boomers' savings. As elder fraud continues to rise by billions in the U.S. every year, it should join the conversation and be counted as a significant threat.
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported $7.7 billion in fraud losses from victims aged 60 and older in 2025 alone.
How Elder Fraud Keeps Rising
Even more concerning than the nearly $8 billion in annual elder fraud losses is the rate at which that number is climbing. Losses were up 59% in 2025 over 2024 after an equally sharp rise the year before.5 On its current trajectory, losses could approach $10 billion in 2026. Other significant 2025 data include:
- The FBI received 201,266 elder fraud reports, up 37% from 2024.
- Elder fraud victims lost $38,500 on average.
- More than 12,000 complainants lost more than $100,000.
The most common types of reported elder fraud in 2025 were phishing and other forms of spoofing, tech or customer support scams, investment fraud, personal data breaches and confidence or romance scams.
Most of these common scams typically begin with a perpetrator unexpectedly contacting an elderly victim and tricking them into giving them money or sensitive information. Investment and tech or customer support scams fleece the most money from victims by a wide margin, though confidence scams are not far behind in terms of cost.
Protect Yourself and Loved Ones From Elder Fraud
There's no doubt that elder fraud is a rising emergency in the U.S., whether or not consumers are aware of it. Older Americans have worked hard to accumulate their wealth and, for many, the intention has always been to support their families with it. This has become even more critical as millennials face a significant and widening intragenerational wealth gap that has prompted researchers to agitate for policy solutions.8
Policy solutions may be meaningful for elder fraud as well. The AARP is on the front lines of elder fraud advocacy, lobbying for more than 20 anti-elder fraud bills before the 119th Congress, among other legislative efforts.9 AARP encourages its members and those who love them to support its efforts by calling their representatives to support its legislation, educating themselves on elder fraud and spreading the word to raise awareness.
AARP has also developed a three-step strategy for everyone to use to protect themselves from fraud: Pause. Reflect. Protect.10 It begins with an understanding that the three most common scams include the following triggers: unexpected contact, heightened emotion and urgency. With that in mind, when someone receives an unexpected message, they should:
- Pause: Take an active pause. Step away from the message.
- Reflect: Does this situation fit the common scam triggers? Try to put down emotions and think logically. If this happened to someone else, would it seem suspicious?
- Protect: Listen to your gut. If something feels off or doesn't quite make sense, do not engage. If you've shared any information or money with someone suspicious – which is the fault of skilled scammers, not you – report the fraud immediately.
For more information on elder fraud trends and how to protect yourself and your family, read our series on the topic, including: "Elder Financial Abuse Is on the Rise, Protecting Older Loved Ones from Financial Fraud," and "Why Affluent Older Adults Are Prime Targets for Financial Fraud." And if you have been a victim of elder fraud, "What to Do if You Are a Victim of Fraud."
Elder fraud harms its older victims, but the impacts trickle down to their intended heirs, many of whom are less well off than their parents were. Protecting family wealth from fraud is something every generation can participate in, from raising fraud awareness to advocating for stronger legal protections for senior citizens.
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Important disclosure information
Asset allocation and diversifications do not ensure against loss. This content is general in nature and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment advice. You are encouraged to consult with competent legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment professionals based on your specific circumstances. We do not make any warranties as to accuracy or completeness of this information, do not endorse any third-party companies, products, or services described here, and take no liability for your use of this information.
- PJ Randhawa, et al. "Bank demands repayment from elder fraud victim robbed of thousands by caregiver," NBC 5 Chicago, published March 4, 2026. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back
- Joseph Coughlin, "Millennials Are Banking On The Great Wealth Transfer, 4 Words Why You Shouldn’t Cash That Check Yet," Forbes, published November 16, 2021. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back
- Rachel Louise Ensign and James Benedict, "The Great $110 Trillion Wealth Transfer Won’t Happen Any Time Soon," Wall Street Journal, published May 4, 2026. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back
- The Federal Reserve, "Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989," published June 18, 2026. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back
- FBI, "Internet Crime Complaint Center Report, 2025," published April, 2026. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back
- Jessica Forden, "How Long-Term Care Costs Drain the Middle Class and Deepen Intergenerational Wealth Inequality," Roosevelt Institute, published April 9, 2026. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back
- Kurt Supe, "Opinion: Three powerful forces are draining family wealth — and your estate plan is completely unprepared," MarketWatch, published June 20, 2026, accessed June 22, 2026. Back
- Yiling Zhang, et al. "The Emerging Millennial Wealth Gap," New America, published October 29, 2019. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back
- Christina Ianzito, "AARP Fighting for You Against Fraud," AARP, published April 17, 2026. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back
- Kathy Stokes, "AARP’s Message to Stay Safe From Scams: Pause. Reflect. Protect," AARP published May 18, 2026. Accessed August 20, 2026. Back