Research consistently shows that people who know about a specific scam before encountering it are significantly less likely to respond to it — AARP studies find that fraud awareness substantially reduces susceptibility, and controlled experiments cited by researchers have found response rates to known scam types can fall by half or more after awareness training (AARP Fraud Awareness Survey, 2025; Anderson & colleagues, 2024). The single most effective thing you can do for your parent is talk about scams — specifically, concretely, and without condescension. This page gives you everything you need to have that conversation well.
Why Seniors Are Targeted — What You Need to Understand
Before having any conversation with your parent, understanding why seniors are targeted helps you approach it without implying they are naive or careless. The reasons have nothing to do with intelligence.
- Accumulated wealth. Baby Boomers control the majority of household wealth in America. From a criminal's perspective, a retired person with a 401(k) and paid-off home is a far more attractive target than a 25-year-old with student loan debt.
- Greater trust in institutions. A generation that grew up trusting banks, government agencies, and official-sounding callers is more susceptible to impersonation scams. This isn't a flaw — it's a product of a different era.
- Social isolation. Loneliness after retirement, bereavement, or reduced social activity creates vulnerability to romance scams and other connection-based fraud.
- AI and technology. Voice cloning, deepfake video, and AI-generated scam calls are genuinely new threats that even the most digitally literate people struggle with. The technology outpaces everyone's instincts.
- Less familiarity with modern scam tactics. Scammers adapt their methods faster than public awareness catches up. Someone who successfully avoided phone scams for decades may be completely unprepared for a "wrong number" text that leads to a six-month pig butchering relationship.
The point: your parent being targeted or victimised says nothing negative about their intelligence or character. These operations are run by professionals. Frame every conversation from that understanding.
How to Start the Conversation
Many adult children put off this conversation because they don't want to seem condescending, undermine their parent's independence, or make them feel like a burden. These concerns are valid — and they're also avoidable if you approach the conversation the right way.
Lead With Your Own Experience
The easiest opener is not "I'm worried about you" but "Something happened to me / someone I know." Share a scam attempt you received, a news story you read, or something from this site. "Did you see this thing about AI voice cloning? It's wild — someone's voice can be cloned from a 3-second audio clip. I wanted to make sure we had a plan." This is a conversation between equals, not a lecture from child to parent.
Make It About the Scammers, Not the Victim
The framing that works best is us vs. them — you and your parent together working out how to outsmart sophisticated criminals. "These scammers are genuinely sophisticated. Let's go through what they do so you know exactly what to watch for." This is empowering rather than infantilising.
Set Up a Family Safe Word — Do This Today
The family safe word is the single most practical outcome of any scam prevention conversation. Choose a nonsensical, memorable phrase — "Purple Cactus," "Blue Mountain Pie," "Sparrow Three" — that only your immediate family knows. If your parent ever receives a call from someone claiming to be you or another family member in distress, they ask for the safe word. An AI voice clone cannot answer. A scammer cannot guess it. This takes two minutes and could save everything.
Make It an Ongoing Conversation, Not a One-Time Lecture
The most effective protection is regular, casual awareness. Share scam news when you see it. Check in about unusual calls or messages. "Anything weird happen this week? I heard there's a new Medicare scam going around." This keeps awareness current and normalises talking about it.
Warning Signs a Parent May Be Targeted or Already Scammed
These are signals worth paying attention to — none is definitive on its own, but patterns across several are serious:
- Unusual financial activity — large withdrawals, unexplained transfers, gift card purchases, or new accounts you don't recognise on statements
- Secrecy about finances or a new relationship — reluctance to discuss financial matters they previously shared openly, or a new online friend they're unusually protective of
- Increased phone or computer use combined with anxiety or defensiveness when asked about it
- New "friends" they've never met in person who are unusually interested in their finances or have introduced investment opportunities
- Mentions of urgency, secrecy, or threats — "I can't talk about it," "I need to handle this today," "they said not to tell anyone"
- Changes in mood or behaviour — sudden anxiety, fear, depression, or withdrawal, particularly related to money
- Unpaid bills or difficulty with everyday expenses despite having adequate income or savings
- Tech support pop-ups they've been responding to, or remote access software installed on their computer
Practical Protective Tools to Set Up Together
These are concrete steps you can take with your parent — with their full involvement and consent — that significantly reduce their exposure:
Phone Protection
- Set unknown calls to go to voicemail. Most smartphones can do this automatically. Scammers don't leave voicemails; real callers do. This alone eliminates most phone scam attempts.
- Enable call-blocking. Hiya, Nomorobo, and most carrier apps (Verizon Call Filter, AT&T ActiveArmor) flag and block known scam numbers. Free options exist for most carriers.
- Register with Do Not Call. donotcall.gov won't stop scammers (who ignore it) but reduces legitimate telemarketing volume, making unusual calls more noticeable.
Financial Account Monitoring
- Set up transaction alerts on bank and credit card accounts — email or text notifications for any charge over a set threshold. Most banks offer this for free in their app settings.
- Freeze their credit at all three bureaus — free and the single most effective protection against new account fraud. See our step-by-step guide. Do this with them during a visit.
- Set up a trusted contact at their financial institution — a bank can flag unusual activity and alert a named family member without giving that person account access or control.
- Review statements together monthly if they're comfortable — "Let me help you go through these so we can spot anything unusual early."
Computer and Online Security
- Install reputable antivirus software — Malwarebytes Free, Windows Defender (built-in), or Bitdefender. Set it to update automatically.
- Install an ad blocker — uBlock Origin (free, Chrome and Firefox) eliminates most of the ad-delivered pop-ups that serve as tech support scam entry points.
- Bookmark legitimate websites for Medicare, Social Security, IRS, and their bank — so they never search for these and land on a fake site. Show them how to use the bookmark rather than Google for sensitive logins.
- Enable two-factor authentication on email and financial accounts — this prevents account takeover even if a password is compromised.
- Review social media privacy settings together. Public profiles are how scammers find voice samples and personal details for grandparent scams. Setting accounts to "Friends Only" takes five minutes.
Legal and Financial Planning
- Durable power of attorney — a legal document that allows you to manage financial decisions if your parent becomes unable to do so. This is the most important legal protection against elder financial exploitation, and it should be set up before cognitive decline begins. An elder law attorney can draft this for a few hundred dollars.
- Revocable trust — if a revocable trust is in place, a family member can step in quickly to prevent or reverse fraudulent transfers. Ask an elder law attorney whether this makes sense for your parent's situation.
- Beneficiary and account designations — review that all accounts have correct beneficiaries and that secondary signatories are in place where appropriate.
What to Do If Your Parent Has Been Scammed
If you discover or suspect your parent has been scammed, the most important thing is how you respond in the first minutes of the conversation.
Lead With Empathy, Not Judgment
Say: "I'm so sorry this happened. This isn't your fault — these scammers are professionals who do this to thousands of people. We're going to figure this out together." Do not say: "How could you fall for this?" or "I told you to be careful." Shame is what scammers count on to prevent victims from telling anyone. A parent who feels judged may not tell you the full extent of what happened — which makes recovery harder.
Take Action Immediately
- Contact the bank or financial institution right away — wire transfers may be reversible within 24 hours
- If gift cards were purchased, call the retailer fraud lines immediately
- Place a credit freeze at all three bureaus if personal information was shared
- Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and FBI at IC3.gov
- Call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11 — case managers will guide you through every step
- If ongoing exploitation is suspected, contact Adult Protective Services — find your state's office at eldercare.acl.gov
Watch for Recovery Scams
After a scam, victims are routinely re-targeted by "recovery services" promising to get money back for a fee. These are almost always additional scams. Warn your parent: if anyone contacts them offering to recover their money, it is a second scam. All legitimate recovery resources are free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lead with empathy first. "This happened to smart, careful people all over the country — including people with financial backgrounds and advanced degrees. The criminals who did this are professionals." Then offer to handle the practical steps for them if they prefer: you can file an FTC report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and an FBI report at IC3.gov on their behalf. The AARP Fraud Watch Helpline at 877-908-3360 is staffed by people specifically trained to be supportive and non-judgmental — they've had this conversation thousands of times.
The most effective preventive steps: (1) Free credit freeze at all three bureaus — blocks new account fraud entirely and takes 10 minutes per bureau at equifax.com, experian.com, and transunion.com. (2) Durable power of attorney — a legal document allowing a trusted person to manage finances if your parent becomes unable to do so. Consult an elder law attorney; many offer free initial consultations. (3) Trusted contact on financial accounts — most banks and brokerages now allow you to designate a trusted contact who they can call if they notice unusual activity, without giving you access to the account. (4) Direct deposit and auto-pay — reduces the need to handle cheques, which are vulnerable to mail theft and washing fraud.
Research from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center found that increased susceptibility to scams can be one of the earliest signs of cognitive change — sometimes appearing years before other memory symptoms. Signs that may indicate increased vulnerability rather than just a "senior moment": sending money or giving account information to strangers without being able to explain why in retrospect; difficulty remembering the details of a transaction they just made; or becoming unusually secretive about finances. If you notice these patterns alongside other cognitive changes, mention it to their doctor. The National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-FRAUD-11) can also advise on next steps if you're concerned about a loved one's vulnerability.