WASHINGTON — Crimes involving fraud have increased by more than 84 percent from 2021 to 2022, resulting in monetary loss three times more than losses reported in 2020, according to the FBI.
The FBI’s Elder Fraud Report 2022, which analyzes filed complaints involving those 60 years of age and older, said $3.1 billion in total losses were reported by people over 60, averaging $35,101 per victim.
While the number of victims has decreased since 2020, the total in dollar loss has more than tripled, largely due to the rising trend of crypto-investment scams.
Among the more than 88,000 complaint involving victims 60 and older, the largest share of the crimes, 20 percent, are “tech support” related and resulted in more than $587.8 million in losses in 2022.
“Tech and Customer Support scammers take advantage of victims’ unfamiliarity with technology, online banking, and newer payment methods, like cryptocurrency, to quickly take as much money as possible,” the FBI report states. It is not uncommon for the scammers to execute a combination of the two to re-victimize a previous victim.”
The FBI report indicates the scams mostly originate from call centers in South Asia, mainly India, and the Department of Justice has coordinated with overseas agencies to target the scammers.
The 4,661 “investment”-related fraud complaints involving victims 60 and older resulted in the highest amount in monetary losses, more than $990.2 million. The scams often target individuals online and most commonly involve a form of cryptocurrency, the FBI states.
“Victims over 60 are pressured into accessing their retirement accounts, the equity of their home, or even convinced to go into debt to invest as much money as possible into the fraudulent scheme,” according to the report.
Nearly 8,000 of the reported crimes were for alleged “non-payment/non-delivery” and nearly 8,000 crimes for alleged personal data breach. Many victims report ordering items from links advertised on social media and either receiving nothing at all or receiving something completely unlike the advertised item.
Nearly 7,200 complaints involving elderly victims in 2022 were classified as “confidence/romance” scams — among the top four fraud crimes against the elderly — typically occurring as the result of fake online identity from the scammer.
“Scam artists often say they are in the military, or a trades-based industry engaged in projects outside the U.S.,” the report states. “That makes it easier to avoid meeting in person—and more plausible when they request money be sent overseas for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fee.”
Among all the nearly 30 categories of fraudulent crimes committed against victims 60 and up, the majority of them involved cryptocurrency, which resulted in $827.6 million in losses and $260.7 million in losses via cryptocurrency wallet.
Popular cryptocurrency software includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin or Ripple and is becoming a preferred payment method for all types of scams.
“In almost every crime type tracked by the (FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center), losses involving cryptocurrency increased. Overall, cryptocurrency-related losses reported by the elderly increased by 350 percent,” said Luis Quesada, assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigation division.
The state of California had the highest number of fraud complaints involving elderly victims; An estimated 13 percent, or 11,517, of complaints were in California; more than 8,400 in Florida; and more than 5,670 in Texas.
Georgia ranked 14th on the list in the highest number of victims over 60, approximately 2,000, but number nine on the list with the highest amount of losses, approximately $78.7 million; Alabama ranked 27 with 916 reported complaints and total loses of $26.7 million.
The FBI encourages the public to report any internet-related fraud, even attempted fraud, to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center as soon as possible at ic3.gov.
“Providing detailed information, including complete summaries and financial transactions, assists the FBI with investigating and disrupting the frauds that are devastating our citizens,” Quesada said.
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