Scams
$7.75 billion lost, and the new threat that clones a loved one's voice
Every year the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center publishes a report on fraud against older Americans. The 2025 edition is the worst on record, and the trend line is going the wrong way fast.
Behind that number are real people. More than 12,444 seniors lost over $100,000 each. The average victim lost about $38,500. And these are only the cases that get reported. The FBI estimates the true figure is far higher, because shame keeps most of it hidden.
The scam that now sounds exactly like your grandchild
The most frightening development is not a bigger number. It is a new tool. Criminals are using artificial intelligence to clone a loved one's voice from as little as three to thirty seconds of audio, often pulled from a social media video. Then they call an older parent, sounding exactly like a panicked grandchild: there has been an accident, I am in trouble, please send money, and do not tell Mom and Dad.
The FBI's 2025 report tracks this directly. Among people over 60, more than 3,100 complaints were tagged as AI related, with losses over $352 million. These "distress" scams are evolving to imitate other family members and friends too. A voice that used to be proof of identity no longer is.
The oldest defense still works, if someone keeps it alive
Security experts recommend a family safe word: a private phrase that a real caller can confirm and an impostor cannot. It is simple and it works. But there is a catch that almost nobody solves. A safe word set once, and never mentioned again, is forgotten within weeks. The plan fails not because it is a bad idea, but because no one refreshes it.
Because Elderly talks with your parent every day, it is the first to notice when a new friend starts asking for money, or a story does not add up, and it tells you that same day. It also helps keep the family safe word fresh, gently, as part of the everyday conversation, so your parent can verify a caller even when the voice sounds perfect.
To be clear about what this is: early warning and awareness, not account freezing. We help you catch it early and act. The people who love your parent stay in charge.
You cannot stop the calls from coming. Nobody can. But the window between "a stranger reached my parent" and "the money is gone" is usually days or weeks, not minutes. A caring voice that checks in every day, and a safe word that never goes stale, is how you take that window back.