Criminals Are Stealing Billions From America’s Seniors. AARP Is Fighting Back. |
One of the big problems facing our country right now isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a crime. And America’s seniors are increasingly the targets.
Every day, scammers—often operating through massive, international networks—are stealing the life savings of older Americans who have worked hard, played by the rules, and saved responsibly for retirement. These are not harmless scams or isolated incidents. It’s organized theft on a scale that should concern every American who believes in law and order.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), scammers stole as much as $81.5 billion from seniors in 2024. This is money that people were relying on for retirement and that could have been spent in our local communities. For many older Americans, fraud has lasting, life-changing consequences, forcing them to declare bankruptcy, sell their longtime homes, or rely on family just to make ends meet.
At AARP, we’ve been fighting fraud for years. But we’re ramping up our efforts because this threat is growing and becoming more complex by the day. Today’s scammers aren’t just lone bad actors on laptops. They’re global organized crime syndicates using advanced technology, psychological manipulation, and financial........