10 investment scams that target seniors

A lifetime of careful saving can now be undone in a single phone call, a fake website, or a voice that sounds exactly like someone you love.

Retirement should be a time of relaxation and pursuing hobbies, but it has increasingly become a season of dodging financial predators looking for a quick payday. These con artists see nest eggs as their personal piggy banks and use sophisticated psychological tricks to drain accounts before victims even realize what happened.

The stakes are incredibly high for older Americans who have spent decades building their savings, only to see them vanish in days due to a single bad decision or trust in the wrong person. To help guide against such loss, here are scams that target seniors.

The Pig Butchering Crypto Con

This scam gets its gruesome name from farmers fattening up livestock before the slaughter, and it plays out with heartbreaking precision on dating apps and social media platforms. Criminals spend months building a romantic relationship with you, eventually introducing a “safe” cryptocurrency investment that supposedly makes them rich.

Once you invest a small amount and see fake profits, they encourage you to pour your entire life savings into the platform before vanishing into thin air with your money. These schemes are devastatingly effective, often leaving victims heartbroken and bankrupt simultaneously, with no way to recover their lost funds.

The Phantom Hacker Bank Drain

Federal authorities recently issued warnings about this three-step scheme that is emptying retirement accounts at an alarming rate across the country. It usually starts with a tech support pop-up on your computer, leading to a call from a fake bank fraud department, and finally a call from a fake government official.

They convince you that your financial accounts are compromised and that you must move your money to a “safe” government account to protect it from foreign hackers. AARP reports that the average loss for elderly victims of such fraud hit $83,000 in 2024, a life-changing sum for many retirees.

Gold IRA Coin Dealer Schemes

Economic uncertainty often drives investors toward precious metals, but shady coin dealers are waiting to exploit this fear with overpriced assets. Salespeople on conservative talk radio or cable news ads will terrify you with talk of impending market collapse to sell you gold coins at three times their actual value.

These dealers often hide massive markups and fees in the fine print, meaning your investment is underwater the moment you sign the paperwork. Legitimate gold dealers do exist, but high-pressure tactics and promises of “confiscation-proof” metals are major red flags you should never ignore.

Artificial Intelligence Voice Cloning

The classic “grandparent scam” has received a terrifying high-tech upgrade that makes it nearly impossible to distinguish between a real emergency and a fraud. Scammers can now take a three-second audio clip of your loved one from social media and use AI to make it sound like they are begging for bail money.

They will call you claiming to be in a car accident or legal trouble, using a voice that sounds exactly like your grandchild to panic you into sending an immediate wire transfer. Always hang up and call your family member directly on their known number to verify the story, no matter how real the voice sounded on the phone.

The Recovery Room Trap

It is truly despicable, but there are entire call centers dedicated to targeting people who have already lost money to previous investment frauds. These scammers pose as government agents or lawyers, claiming they have located your stolen funds and can return them to you for an upfront fee or tax payment.

They ruthlessly exploit your desperation to get your money back, only to steal even more from you in what is known as a “double dip” scheme. Seniors lost $982 million to tech support 403and related recovery scams in 2024, proving that these criminals have no bottom when it comes to prey.

Real Estate And Timeshare Resale

If you own a timeshare you no longer use, be extremely wary of unsolicited calls from agents claiming they have a buyer lined up and ready to pay cash. They will promise you a fantastic price for your property, but will demand that you pay wire transfer fees, taxes, or closing costs upfront before the deal can close.

Once you send the money, the “agent” stops answering your calls, and you discover there never was a buyer or a sale in the first place. This remains a consistent drain on senior finances, as fraudsters know many older owners are desperate to offload annual maintenance fees.

High-Yield Promissory Notes

Scammers love to pitch these short-term debt instruments as a way to get double-digit returns with zero risk, often claiming they are insured or guaranteed. You might be approached by an insurance agent or financial planner you actually know who has been duped into selling these fraudulent notes to their own clients.

The underlying companies often do not exist or are effectively Ponzi schemes paying early investors with money from new victims until the whole house of cards collapses. Always check if an investment is registered with the SEC or your state securities regulator before handing over a dime of your hard-earned cash.

The Government Imposter Shuffle

Fear is a powerful motivator, and nothing scares law-abiding citizens more than a threat from the IRS, Social Security Administration, or Federal Trade Commission. Criminals use spoofed caller IDs to make it look like the government is calling to demand payment for back taxes or to warn you of identity theft.

They will demand that you move your savings into cryptocurrency ATMs or buy gift cards to resolve the issue, keeping you on the phone the entire time so you cannot ask for help. In 2024, losses to government imposter scams skyrocketed to $789 million, fueled by these aggressive intimidation tactics.

Pump And Dump Penny Stocks

While this is an old school trick, the internet has given it new life through email blasts and social media newsletters promoting “the next big thing.” Con artists buy millions of shares of a worthless stock at pennies apiece and then hype it up to seniors as a breakthrough medical or tech company.

As you and other investors rush to buy, the price rises artificially, allowing the scammers to sell their shares for a massive profit before the stock crashes back to zero. You are left holding worthless paper while they walk away with your retirement savings, and there is rarely any recourse.

Variable Annuity Twisting

Annuities can be legitimate financial products, but dishonest brokers often use them to generate huge commissions at your expense through a practice called twisting. An agent may convince you to exchange your existing annuity for a “better” one, conveniently failing to mention the steep surrender charges you will pay.

The new annuity often comes with a longer lock-up period that ties up your money for years when you might need it for medical expenses or living costs. Investment scams were the costliest category for seniors in 2024, totaling about $1 billion in losses, often through complex products like these.

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