My older neighbors received a desperate phone call recently. The caller claimed their grandson had been arrested for DUI after a serious car accident.
Panicked, they did what any loving grandparents would: They rushed to withdraw $10,000 for his “bail” and delivered it as instructed.
Days later, another call came. Apparently, the pregnant victim of the accident had died, and bail had been raised by $70,000.
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This time, suspicion crept in. A quick conversation with our mutual neighbor, a police officer, confirmed their fears. They’d been scammed.
Although they didn’t lose $70,000, the initial $10,000 was gone forever — along with any trace of the scammers.
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Sadly, my neighbors’ experience is all too common. Today’s criminals skillfully gather personal information to create convincing scams, and millions of Americans fall victim each year.
Scams are evolving, and we’re all at risk
Gone are the days of poorly worded emails from foreign princes. Modern scammers tailor their approaches with increasingly sophisticated technology.
Even simple scams can be executed well from a quick search on Google and your “private” social media.
This isn’t to scare you, but to help you understand that the amount of public information available can make us targets if we’re not staying vigilant.
The grandparent scam that trapped my neighbors is just one example of how fraudsters prey on older people. This group is particularly vulnerable due to several factors: financial resources, low technological know-how and sometimes diminished cognitive abilities.
The FBI reports that scams targeting people 60 and older caused $3.4 billion in losses in 2023, an 11% increase from the year before.
But while we often worry about older people, research shows young adults are highly vulnerable too. Growing up in a digital world has made them more trusting of online interactions and less cautious about clicking links or sharing information.
Among the most sinister schemes targeting youths is sextortion. Scammers pretend to be another young person interested in a romantic relationship. They ask to exchange sexually explicit photos and videos, and then threaten to send these to family, friends or classmates if the victim doesn’t pay up.
From 2021 through 2023, there was a 300% increase in sextortion incidents.
Scams targeting minors also create risks for parents, since children’s accounts are often linked to theirs. Children from more affluent households are at greater risk, according to a report by Javelin.
These children often have access to social media and online accounts across multiple devices where parents store their payment information.
Additionally, remember that routine data breaches can expose anyone’s highly personal information. Cybernews researchers shared in June 2025 that 16 billion login credentials had been leaked.
Sadly, that’s not a typo, and it means that those who were impacted likely had multiple account credentials leaked. The size of this data breach also makes it nearly impossible to know who was affected, and it is likely a result of multiple hacking events.
Unfortunately, experts believe this will become more common.
Fraudsters are adapting
Scammers are getting more creative by the minute. Phone-based scams, once the dominant method, have declined from 67% of all fraud reports to just 32%, while email and text scams have surged, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
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Even professionals can fall victim. A financial adviser I know was tricked when her clients, while traveling abroad, appeared to request a wire transfer.
She had been in regular communication with them and knew all about their trip, so when she got the email request, she processed it without verbal confirmation.
Unfortunately, the client’s email had been hacked, leading to substantial financial losses. The adviser lost her job as a result.
And now, AI is making scams even harder to detect, with deepfake videos and cloned voices adding another layer of deception. Scammers need no more than three seconds of an audio sample to create a credible deepfake.
If you’ve posted any videos of yourself online, understand that your voice can be easily manipulated.
The ongoing threat of identity theft
Unlike scams, where victims are tricked into voluntarily giving up their money or information, identity theft involves criminals obtaining your personal information without your knowledge and using it to commit fraud.
Thieves get access to your personal information through data breaches, mail theft, phishing emails, malware, or even dumpster diving. Once they have your Social Security number, bank details and other personal data, they can open accounts in your name.
This can wreak havoc on your credit and take months or years to resolve, putting your financial security at risk.
You have the power to prevent fraud
I’m sympathetic to people who say that scams are inevitable in our increasingly digital world. But that’s like saying, “My house is going to get robbed, so why bother locking the door?”
We should do our part to make it as hard as possible for scammers. Here are some good habits that can help you keep your data out of their hands.
Verify before acting. Never respond immediately to an urgent request for money. Contact your loved one directly using a number you know is theirs to verify that the request is real.
Be skeptical of unsolicited contact. Government agencies, including the IRS, won’t contact you by phone, email or text demanding immediate payment. And they certainly won’t threaten you with jail if you don’t pay immediately.
Secure your smartphone. Your smartphone is a pocket-sized computer and needs the same level of protection as a laptop. Enable spam filters to flag suspicious messages.
For vulnerable individuals, such as children or aging parents, consider contact filters that allow calls or messages only from approved numbers.
Keep identity theft at bay by securing your data
Take these steps to ensure that no one can misuse your identity:
Monitor your credit. You’re entitled to one free report from each of the three credit agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — per year. Stagger your requests so you check your credit report every few months. Request yours at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Freeze your credit. Freezing your credit blocks others from accessing your credit report, making it much harder to open new accounts in your name. You can temporarily lift the freeze when applying for loans or credit cards, then refreeze it afterward.
Strengthen your digital security. Cybersecurity professionals now recommend that your passwords be at least 16 characters long. Change them regularly and use unique passwords for different accounts. The average person uses the same password for at least four accounts, creating multiple points of vulnerability.
I recently set up a Google dark web report, which turned up old usernames and passwords. Thankfully, I regularly update my credentials, but it still goes to show how easily personal information can be found online.
Use credit cards instead of debit cards. Credit cards offer significantly better fraud protection than debit cards. If someone compromises your debit card, they can drain your bank account, which can take months to resolve. With credit cards, you typically aren’t held responsible for fraudulent charges.
Your behavior is your best defense
While technological safeguards are useful, the human element is the best protection against fraud.
Talk to your family. Discuss common scams with both children and older relatives. Set clear rules for verifying money requests. With children, ensure that they understand basic security practices and use parental controls to limit their ability to make payments.
Be careful what you share on social media. Who doesn’t love sharing travel plans and photos of family? Be aware that fraudsters often gather personal details from social media to craft convincing scams. Adjust your privacy settings and limit friend requests to people you personally know.
Work with your adviser. If you have a financial adviser, establish security protocols. With AI-generated voices and videos becoming more convincing, use deeply personal verification methods—not just a password, but questions that only you and your adviser would know the answers to.
Staying one step ahead
My neighbors learned their lesson the hard way. That $10,000 loss was painful, and the scammers who took their money were never caught. But every time a potential victim hears stories like these and knows to be skeptical, they reduce their chances of becoming a victim at all.
