Straight answers about scams and seniors

Each page below opens with a short, direct answer, then explains the details, the exact steps, and where to report. Written for retirees and the adult children helping them.

• Fraud recovery

  How do I protect my parents from scams?

  Protect your parents from scams by building systems rather than warnings: turn on carrier spam filtering, agree on a family safe word, add a trusted contact to their bank accounts, freeze their credit, set a household rule that no money moves during an incoming call, and review statements together every quarter. Systems work under stress; reminders do not.

• AI voice & deepfake scams

  How can seniors identify AI scams?

  Seniors should identify AI scams by structure, not by sound. Cloned voices and AI-written emails are now too convincing to detect by ear or by spelling. Instead, treat any contact combining urgency, secrecy, and an irreversible payment method as fraudulent, and verify by hanging up and calling back on a known number or asking for a prearranged family safe word.

• Medicare scams

  Does Medicare ever call you?

  Medicare almost never calls you first. Medicare communicates by mail. The narrow exceptions are callbacks you requested, follow-ups on a claim you already filed, or your own Medicare Advantage or Part D plan contacting you as an existing member. Medicare will never call to ask for your Medicare number, sell you a plan or device, or threaten your coverage.

• Social Security scams

  Does the IRS call you about unpaid taxes?

  The IRS contacts taxpayers by mail first, using an official notice number. It does not open contact with a phone call, and it never threatens arrest, deportation, or license revocation, never demands immediate payment by gift card, wire, or cryptocurrency, and never asks for card numbers over the phone. A threatening tax call is a scam regardless of the caller ID.

• Fraud recovery

  What should I do if I already gave a scammer my information?

  Act by category. If you shared card or bank details, call the fraud number on your card now and freeze the account. If you shared a Social Security or Medicare number, freeze your credit and report at IdentityTheft.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE. If you shared a password, change it and enable two-factor authentication. If you gave remote access, disconnect the device. Then report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov.

• Phone scams

  How do I stop scam calls to my parents' phone?

  Stop most scam calls in about thirty minutes: enable your carrier's free spam filtering, turn on 'Silence Unknown Callers' on iPhone or spam protection on Android, register the numbers at donotcall.gov, add a call-blocking device or provider service for landlines, and save trusted contacts so real callers show a name. Never press a key to opt out — it confirms the line is live.

• Romance scams

  How do I help a parent in a romance scam?

  Lead with questions, not accusations. Ask how they met, whether they have ever met live on video, and what happened the last time a meeting was planned. Propose a live video call together and a thirty-day pause on any money — scammers cannot survive either. Involve the bank's fraud team, and contact Adult Protective Services only if exploitation continues.

• Banking & investment fraud

  Will my bank refund money lost to a scam?

  It depends on how you paid and how fast you report. Unauthorized card and electronic transactions carry strong legal protection and are frequently refunded. Transfers you were tricked into sending yourself are harder, though banks have expanded imposter-scam reimbursement for Zelle. Wires can sometimes be recalled within about 72 hours. Gift cards and cryptocurrency are rarely recovered.

• Phishing & email scams

  How do I know if a text message is a scam?

  Treat a text as a scam if it asks you to tap a link, pay a small fee, confirm a transaction, or call a number — especially about tolls, package delivery, or bank security. Do not tap. Verify by opening the company's official app or typing its website address yourself. Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) and delete them.

• Phishing & email scams

  How do I check if a website is safe?

  Check the domain first: read it right to left, up to the first single slash, and confirm it is exactly the company's real address rather than a lookalike. Ignore the padlock — scam sites have it too. Then look for a real phone number and address, normal payment options, and reviews found outside the site. Anything demanding gift cards, wire transfers, or crypto is not safe.

• Phone scams

  What is the most common scam targeting seniors?

  Impersonation scams are the most common fraud against older adults: someone pretends to be the government, a bank, a well-known company, or a family member in trouble. Tech support and government impersonation dominate reported cases, while investment and romance scams cause the largest per-person losses. All of them rely on urgency, secrecy, and irreversible payment.