Business · Economy · 1 hr ago
FTC Estimates Fraud Costs for Americans 60 and Older Could Reach $119.5 Billion
The Federal Trade Commission says fraud losses for Americans 60 and older are rising.
People in this age group reported losing $600 million in 2020 and $3 billion in 2025.
Because many fraud cases go unreported, the FTC estimates total losses in 2025 may have been between $13.5 billion and $119.5 billion.
Adults over 80 reported the largest individual losses, with a median loss of $2,000.
Investment scams and scams impersonating government officials or businesses were among the most common, while phone-initiated scams tended to have higher median losses than those started on social media.
A small share of high-loss cases drove most reported losses: reports of losses above $100,000 made up 6% of older adults’ loss reports in 2025 but 70% of their total reported losses.
The FTC report does not describe any next steps.
The Federal Trade Commission estimates that fraud losses for Americans aged 60 and older in 2025 could have ranged from $13.5 billion to $119.5 billion.
Older adults reported $3 billion in fraud losses to the FTC in 2025, up from $600 million in 2020.
Investment scams caused more reported losses than any other fraud type, with losses rising 42% in 2025 to more than $1 billion.
People aged 80 and older had the highest median reported individual loss, at $2,000.
The FTC says the estimates are uncertain because the scale of unreported fraud is not well understood.
- Who
- Americans aged 60 and older, the group covered by the FTC report.
- What
- The FTC estimates their 2025 fraud losses could have reached $119.5 billion, though reported losses were $3 billion.
- When
- The report covers fraud and complaints in 2025 and was issued on Monday.
- Where
- The United States.
- Why
- The report says fraud is widely underreported, making total losses difficult to estimate.
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Older adults reported $600 million in fraud losses to the FTC.
Reported losses among adults aged 60 and older reached $3 billion, while investment scam losses rose 42% to more than $1 billion.
The FTC issued its annual report to Congress on protecting older adults.
- Age group
- Adults aged 60 and older
- Reported fraud losses
- $3 billion in 2025
- Estimated total losses
- $13.5 billion to $119.5 billion in 2025
- Reported losses in 2020
- $600 million
- Median reported loss for people aged 80 and older
- $2,000
- Investment scam losses
- More than $1 billion in 2025
2 sources
What people are saying
These figures reflect a considerable degree of uncertainty because the scale of underreporting, particularly when losses are high, is not well understood
From 2020 to 2025, combined losses by older adults who reported losing over $100,000 increased nearly sevenfold. While these reports were relatively rare at 6% of older adults’ loss reports in 2025, they accounted for 70% of their aggregate reported losses