AARP Hearing Center
Older Americans recognize fraud as costly but still underestimate the losses
New AARP research shows that fraud and scams pose a serious financial risk for older Americans — yet many still underestimate the cost of fraud when it occurs. When asked how much money an older adult typically loses to fraud, most adults age 50-plus place average losses in the thousands. While nearly half estimate losses of $10,000 or more, only 16% — fewer than 1 in 5 — believe average losses exceed $50,000. In reality, the average loss for adults age 60 and older was $83,000 in 2024, according to the FBI’s Annual Internet Crime Report, highlighting a substantial gap between public perceptions and the true financial impact of fraud.
Older Americans place a high importance on stronger fraud protections
Across political parties, older Americans consistently rate a range of fraud‑prevention policies as important. Nearly all adults age 50 and older say it is important for lawmakers to take action to protect older Americans from fraud, particularly by requiring companies to play a more active role in stopping scams.
Requiring social media companies to identify and remove scam advertisements is rated as important by 98% of adults age 50 and older, including 82% who say it is very important. The same proportion (98%) says it is important to require phone companies to use more effective technology to block scam calls and texts.
Older Americans also place great importance on efforts to address fraud originating outside the United States. Nearly all adults 50 and older (97%) say it is important for the federal government to work with international law enforcement to stop organized scam operations based in other countries.
Preventing fraud before money is stolen is a top priority for older Americans
Preventing fraud before losses occur ranks among the highest-priority items in the survey. Nearly all (97%) say it is important to require banks and payment apps to stop suspicious transactions and warn people about potential fraud before money is sent, steps that could prevent irreversible losses.
Older Americans also place high importance on strengthening protections around payment methods frequently targeted by scammers. More than 9 in 10 (93%) say it is important to require stronger anti-fraud protections for gift cards, which are often used in fraud schemes because transactions are difficult to reverse.
While prevention measures are rated as most important overall, many older adults also emphasize the importance of recovery options. More than 8 in 10 (82%) say it is important to create a government fund to help return stolen money to people who experience fraud when recovered funds are available.
Older Americans view fraud as a shared risk requiring shared responsibility
Taken together, the findings show that older Americans view fraud as a widespread risk that cannot be addressed solely through individual vigilance. There is broad agreement about the importance of policy approaches that place responsibility on technology companies, financial institutions, and government to reduce scam risks and stop fraud before money is stolen.
As fraud tactics continue to evolve and scale, these results highlight how strongly older Americans value consumer protections that make it harder for criminals to succeed and easier for people to stay safe.
Methodology
These findings are based on a survey of 1,032 U.S. adults 50 and older, conducted March 12 to 16, 2026, using the Foresight 50+ Omnibus survey, funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago. Foresight 50+ is a probability‑based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population age 50 and older.
Data are weighted to the latest Current Population Survey (CPS) benchmarks from the U.S. Census Bureau and balanced by gender, age, education, race/ethnicity, region, and AARP membership.
For more information, please contact Joanne Binette at jbinette@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.
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