CA Among Worst States For Elderly Fraud: Ranking

CALIFORNIA — California is among the 10 states with the highest number of elderly fraud victims, according to a recent study.

Cybersecurity experts at VPNPro used data from the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission to determine the number of fraud victims aged 60 or over per 100,000 elderly residents as of 2022 for each state.

California ranked seventh with 136.2 fraud victims per 100,000 residents 60 or older, according to the study, which found elderly fraud victims in the state lost a total of $624.5 million in 2022 — about $54,225 per person.

The Golden State was ranked between Wyoming, which was sixth with 141.6 victims per 100,000 elderly people, and New Mexico, which was eighth with 134.8, the study said.

The state with the highest rate of fraud victims 60 or over was Nevada with 261.9 per 100,000 elderly people, followed by Colorado with 231.7 and Alaska with 216.5, according to the ranking.

Mississippi had the lowest rate of elderly fraud victims, with 51.2 per 100,000, the study said.

“Analyzing data on elderly fraud victims and losses by state can help policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and advocacy groups better understand the underlying factors contributing to financial exploitation of the elderly," Šarūnas Karbauskas, a technical writer at VPNPro, said in a news release. "It can also inform targeted interventions and resource allocation to mitigate the impact of fraud and protect vulnerable individuals."

Investment scams cost elderly victims the most money in 2022 at $404 million, with business and romance being the second and third most lucrative scams, at $271 million and $240 million, respectively, according to the news release.

People aged 60 and over are more likely to lose money online than via any other contact method, the news release said, adding elderly fraud victims lost $564 million to online fraud. including social media, while they lost $90 million to text scams.

The most popular payment method for elderly victims is bank payment or transfer, which produced a total loss of $570 million in 2022, according to the news release.