Similar to how scammers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate CEOs to defraud businesses, they’re also mimicking regular people to prey on their elderly loved ones. Case in point: an AI-enhanced grandparent scam that cost an 86-year-old grandmother in Philadelphia $6,000 last year.

The woman received a phone call from a person she thought was her granddaughter. In the conversation that followed, the “granddaughter” said she had been detained by police following an accident, had been assigned an attorney, and needed money. The grandmother agreed to help her granddaughter out with $6,000 in cash, which the scammers picked up in person. They even gave her a receipt.

When the woman learned the accident was a ruse and her granddaughter was at work safe and sound, she said she would have never fallen for the scam had she not recognized her granddaughter’s voice on the phone.

Scammers have long preyed on the elderly to defraud them of money (see the sidebar, “Common Types of Elder Fraud,” at the ed of this article). The rise of generative AI has augmented these scams at a time when the number of potential victims is steadily rising.

ZEROING IN ON A VULNERABLE TARGET WITH MONEY

The U.S. Census Bureau reported the percentage of the population age 65 and older increased to 18% in 2024, from 12.4% in 2004. By 2040, Americans age 65 and older are projected to account for 20% of the population.

The elderly population is also an attractive target. Americans age 65 and older:

• Have a greater accumulation of savings and retirement accounts, investment income, and other income streams.
• Are more likely to be struggling with increased isolation; anxiety and depression; an increased need for medical support; and cognitive decline and memory issues.
• Are increasingly uncomfortable with the general reliance on technology and are more likely to trust in what appear to be familiar voices, leaving them more vulnerable to voice cloning and deepfakes.

In 2024, losses from elder fraud rose 43% to $4.89 billion; phishing attacks were the most frequently reported crime. Deepfake phishing attacks are mostly delivered by email.

TYPES OF AI-POWERED ELDERLY SCAMS

The emergence of AI presents increased opportunities to create more realistic and nuanced messaging that not only raises the likelihood of success with these frauds but also increases the ability to disseminate the malicious messaging to a wider swath of the aging population.

AI-powered scams targeting the elderly use:

• Voice cloning: With just a few seconds of audio, often scraped from social media, scammers can clone the voice of a loved one (e.g., a grandchild) to make a convincing “family emergency” call. The caller typically claims to be in trouble (e.g., arrested, in an accident) and needs urgent, confidential financial help (e.g., immediate cash payment for bail), pressuring the victim to act before they can verify the story.
• Deepfake videos and images: AI can generate highly realistic fake videos or images of family members, public figures, or officials (e.g., Social Security or Medicare representatives) to gain trust and manipulate victims into revealing sensitive information or transferring money (see “How CPAs Can Combat the Rising Threat of Deepfake Fraud,” JofA, May 1, 2025).
• AI-powered phishing: AI allows for the mass creation of personalized and grammatically correct emails or messages that appear legitimate, often impersonating banks, government agencies, or tech support (see “AI-Powered Hacking in Accounting: ‘No One Is Safe’,” JofA, Oct 1, 2025). These messages can lure seniors into clicking malicious links, installing remote access software, or providing personal credentials.
• Predictive targeting and chatbots: Machine-learning algorithms can analyze data to identify the individuals most susceptible to fraud based on their online behavior and demographics. AI-powered chatbots can then engage in realistic, long-term conversations, as seen in romance or investment scams (also known as pig butchering scams), to build trust and eventually trick victims into sending large sums of money.

Deloitte’s Center for Financial Services estimated that AI-generated fraud will reach $40 billion in damages in the United States by 2027, a 32% annual increase from $12.3 billion in 2023.

HOW TO DETECT AI-POWERED FRAUD

The ways to detect and prevent possible fraud against the elderly don’t differ much whether the scams are AI-powered or more traditional. They include:

• Bank and credit monitoring: A trusted family member or adviser should frequently review bank and credit card statements to look for large and/or unusual transactions. Signing up for a credit monitoring service can assist in blocking unauthorized attempts for new credit or spot instances where new credit was obtained.
• Alerts to changes in behavior: A trusted adviser can establish what is a “normal” withdrawal or transfer of money for an individual. This will help raise red flags in a review of behaviors.
• Scam/spam call screening: Telephone providers can give users access to tools that help detect spam calls to cellphones and landlines and can send them directly to voicemail or block them. People should also be encouraged to answer calls from only known numbers/callers.
• Use of “safe” words: Family members can use a safe word to identify themselves and thereby confirm that they can be trusted.

Other tools that can assist in the prevention/detection of fraud schemes include some as simple as having banks and credit monitoring agencies use AI to flag unusual account activity, large transactions or transfers, and other anomalies. Some banks offer enhanced screening services in connection with power-of-attorney accounts for their elder customers.

Third-party apps, such as Aura and Robokiller, and carrier apps such as T-Mobile’s ScamShield and Verizon’s Call Filter can monitor cellphone calls in real time and alert the user to common scam phrases (such as gift card requests). Other services can assist in analyzing text to verify its authenticity and determine whether it was human- or AI-generated.

Also, banks and other financial institutions offer features that help keep their older customers safe:

• For accounts managed by professional fiduciaries (trustees, executors, etc.), accounts can have “post no checks” or “full ACH block” to prevent transactions that have not been previously discussed and specifically authorized.
• Some states allow for disbursement delays and transaction holds to allow for anomalous transactions to be investigated before the funds are released.
• A trusted family member or adviser can provide a second layer of oversight for transactions in the account. This is particularly effective when a senior citizen suddenly asks about making wire transfers to purchase cryptoassets or sends funds to foreign countries despite having no experience with such transactions.

All these techniques require the assistance of a trusted family member or adviser, along with the necessary education so that the elderly person understands how they are being protected.

Education will help the elderly better understand the fraud risks and will familiarize them with best practices to safeguard their accounts and access the resources available to protect them. Advisers also can encourage elderly clients to adopt new habits to prevent and deter potential fraudsters from exploiting them.

For example, if they receive an unexpected request for money or personal information, especially if it involves an “emergency,” they should hang up and call someone they know on a trusted phone number.

Also, they should be skeptical of “urgent” calls. They should call a trusted family member or adviser before taking any action.

And they should have a family member or adviser check their social media settings to ensure the privacy settings are at the highest level to prevent public access to any personal information or voice recordings.

RESOURCES OFFERED BY GOVERNMENT AND PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

Many government and social service agencies offer a wealth of resources to alert the elderly about the latest trends in AI fraud and how to counteract them. Those who are not “tech savvy” will require the assistance of a trusted family member or adviser to guide them through this information.

The American Association of Retired Persons, also known as AARP, provides guidance and resources on its website and is continually adding to its library. Similarly, the Department of Justice has an Elder Justice Initiative that discusses elder fraud, resources, and ways to obtain assistance to report abuse. (The DOJ’s National Elder Fraud Hotline is 833-372-8311.) The Federal Trade Commission also posts resources, including current articles and other consumer alerts, to assist in identifying AI and other scams against older adults.

Professional organizations such as the AICPA regularly publish articles on this subject and have other resources available to assist the public.

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Common types of elder fraud

Traditional elder financial exploitation scams identified by the National Council on Aging and others include:

• Grandparent scam: A caller tries to trick a person into thinking a grandchild is in trouble or danger.
• Financial services or investment scam: An impersonator pretends to be calling from a bank or other financial institution.
• Tech support scam: An impersonator preys upon an older person’s perceived lack of knowledge relating to computers to collect fraudulent service fees.
• Government impersonation scam: Callers pretend to be from the IRS, Social Security, Medicare, or another agency in an attempt to obtain personal information.
• Romance scam: This involves creating fake profiles on dating sites to gain trust and steal money.

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About the authors

David Zweighaft, CPA/CFF, CFE, is managing partner with RSZ Forensic Associates, a New York City-based forensic accounting and litigation consulting firm. Howard Silverstone, CPA/CFF, CFE, MBE, is a forensic accountant who retired in 2025 as executive vice president of J.S. Held LLC, a global consulting firm based in Jericho, N.Y. Both are members of the AICPA Forensic & Litigation Services Fraud Task Force. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Jeff Drew at Jeff.Drew@aicpa-cima.com.

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