James Yancy's father received this document, among others, while being scammed out of his life savings.
James Yancy's dad, 67, with his grandson.

James Yancy said his 67-year-old father had hinted he was "going through something" that he couldn't talk about before finally opening up on Halloween.

Yancy's dad gestured to his phone, "kind of giving me the impression that he thought he was being listened to or watched," the 33-year-old recalled. Outside, away from cellphones, his father told Yancy that his identity had been stolen and that the FBI and IRS were working with him to protect his life savings.

Yancy's father had liquidated his accounts − amounting to about $400,000 − and transferred the cash into gift cards, bitcoin and gold.

Yancy knew immediately it was a scam.

The scammers, fronting as federal agents, took the gift cards and bitcoin in advance and picked up the gold in person, telling his dad that once the identity thieves were found, they would return his money via check.

"I told him as gently as I can, 'that's fake,'" Yancy said.

Online scams that target seniors aren't new, but they are changing, said Amy Nofziger, senior director of fraud victim support at AARP. Con artists are getting more creative, asking for payments that can't be traced back to them, like cryptocurrency and gold. Romance scams, too, are shifting and targeting older adults. In the past, scammers have gone through traditional dating sites. But now they are finding victims on social media and initiating friendships, not just romantic ruses. Older adults are more appealing to con artists because they tend to have more money, Nofziger said.

"It's the same reason why criminals rob banks, or why they try to rob the Louvre, right?" Nofziger said. "They go where the money is."

Nofziger said heightened awareness of online scams in recent years means that more people are reporting them when they happen. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported $16.6 billion in losses in 2024, with those over 60 suffering the most losses and submitting the most complaints.

'Celebrities' are also being used to scam seniors

Jennifer Daly's mom has also been a target.

Daly never thought her mother would end up in a romantic relationship with a scam artist. But looking back, she can understand how it happened.

Her mother had likely been feeling lonely, Daly said. She doesn't get out much. Daly's parents live in rural Illinois and her mom spends a lot of time online shopping.

When Daly's father told her that her mother had made a friend through Facebook Messenger in September, Daly was suspicious. Within a couple of weeks, her mother was buying gift cards for this friend, John, and spending more and more time messaging with him online. Her mother eventually sent John upwards of $8,000.

Pretty soon, the messages between John and Daly's mother turned romantic, Daly said. And he started to ask for larger sums of money.

Daly has not yet been able to extract her mom from the relationship.

Like Yancy, Daly posts updates on TikTok, where thousands of commenters have offered advice, prayers and commiserated by sharing their own scammer stories.

"My mom thinks she’s in an online relationship with Eric Clapton," one user commented. "It’s been over a year and she won’t listen to anything. Good luck!"

"My grandma is marrying Morgan Wallen next month," another wrote.

John claimed to be a celebrity musician with a second home in Ireland and a personal jet, Daly said. Daly and her family have sought medical counsel, wondering if her mother's mental health is declining and that's leading to this lack of judgement. But it's been difficult.

"You cannot force somebody to help themself if they don't want to be helped," Daly said.

'Be willing to listen' to victims of online scams

When Yancy's father told him about his financial situation, Yancy did his best to keep his composure.

"I was not calm on the inside," Yancy said. "But I'm good at hiding it."

That's exactly how one should handle this situation, Nofziger said.

"Be willing to listen with kindness and empathy. Do not judge, do not yell, do not argue," Nofziger said. She suggests saying to a parent: "I am so sorry this happened to you. Together, we're going to figure out the next step forward." Then, stop talking to the scammer and report it to law enforcement.

Yancy helped his father file a report with the FBI and their local police department, he said. But his dad is "distraught" over the whole event, and out a lifetime's worth of savings. Yancy started a GoFundMe to help replenish his dad's bank account, and said he's taking steps to have joint ownership over his father's assets to protect him from future scams.

How to spot an online scam artist

While scammers are becoming more sophisticated, Nofziger said that doesn't change the red flags people should look out for.

Here are indicators that the person you or your loved one is talking to online is actually a scam artist:

  • They ask for money − especially if it's through a nontraditional form of payment like gift cards, cryptocurrency or gold bars.
  • If they ask you to lie or keep the relationship a secret.
  • They tell you you'll be arrested or otherwise invoke fear if you don't comply with their plan.

Adults can help protect their aging parents from scams by setting up bank and brokerage account alerts, so they know when their parent takes out a large sum of money. Nofziger said families should also have "non-authoritative" conversations with their parents about money and role play scam situations so they're prepared.

"It's very similar to the other roleplaying conversations we have in our life, like where do we meet if there's a fire? What do you do?" she said. "So when it does happen, they're not necessarily caught off guard and don't know what to do. They kind of have in the back of their mind, 'Oh, I remember this.'"

Madeline Mitchell's role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

Reach Madeline at memitchell@usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_ on X.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fake FBI agents, intricate paperwork and how his dad lost $400K to a scam

Reporting by Madeline Mitchell, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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