How families can help protect older loved ones from online scams, financial exploitation, and the growing risks of artificial intelligence.
“Mom, if someone calls asking for money, please call me first.”
It sounds like a simple conversation. Maybe you've already had it with your parents. You've warned them about suspicious emails, told them not to give out their Social Security number, and reminded them that the IRS doesn't call demanding gift cards. Those are still important conversations. Unfortunately, the scams targeting older adults have become much more sophisticated.
A scammer may now be able to imitate a loved one's voice using artificial intelligence. A fraudulent email can look nearly identical to one from a legitimate bank. A text message might appear to come from Medicare, a delivery company, or a government agency. Criminals can even create convincing videos and websites designed to make a fraudulent request seem legitimate.
For older adults who use the internet to manage their finances, communicate with family, schedule medical appointments, or shop online, these threats are becoming increasingly difficult to recognize.
At Vick Law, we believe protecting aging loved ones involves thinking ahead about their financial safety, legal decision-making, and vulnerability to exploitation. The good news is that families can take practical steps now, before a scam or financial crisis occurs.
Why Are Older Adults Being Targeted by Scammers?
Older adults are often attractive targets because they may have accumulated retirement savings, own their homes, or have access to investment accounts. Some also have predictable sources of income, such as Social Security or pensions. Criminals may take advantage of an older person's trust, loneliness, unfamiliarity with certain technology, or fear of losing access to important benefits. However, it's important to understand that falling for a scam isn't necessarily a sign of cognitive decline.
Scammers are skilled at manipulating emotions and creating believable situations. They may spend weeks developing a relationship with someone before asking for money. Others create an immediate crisis, hoping fear will cause someone to act before thinking. A perfectly capable adult can be deceived by a convincing scam.
This is why we encourage families to approach these conversations with respect rather than embarrassment or blame. An older parent who feels judged may be less likely to tell someone when a suspicious interaction occurs. The goal should be to create an environment where asking for help feels natural.
Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Way Scammers Operate
One of the most concerning developments in financial fraud is the use of artificial intelligence to make scams more convincing. Consider a situation where your father receives a phone call that sounds exactly like his granddaughter. She's crying. She says she's been in an accident, needs money immediately, and doesn't want her parents to know. Your father recognizes the voice. He hears the fear. He wants to help.
What he may not realize is that the voice could have been artificially generated or manipulated using audio collected from publicly available videos or other recordings. This is one example of how technology can make an old scam much more believable.
Criminals can also use AI to create realistic photographs, impersonate customer service representatives, generate polished emails, or conduct conversations that appear personal and authentic. The familiar warning signs of a scam, such as poor grammar or an obviously suspicious message, are becoming less reliable.
Families need to focus less on whether a message looks or sounds legitimate and more on whether the request itself has been independently verified.
If someone calls claiming to be a family member in trouble, hang up and call that person using a number you already have saved. If someone claims to represent a financial institution, contact the institution directly through its official website, mobile application, or a verified phone number.
Some families also establish a private verification phrase for unexpected emergency requests. While this isn't a substitute for independently confirming someone's identity, it can provide another opportunity to stop and question a suspicious situation.
The Most Dangerous Scams Often Create a Sense of Urgency
Scammers rarely want someone to take a few days to think about a request. They want immediate action. For example, a caller may claim that your bank account has been compromised and your money must be transferred to a new account for safekeeping. Someone pretending to represent Medicare may insist that your benefits will be suspended unless you verify personal information. Another person may claim that a family member is in jail and needs bail money.
The details vary, but the pressure is often the same. Act now. Don't tell anyone. Send the money immediately. That combination of urgency, secrecy, and financial pressure should raise concerns. Legitimate financial institutions and government agencies have established procedures for addressing account problems and communicating with customers. An unexpected demand for gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, passwords, or sensitive financial information deserves particular scrutiny.
Encourage your parents to develop one simple habit: When someone creates an emergency involving money, pause before responding.
A legitimate problem can be verified. A fraudulent request often falls apart when the person receiving it takes time to ask questions.
Financial Exploitation Doesn't Always Come From a Stranger
When families think about elder financial abuse, they often picture an anonymous criminal calling from another country. Unfortunately, financial exploitation can also involve someone the older adult knows.
It may be a relative who pressures a parent to provide money, a caregiver who begins making unauthorized purchases, or a trusted acquaintance who gradually gains access to financial accounts. Sometimes exploitation is obvious. Other times, it happens slowly.
A parent may begin making unusually large gifts. Bills may go unpaid despite sufficient income. Bank statements may show unexplained withdrawals. A new person may become unusually involved in financial decisions or discourage family members from communicating with the older adult.
None of these circumstances automatically proves wrongdoing. There may be legitimate explanations. Still, sudden changes in financial behavior, secrecy surrounding accounts, or pressure from another person may warrant a closer look. Families should be especially cautious when someone seeks to change an older person's estate planning documents, beneficiary designations, property ownership, or financial authority under questionable circumstances. These decisions can have consequences that extend well beyond the immediate transaction.
Beware of Fake Investment Opportunities
Another growing concern is fraudulent investment opportunities designed to gain access to an older adult's financial information. Scammers may pose as financial advisors, investment professionals, or representatives of legitimate financial institutions, offering opportunities that promise unusually high returns with little risk. Some even create professional-looking websites, fabricated investment statements, and convincing testimonials to establish trust. What begins as a conversation about growing retirement savings may quickly turn into requests for bank account numbers, Social Security information, investment account credentials, or access to financial accounts. Artificial intelligence has made these schemes even more convincing by allowing criminals to create realistic advertisements, impersonate financial professionals, and maintain seemingly legitimate conversations. Families should encourage older loved ones to independently verify investment opportunities and the credentials of anyone offering financial advice before sharing personal information or transferring money. A legitimate investment opportunity should never require someone to rush into a decision or provide sensitive account credentials to an unverified individual.
What Can Families Do Before Financial Exploitation Happens?
Preventing financial exploitation often begins with ordinary conversations long before anyone suspects a problem. Ask your parents how they handle online banking, whether they feel comfortable identifying suspicious messages, and whom they would call if something unusual appeared in an account.
Discuss whether their financial institutions offer transaction alerts or other fraud-monitoring features. Some families may find it helpful to review credit reports, establish account notifications, or explore options for involving a trusted contact if suspicious activity occurs.
Technology can also provide useful safeguards. Using unique passwords, enabling multifactor authentication, keeping devices updated, and avoiding unfamiliar links can make certain types of account compromise more difficult. Password managers may help older adults who struggle to maintain separate passwords for numerous accounts. However, the most important safeguard may be having someone they trust who can help them think through a questionable situation without making them feel incapable of managing their own affairs.
We frequently remind families that protecting an older adult's finances should not automatically mean taking away their independence. The goal is to provide appropriate support while respecting the person's ability to make decisions.
Does Your Parent Have a Financial Power of Attorney?
This is where cybersecurity and estate planning begin to overlap. Suppose your mother is hospitalized after a stroke. She cannot communicate clearly, and you discover unusual transactions in her bank account. You want to contact the bank, review the activity, and take appropriate steps to address the problem. Do you have the legal authority to act on her behalf? Being someone's adult child doesn't automatically give you the right to access their accounts or manage their finances. A properly prepared financial power of attorney can allow an individual to designate a trusted person to handle specified financial matters under the terms of the document. That authority can be especially important when someone becomes incapacitated or needs assistance managing financial responsibilities.
However, a power of attorney is also a serious grant of authority. The person selected may have access to significant financial information and, depending on the document, the ability to conduct important transactions. Choosing the right person matters.
Families should think carefully about trustworthiness, financial responsibility, communication, and the individual's willingness to act in the older adult's best interests. The document should also be prepared with the person's circumstances and goals in mind. It is worth discussing the scope of authority, when it becomes effective, and what safeguards may be appropriate.
What If Your Parent Can No Longer Recognize a Scam?
A diagnosis of dementia or another cognitive condition can introduce additional concerns about financial vulnerability. Someone who previously managed finances independently may begin struggling to recognize suspicious requests, remember transactions, or evaluate the consequences of financial decisions. Families sometimes notice these changes after a financial problem has already occurred.
This is one reason we encourage early conversations about estate planning and financial decision-making. If an older adult still has the necessary legal capacity, it may be possible to establish or update appropriate powers of attorney and other planning documents. Whether a person has capacity to execute a particular document is a legal and fact-specific question. A diagnosis alone does not necessarily resolve it.
If the person no longer has the required capacity and appropriate legal authority is not already in place, the family may need to consider other options, including guardianship through the court.
Guardianship can provide a legal framework for decision-making in appropriate circumstances, but it also involves court oversight and important considerations regarding the individual's rights. Addressing these questions before a crisis can give families more time to understand the options and discuss what arrangements are appropriate.
Your Estate Plan Should Consider Digital Assets, Too
Estate planning has changed considerably as more of our lives have moved online. Bank statements may be delivered electronically. Retirement accounts may be managed through mobile applications. Important financial records may exist only in email accounts or cloud storage. Families should think about how those accounts will be identified and managed if the account holder becomes incapacitated or dies. That doesn't mean sharing every password with family members. Instead, consider maintaining an organized inventory of important financial institutions, digital accounts, and relevant records in a secure location.
Appropriate estate planning documents may also address access to certain digital assets and electronic information, subject to applicable laws and account-provider requirements. An attorney can help families consider how financial powers of attorney, wills, trusts, and other planning documents fit into the broader picture. The objective is to reduce confusion and help the people who may eventually need to step in understand where to begin.
What Should You Do If You Suspect an Older Loved One Has Been Scammed?
Discovering that a parent has lost money to a scam can be upsetting. Families may feel angry, frightened, or frustrated, particularly when the financial loss is substantial. Try to focus first on stopping additional harm.
If money has been transferred or account information compromised, contact the financial institution immediately. Ask about freezing accounts, stopping transactions, recovering funds, replacing compromised credentials, and other available protective measures. Preserve relevant messages, emails, transaction records, phone numbers, and other information that may help document what happened.
Suspected fraud can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, or appropriate law enforcement authorities. Suspected abuse or exploitation of a vulnerable adult may also warrant contacting Indiana Adult Protective Services. Be especially cautious of anyone who later contacts the victim claiming they can recover the stolen money in exchange for an upfront fee. Recovery scams can target people who have already experienced financial losses.
If the situation involves misuse of a power of attorney, questionable property transfers, changes to estate planning documents, or concerns about an older person's decision-making capacity, speaking with an attorney may also be appropriate.
The available legal remedies depend on the circumstances, and recovering lost funds is not always possible. Acting promptly, however, can help families understand what options remain.
How Vick Law Can Help Protect Aging Loved Ones
At Vick Law, we regularly help families think through legal concerns that become more important as parents and loved ones grow older. Financial exploitation is one of those concerns.
While no estate plan can prevent every scam, thoughtful planning can help establish who has legal authority to act, how important decisions should be handled, and what arrangements may be appropriate if an older adult becomes unable to manage financial matters independently.
For some families, that begins with reviewing an existing financial power of attorney. For others, it may involve updating an estate plan, discussing the responsibilities of a trusted agent, considering the use of trusts, or exploring guardianship when an individual can no longer make certain decisions and less restrictive alternatives are insufficient.
We also help families consider how estate planning, elder law, and Medicaid planning fit together when a loved one is experiencing changes in health, cognitive ability, or long-term care needs.
These conversations are especially important before a crisis occurs.
A parent who is healthy and independent today may still benefit from having appropriate documents in place and discussing who should step in if circumstances change. We believe that planning should respect an older adult's independence while providing families with a clearer understanding of the legal tools available to help when needed.
If you are concerned about an aging parent's financial safety, or simply want to make sure appropriate legal planning is in place, contact Vick Law to discuss your family's circumstances.
Vick Law, P.C.
Estate Planning | Elder Law | Medicaid Planning
3209 W. Smith Valley Rd., Suite 113
Greenwood, IN 46142
(317) 884-3133
We serve families throughout Greenwood, Center Grove, Johnson County, and Southside Indianapolis.
Key Takeaways: Protecting Older Adults From Scams and Financial Exploitation
- AI is making scams harder to recognize. Fraudulent phone calls, emails, websites, and even familiar-sounding voices can be convincing. Verify unusual requests independently, especially when money is involved.
- Financial exploitation can involve strangers or trusted individuals. Watch for unexplained transactions, unusual financial changes, pressure from others, or attempts to isolate an older adult from family.
- Make online security part of everyday life. Unique passwords, multifactor authentication, updated devices, and account alerts can help reduce certain risks.
- Plan before a crisis. Financial powers of attorney and other estate planning documents may provide important legal authority when an older adult needs assistance or becomes incapacitated.
- Protect independence while providing support. Open conversations and appropriate safeguards can help families address risks without unnecessarily taking away an older person's ability to manage their affairs.
- Know where to turn if something happens. Contact financial institutions promptly, preserve records, report suspected fraud, and seek legal guidance when exploitation raises concerns about property, financial authority, or decision-making capacity.
References and Helpful Resources
Federal Trade Commission: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Official resource for reporting scams, fraud, and deceptive financial practices.
National Council on Aging (Dec 23, 2025) "Personal Cybersecurity Tips for Seniors: Protect Your Online Life"
This article is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship. Financial exploitation, incapacity, powers of attorney, and guardianship matters depend on the specific circumstances and applicable Indiana law.
