They warn that AI can increase fraud against older adults in the US.

The growing numbers of scams or cases of financial abuse against older adults in the United States may increase further with the emergence of Artificial intelligence (IA), experts told EFE, who redoubled their recommendations to not be ashamed to report.

In World Elder Abuse Awareness Month, celebrated every June, the bank Chase warned that through AI, fraudsters could, among other things, accurately reproduce voices of relatives, and this could trigger cases of fraud against this population.

According to the most recent FBI report on fraud in general, in 2023 reports of attempted scams on people over 60 years of age increased by 14% in the United States, while losses increased by 11% compared to the previous year.

Losses due to scams and exploitation of older adults in this country reach US$28.3 billion each year, according to a report by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) that reveals that in 70% of cases Scammers are close relatives, friends or caregivers.

Few complaints

Another fact that draws attention to the organizations that fight against this problem is that 87.5% of those who have been deceived by family members or people they know never report the fact to the authorities, while on the contrary, if it is strangers are not reported in only a third of cases.

“You should never feel ashamed, a scam can happen to anyone. The worst thing you can do is stay silent.“Maribel Ferrer, spokesperson for Chase Bank, tells EFE, who emphasizes that discussing suspicions of a scam with a family member in time can allow action to be taken before it is too late.

As reflected in the latest report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the highest number of scams targeting people over 60 have to do with false technical support, followed by theft of personal data. and those related to “trust and romance scams”.

The executive highlights the importance of prevention education, which involves basic measures such as ignoring calls from unknown numbers, deleting text messages from senders we do not know, and deleting and ignoring emails or physical emails that are unknown.

Experts highlight that writing checks, a deep-rooted habit among older adults, should be eliminated or reduced and that all possible monthly payments should be automated to eliminate the sense of urgency of paying for basic services.

Experts highlight that writing checks should be eliminated or reduced; a deep-rooted habit among older adults is to automate all possible monthly payments to eliminate the sense of urgency of paying for basic services.

AI, the new tool of scammers

“Older adults sometimes still have the values ​​that the phone is always answered“Adds the executive, who thus alludes to another way of accessing strangers, as well as new forms of deception protected by AI.

The message is always to be alert and not be afraid to delete or eliminate unknown numbers, but also to be attentive to alleged emergency calls made by a family member, because it is probably a false call made with AI.

“One piece of advice we give to consumers is to set a password that only you and your family know.“said Ferrer, who added that it is equally important to remain calm.

Don’t be afraid to hang up. If the urgency is real, the loved one will call again, Ferrer says. Once the deception is discovered, another important step is to make the report, both to the bank and even to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which also offers a lot of information.