Oklahoma’s elderly has lost more than $19M to fraud, research says

Story by Caroline Sellers

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma’s elderly lost millions of dollars to fraud in 2022, according to research.

Cybersecurity experts at VPNPro studied data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Trade Commission to see how many people fell victim to fraud in 2022. The data was studied based on how many victims were 60 years or older as part of each state’s elderly population.

Officials say Oklahoma had a total of 790 elderly fraud victims, averaging 87.3 victims per 100,000 elderly residents. For this age group, the state reported a loss of $19,455,718, which comes out to $24,627 lost per victim.

According to VPNPro, the scam that cost elderly victims the most money were investment scams with a loss of $404 million in 2022. The second was business fraud with $271 million lost and the third were romance scams with a loss of $240 million.

Those 60 and older are more likely to be scammed online than any other method. Older fraud victims lost a total of $564 million online compared to text, which was $90 million.

Ways elderly residents can fall victim to fraud:

• Online shopping
• Business imposters
• Tech support scam
• Government imposters
• Investment scams
• Prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries
• Romance scams
• Family and friendly imposters
• Fake check scams
• Vacation and travel

“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. It can also inform targeted interventions and resource allocation to mitigate the impact of fraud and protect vulnerable individuals.” said Sarunas Karbauskas, Technical Writer at VPNPro. “Examining which states have lost the most due to elderly fraud can shed light on the economic impact of such activities and potentially reveal areas where financial education and support are lacking.” 

Full Article & Source:
Oklahoma’s elderly has lost more than $19M to fraud, research says