States Where Elder Fraud Is on the Rise in America [Data]

The internet has changed how people do just about everything, from shopping to entertainment. It has also changed how criminals find and fleece victims, with U.S. citizens potentially losing over $12.5 billion to cybercrime in 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Cybercrime complaints rose by 10% last year, with rates for some groups of victims rising even higher. Specifically, elder fraud increased by 14% in 2023, costing over $3.4 billion in losses for some of our most vulnerable citizens.

To learn which areas of the U.S. experience elderly people being targeted and victimized most often, the All About Cookies team looked at several years’ worth of data, analyzing how many seniors have fallen victim to elder fraud in each state over time and how much money they lost.

We determined the states where elder fraud is rising (and where cases are falling) the most across the country.

Key findings:

• Arizona, Utah, and Rhode Island are the leading states where elder fraud is on the rise.
• Reported cases of elder fraud have fallen the most in Maine, Vermont, and New Jersey.
• In 2023, the average amount of money stolen due to senior scams (Americans aged 60+) averaged $36,490 per case — a 3% increase over the previous year.

States where elder fraud is on the rise

In 2023, seven of the top 10 states with the highest increase in elder fraud cases were located west of the Mississippi River, in the Great Plains, and Western region of the U.S.

1. Arizona

Arizona is a retirement hot spot, as the state saw the number of seniors living in the state increase by more than 100,000 from 2022 to 2023. That represents a 4% increase in Arizona’s 60+ population, tied for the largest population growth among older Americans of any state.

More than 1.7 million seniors live in Arizona, a number that will increase if recent trends continue.

With the state’s rapidly growing senior population, elder fraud cases rose 36% last year, the highest increase in the country.

That’s even more notable because Arizona’s rate of 212 elder fraud complaints per 100,000 seniors was the fourth-highest in 2022, with the 36% increase pushing Arizona to the top spot in 2023, at 289 cases per 100,000 seniors.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 212
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 289
• Increase: 36%

2. Utah

Utah, located directly north of Arizona, is home to more than half a million seniors.

Although that number is less than a third of Arizona’s 60+ population, the state’s elder fraud cases increased at the second-highest rate in the country from 2022 to 2023.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 145
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 179
• Increase: 23%

3. Rhode Island

The smallest state (and the only one located in the Northeastern region of the country) is where elder fraud cases increased by the third-largest percentage.

Rhode Island’s 22% increase in elder fraud was just a percentage point behind second-place Utah.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 82
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 100
• Increase: 22%

4. Kansas

Kansas is the first of three states where elder fraud increased by 20%. Its increase is slightly higher than the next two states on the list.

Kansas is also one of only two states in the top 10 where there were fewer than 100 elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors. This sharp rise is partly because elder fraud was relatively rare in Kansas in 2022.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 72
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 87
• Increase: 20%

5. North Carolina

North Carolina has the ninth-most seniors, with more than 2.4 million people over the age of 60 calling the Tar Heel State home. That number represents 23% of the state’s entire population, meaning nearly a quarter of North Carolinians are potential victims for scammers who target the elderly.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 84
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 100
• Increase: 20%

6. Texas

More than 5 million people over the age of 60 live in Texas, the third-highest total of any state (behind California and Florida). It’s also the third state where elder fraud rose by 20% last year.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 110
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 132
• Increase: 20%

7. Washington

Washington, the first of two consecutive Pacific Northwest states, has seen its senior population increase by 8% since 2020, one of the 15 largest increases in the country.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 141
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 168
• Increase: 19%

8. Oregon

More than a million seniors call Oregon home, although that total is nearly 700,000 less than in Washington. However, both states saw elder fraud increase at the same rate last year — 19%.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 129
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 153
• Increase: 19%

9. Mississippi

Mississippi’s elder fraud rate also increased by 19% between 2022 and 2023, although the state’s rate of 64 elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023 was the lowest in the country.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 54
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 64
• Increase: 19%

10. Oklahoma

Geographically, Oklahoma is sandwiched between two other states in the top 10, as it borders number four (Kansas) to the north and number six (Texas) to the south. Oklahoma’s increase in elder fraud is similar to its neighbors, increasing 18% in 2023.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 92
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 109
• Increase: 18%

Elder fraud cases across the country

Elder fraud has become enough of a problem in recent years that the FBI began releasing an annual report dedicated to the crime in 2020. We wanted to learn how the number of cases and the amount of money victims have lost has changed over time.

Elder fraud reached a peak in 2020 for the number of complaints, with 105,301 seniors falling victim to scams. That number dropped to 92,371 in 2021 and 88,262 in 2022. That downward trend was reversed last year, however, as nationwide elder fraud complaints reached over 100,000 in 2023.

More concerning is the general upward trend in the amount of money scammers get from their elderly victims. In 2020, the average elder fraud case resulted in a little over $9,000 lost, but that number nearly doubled to over $18,000 in 2021 before increasing to more than $35,000 in 2022. Despite a small decline to just under $34,000 in 2023, that total is still almost four times higher than the average dollar amount lost in 2020.

States where elder fraud is decreasing

While elder fraud increased in the last year in general, as well as in more than half of the states, there are places where it actually declined last year.

1. Maine

The top three states where elder fraud complaints decreased the most are located in the Northeast region of the country, with Maine taking the top spot overall.

Elder fraud complaints dropped by 16% last year in Maine, only a few decimal points higher than nearby Vermont). This decrease is notable and encouraging when 29% of Maine’s population was over the age of 60, the highest rate of any state.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 118
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 99
• Decrease: 16%

2. Vermont

Vermont just missed out on the top spot, as elder fraud cases fell at a rate just decimal points behind that of Maine. Vermont’s 2023 elder fraud rate of 90 cases per 100,000 seniors was one of the three lowest on this list.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 107
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 90
• Decrease: 16%

3. New Jersey

New Jersey just missed out on matching Maine and Vermont, with elder fraud complaints decreasing by 15%.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 113
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 96
• Decrease: 15%

4. Wyoming

Wyoming is the final state where year-over-year elder fraud complaints decreased by more than 10% from 2022 to 2023.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 154
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 136
• Decrease: 12%

5. Alaska

Despite an 8% decrease in elder fraud complaints per capita from 2022 to 2023 (and a 52% decrease since 2020), Alaska had the fourth-highest rate of elder fraud complaints at 213 per 100,000 seniors.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 232
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 213
• Decrease: 8%

6. Nevada

Similarly to Alaska, Nevada’s ranking among the top 10 states where elder fraud decreased the most can largely be attributed to crime prevalence.

Even after decreasing by 8% in 2023, Nevada still had more than 260 cases per 100,000 seniors, second only to Arizona.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 287
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 264
• Decrease: 8%

7. Michigan

A third straight state where elder fraud declined by 8% last year, Michigan had the lowest rate of elder fraud of any state in the top 10 in 2023, just 85 cases per 100,000 people over the age of 60.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 92
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 85
• Decrease: 8%

8. Florida

Nearly 6 million seniors call Florida home, second only to California. That represents 28% of the Sunshine State’s population, one of the five highest rates in the country.

Taken together, those numbers make it seem Florida is a prime target for criminals to prey on the elderly, so the state’s 7% decrease in elder fraud is a welcome surprise.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 147
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 137
• Decrease: 7%

9. Washington, D.C.

The nation’s capital has fewer seniors than any other state, just over 117,000, which makes it easier for elder fraud rates to fluctuate from one year to the next.

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 168
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 158
• Decrease: 6%

10. Kentucky

Kentucky had the lowest rate of elder fraud in 2022 (91 complaints per 100,000 seniors) and the second-lowest rate in 2023 (86 complaints per 100,000 seniors).

• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2022: 91
• Elder fraud cases per 100,000 seniors in 2023: 86
• Decrease: 6%

A state-by-state breakdown of elder fraud cases in the U.S.

Below you can find the change in elder fraud complaints per state, ordered alphabetically.

State	Elder Fraud Complaints per 100K Seniors, 2022	Elder Fraud Complaints per 100K Seniors, 2023	% Change 2022-2023
Alabama	78	81	4%
Alaska	232	213	-8%
Arizona	212	289	36%
Arkansas	93	94	0%
California	145	142	-2%
Colorado	251	242	-4%
Connecticut	104	107	3%
Delaware	119	118	-1%
Florida	147	137	-7%
Georgia	95	97	2%
Hawaii	110	121	10%
Idaho	117	124	6%
Illinois	88	100	14%
Indiana	79	82	4%
Iowa	74	87	18%
Kansas	72	87	20%
Kentucky	91	86	-6%
Louisiana	71	71	0%
Maine	118	99	-16%
Maryland	128	142	12%
Massachusetts	102	97	-5%
Michigan	92	85	-8%
Minnesota	93	94	0%
Mississippi	54	64	19%
Missouri	104	102	-2%
Montana	105	124	18%
Nebraska	78	87	11%
Nevada	287	264	-8%
New Hampshire	105	111	5%
New Jersey	113	96	-15%
New Mexico	143	146	2%
New York	91	92	1%
North Carolina	84	100	20%
North Dakota	66	75	13%
Ohio	111	115	4%
Oklahoma	92	109	18%
Oregon	129	153	19%
Pennsylvania	89	90	2%
Rhode Island	82	100	22%
South Carolina	106	116	9%
South Dakota	161	172	7%
Tennessee	93	98	5%
Texas	110	132	20%
Utah	145	179	23%
Vermont	107	90	-16%
Virginia	131	129	-2%
Washington	141	168	19%
Washington, D.C.	168	158	-6%
West Virginia	69	78	12%
Wisconsin	73	77	5%
Wyoming	154	136	-12%

Top internet safety tips for seniors

Older generations aren’t strangers to online shopping and mobile banking. Here are some easy ways for this community to maintain a secure digital footprint.

• Signing up for identity theft protection is a primary step. These institutions send out immediate alerts when there’s suspicious financial activity or a fraudulent purchase has been made.
• Older adults can enhance their browsing experience with a password manager. Creating secure login credentials and knowing where to safely store them is key.
• Understand the privacy and security settings surrounding social networking accounts. We strongly encourage adults of all ages to stay up to date on social media safety guidelines.

Methodology

All About Cookies examined data from the FBI’s 2022 and 2023 IC3 Elder Fraud Reports to find the reported number of elder fraud complaints in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

We then used U.S. Census Bureau data to find the number of older adults (aged 60+) living in each state to calculate the rate of elder fraud per 100,000 seniors.

Finally, we calculated year-over-year change to determine the states with the largest increases and decreases in elder fraud in 2023.