Jan 3, 2026
As people age, sometimes, their judgment can get clouded. With the rise of financial scams targeting the elderly, this can be even more worrisome. If you have a parent in this kind of situation, it may be time to intervene.
A Reddit user recently took to the platform after learning about a few disturbing aspects of his 80-year-old mother's finances. For one thing, she was behind on her bills, including a $28,000 mortgage on a home that was previously paid off. The mortgage company said she was 10 months behind on payments and on the cusp of foreclosure.
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Just as unsettling, the poster learned that their mother purchased more than $50,000 in Apple gift cards from various stores that she was giving to her “boyfriend” to supposedly convert to Bitcoin. She was also in talks to sell her house to a company that buys homes as-is — which often means getting a lowball offer.
Once confronted, the mother told the poster that her boyfriend was Elon Musk, and that she was sending him all of those gift cards because the government froze his assets. The poster tried to explain to their mother that she'd been scammed, but she didn't seem to understand.
If you have an elderly family member, it's important to take steps to ensure that they don't fall into a similar trap — and know what to do when they stop making sound financial decisions.
Deepfake scams are on the rise
As AI evolves, criminals are increasingly able to use it to defraud other people by creating recordings or videos where people appear to be saying certain things or taking certain actions.
A criminal may have created videos or recordings of Musk using the mother’s name specifically and engaging in conversation that was all fraudulent. But it’s easy to see why communication like that might seem real, especially for an older person who may not be as aware of these scams as someone who grew up using the internet.
Scams like these are known as deepfakes, and they're on the rise. During the first half of 2025 alone, victims lost $410 million to deepfake scams, according to Surfshark. In 2024, deepfakes cost victims $359 million (1).
Unfortunately, older people may be more likely to be targets of deepfake scams. In 2023, people over the age of 60 lost more than $3.4 billion to cyber scams, according to FBI Los Angeles (2). And there was a 14% increase in complaints filed with the Internet Crime Complaint Center among older victims compared to the year prior.
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It’s one thing to fall victim to a deepfake scam and lose some money because of it. But it’s another thing to be making poor financial decisions across the board. If that’s happening to a loved one of yours, it’s important to take action.
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How to protect loved ones from financial scams
If you're worried about a loved one of yours falling victim to an online scam, it's important to educate them on what to look out for.
First, encourage your loved one to never send personal financial details in response to a random call, text, or email. All a criminal needs is their Social Security number to steal their identity.
Next, educate them on fraud and deepfake scams. Videos or communication that are a scam may be glitchy, out of sync (meaning the speaker's lips may not be moving in sync with their voice), or feature a voice that might sound unnaturally monotonous.
It's also important to stress to loved ones that famous people are unlikely to be entering into a relationship with them or asking for money or help.
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The problem, of course, is that sometimes, people can be lured in by random folks on the internet claiming to want a relationship. Being asked to send money, especially in the form of gift cards, is almost always a red flag.
As for the poster above, their mother may not be totally out of luck. The FTC says that if you've been scammed and report it to the company whose gift cards you bought, you may be able to get your money back if you have a detailed record of the purchases.
But generally speaking, whether you’re able to get your money back or not depends on how quickly you take action, as well as the specific circumstances of your situation. Either way, it’s important to report the fraud to the FTC so that it can investigate and try to prevent it from happening again.
When to take legal action
When an elderly loved one of yours isn't making sound financial decisions and also resists your help, you may need to take certain legal steps to protect them.
According to the Elder Care Alliance, a power of attorney is a good way to gain control of an aging loved one's finances when they're no longer capable of managing their money themselves (3).
But you can’t force a loved one into giving you their power of attorney. They have to voluntarily agree to it and be of sound mind when they do.
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It may also be a good idea to call the Adult Protective Services (APS) if you feel a loved one is being exploited or abused in some way. That said, APS operates differently in each state, and the criteria to get help can differ depending on where you are (4).
You can also talk to an attorney about becoming a loved one's guardian. This is a legal arrangement where you're able to make decisions on a loved one's behalf because a court has deemed them to be incapable of making their own sound decisions.
Unlike a power of attorney, guardianship is typically considered a last resort because a court has to oversee the process and approve the appointment.
If you have a loved one who’s making poor financial decisions such as in the situation above, you may want to talk to an elder law attorney to review the details of your situation. They should be able to advise you on the best steps to take.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Surfshark (1); FBI (2); Elder Care Alliance (3); Congress.gov (4).
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Maurie Backman has been writing professionally for well over a decade. Since becoming a full-time writer, she's produced thousands of articles on topics ranging from Social Security to investing to real estate.
