Important Resources to Help Seniors Avoid Imposter Scams

An unfortunate reality today is the widespread existence of financial scams, including those related to Social Security, which can have a devastating impact on vulnerable seniors. But the Social Security Administration, in partnership with outside groups like AMAC, is taking action to protect seniors from fraud.

Statistics from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) show a 37 percent year-over-year increase in elder fraud in 2025, with adults aged 60 and older filing more than 200,000 complaints. Losses were staggering, exceeding $7.7 billion.

Although these figures are striking, a closer look at fraud types reveals an alarming trend: scams involving criminals impersonating government officials have surged, with both complaints and related financial losses nearly doubling last year. The Federal Trade Commission identifies government impostor scams as the leading source of fraudulent contact among adults over 80, with losses far exceeding those from investment fraud.

Government Imposter Fraud Being Aided by Technology

Fraudsters pretending to be government employees claiming your identity has been stolen or that there is another problem with your Social Security number, record, or benefits, continue to find new ways to steal your money and personal information. Cybercrime in general, and the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) in particular, are creating cutting-edge ways for the bad actors to make impersonation scams more convincing and harder to detect.

In fact, the FBI in its most recent IC3 annual report has for the first time separately categorized AI-related fraud complaints, noting that in 2025 losses totaling nearly $900 million resulted from AI-related fraud.

The FBI analysis cites a particularly invasive type of AI, known as generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI, that creates realistic messages and voices that mimic legitimate sources. Cloned voices can produce natural-sounding voicemail, texts, and email messages appearing credible and claiming to represent trusted agencies such as the Social Security Administration.

Modern scams have advanced to the point of evading many of the previous fraud signals, like obvious grammar mistakes, that served as warnings.

Social Security Administration (SSA) Targets Imposter Scams

Recognizing the growing threat, the Social Security Administration earlier this week issued an alert calling attention to its menu of key resources focused on scam detection and the issue of fraudulent impersonation of government officials.

As part of AMAC’s ongoing partnership with SSA, we are sharing these two resources intended to aid in recognizing and avoiding this type of scam:

SSA’s Scam Awareness Materials for Groups and Organizations webpage provides:

• Examples of reported scams
• Tips for recognizing fraudulent communications
• Steps to take if you have been targeted 
• Downloadable outreach materials for advocates and partners

My Social Security Accounts

A personal my Social Security account can also help seniors avoid scams by helping individuals:

• Safely access their personal Social Security information 
• Review their earnings record and benefit estimates
• Manage their benefits without relying on unsolicited contact
• Reduce their likelihood of engaging with fraudulent outreach or fake websites

By using an official my Social Security account, individuals gain a trusted, secure place to handle their information, making them less vulnerable to misinformation or impersonation attempts.

In partnership with SSA, AMAC encourages its members to rely on only official SSA channels before responding to unexpected calls, emails, or texts. The AMAC Foundation Social Security Advisory Service likewise encourages the use of my Social Security accounts and stands ready to assist callers in establishing these accounts.

Most importantly, AMAC encourages all suspicious communications to be reported to SSA officials so that nationwide monitoring of fraud and scam activities can be strengthened.