Steps to protect elderly Americans from being targeted by thieves

After retiring as the executive director from the Valley Caregiver Resource Center, Michelle DiBuduo received messages and calls congratulating her on her new crypto business.

That's when she knew something wasn't right, so she went to her Facebook page.

"There was a post that wasn't from me asking people to use one word to identify how they knew me," DiBuduo said.

The Facebook post said "after months of endless studying and training, she was now a certified "Expert Crypto Trader," and it even included pictures of certificates.

She responded to the post saying it was fake, and whoever hacked her account was removing her comments immediately.

It took awhile before the post was taken down, but she still worries about those who may may have fallen for the fake post.

"I don't know how many people responded to the Facebook ad, responded to those people, those hackers, and gave them money," she said.

From January 2022 to February 2025, the California Department of Social Services received more than 190,000 reports of alleged financial abuse.

"It's been prevalent, and it's been an uptick, mostly in California, specifically here in Fresno and Madera, the areas we serve at the Agency on Aging," said Hillaree Bennett, Fresno-Madera area Agency on Aging.

Experts fear there are more cases that go unreported.

"And that's because victims, whether they are older adults or individuals in general, feel embarrassed about becoming a victim of a fraud or scam or losing a lot of money," said Kue Lee, California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation.

Lee says older adults tend to be more trusting, and with technology evolving and artificial intelligence developments, scams are becoming more complex.

There are steps we can take to protect our older adults: "Do not answer, do not reply back to any phone calls or text messages or emails that you might receive from individuals you don't know. The next layer of protection is to do your own research, check credentials," Lee said.

It's important for people to report these frauds and scams to the authorities.