Unlocking Opportunities: How Startups Can Combat Scams Targeting Older Adults
Did you know scams targeting older adults cost billions of dollars annually in the U.S. alone? While anyone can fall victim to these schemes, older adults are often targeted due to their perceived financial resources and lower digital literacy. In this article, we’ll explore the opportunities for startups to develop tech solutions that protect this vulnerable demographic from scams and fraud.
Scams targeting older adults are on the rise. In 2023, a total of $3.4 billion losses were reported to the FBI, and elder fraud complaints increased by 14% from the year prior. These scams range from phishing and identity theft to tech support scams, romance scams, and even a new type that uses deep fake—grandparent scams. To give you a sense of how creative scammers are, AARP has a 17-season podcast called “The Perfect Scam,” where they discuss real-life stories of people impacted by various scams. These fraudulent activities can have devastating financial and emotional impacts on victims.
Several startups have already launched solutions aimed at protecting older adults from different types of scams. Here are a few notable examples:
- teleCalm: This service protects landline phones by evaluating each call and only allowing incoming calls from trusted contacts. This helps prevent phone scams, which are a common way scammers reach older adults.
- Genie: This app blocks scammers and spammers who call your smartphone, offering an additional layer of protection for mobile users.
- CatchAI: CatchAI scans your email and removes/ blacklists emails from suspected scammers, reducing the risk of phishing attacks.
- Carefull: This platform monitors bank accounts for suspicious activity, helping to protect older adults’ finances from fraud.
While these solutions are a great start, there’s still so much potential for new innovations. Here are some areas where startups can make a significant impact:
- Preventing Fake Search Results: Scammers often create fake search results that lead to fraudulent customer service numbers. Developing tech to detect and prevent these could protect many unsuspecting users.
- Stopping SIM Swapping Scams: SIM swapping is a technique where scammers transfer your phone number to their device, intercepting all your incoming communications. Solutions to prevent this could be invaluable.
- Combating Identity Theft: Identity theft can escalate to severe consequences, including property theft. Startups can develop technologies to detect and prevent identity theft more effectively.
- Addressing Romance Scams: Scammers exploit emotional connections in romance scams to defraud victims. Advanced AI and machine learning can help identify and prevent these fraudulent activities on dating platforms.
With technology advancing at an ever-growing speed, scammers are becoming more sophisticated in their methods. It’s almost an arms race between technology used to scam people and technology used to protect them. Tech to detect and prevent these types of scams can be used by big search engines like Google, telecom companies, dating websites and apps, and even the government.
The fight against scams targeting older adults presents a significant opportunity for startups to innovate and make a meaningful impact. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for your next opportunity, consider developing solutions to combat these scams.
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