Help an older relative stay ahead of AI phone scams

Phone scams cost older adults far more per case than scams that start on social media. In 2025, older adults' median reported loss was $3,000 when a fraud began with a phone call, against $599 when it began on social media, and people 80 and over lost more by phone than by any other route.¹ Voice cloning makes the 'grandchild in trouble' call more convincing, so the aim is a few defaults that still work when the voice sounds exactly right.³

1. 1

   Step 1: Start with a conversation, not a lecture

   Pick a relaxed moment and frame it as something the whole family is doing, you included. You might say: 'I read that scammers can copy anyone's voice now, even mine, so can we set up a way to always know it's really us?' Then ask what calls and texts they've been getting and listen; FTC data show older adults report scams they spotted and avoided at higher rates than younger people.¹

   How you know it worked

   They've agreed to set things up together, and they know they can call you about any odd call without feeling embarrassed.

2. 2

   Step 2: Agree on the family rules

   Set a family safe word and the hang-up-and-call-back rule together, using our safe word guide. Add one more rule: nobody in the family will ever ask for money by gift card, wire, crypto, or cash handed to a courier, so a request like that means scam. The FTC says gift cards were the payment older adults reported most often in scams impersonating family and friends.¹

   How you know it worked

   They can say the three rules back: ask for the word, call back on a saved number, and never pay by gift card, wire, crypto, or courier.

3. 3

   Step 3: Save the numbers that matter

   Before turning on any screening, make sure the people and places they need to hear from are saved as contacts: family, doctors, pharmacy, home care, and the bank's fraud line. On iPhone, saved contacts always ring through, and Pixel's Call Screen also relies on contacts to decide who gets screened.⁴⁵

   How you know it worked

   You've scrolled their contacts together and found the doctor's office, pharmacy, and bank.

4. 4

   Step 4: On an iPhone, screen unknown callers

   Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers. 'Ask Reason for Calling' makes unknown callers say why they're calling before the phone rings, and 'Silence' sends them straight to voicemail.⁴ Choose together; many people prefer 'Ask Reason for Calling' so a new doctor's office can still get through.

   How you know it worked

   Call their iPhone from a number they haven't saved and confirm it's screened or silenced.

5. 5

   Step 5: On an Android phone, turn on Call Screen and scam alerts

   On a Pixel (Pixel 7 and newer; older Pixels use Unknown call settings), open the Phone app and go to More > Settings > Spam and Call Screen > Call Screen, then turn on automatic screening for spam, possibly faked numbers, and first-time callers.⁵ Next, go to More > Settings > Scam Detection; it's off by default, runs on the phone itself, and on Pixel 6 and later in the US it warns during a call that looks like a scam.⁶ Other Android phones have similar options in the Phone app's settings, so check the maker's help pages.

   How you know it worked

   The Phone app's settings show Call Screen and Scam Detection switched on.

6. 6

   Step 6: Switch on the carrier's free spam blocking

   AT&T's free ActiveArmor service blocks likely fraud calls automatically, and you can choose what happens to spam under Calls > Call Routing in the ActiveArmor app.⁷⁸ Verizon includes Call Filter free on standard monthly and prepaid plans with a compatible phone, managed in the Verizon Protect app.⁹ T-Mobile's ScamShield runs on its network at no extra cost, with an optional Scam Block setting in the T-Life app; the paid upgrades from all three aren't needed for basic blocking.¹⁰

   How you know it worked

   The carrier's app shows fraud or spam blocking turned on for their line.

7. 7

   Step 7: Set up bank alerts together

   Sit down with their bank's app or website and turn on alerts for large withdrawals, wire transfers, new payees, and changes to the password, phone number, or email on file. The alerts go to them, so they see unusual activity first. Write down the bank's fraud number from the back of their card.

   How you know it worked

   The bank's alert settings page shows each alert switched on, and the fraud number is written down.

8. 8

   Step 8: Ask about a trusted contact at the bank and brokerage

   Some banks and credit unions let customers name a trusted contact that staff can call if they suspect fraud or can't reach the account holder, and brokerages must make reasonable efforts to ask for one.¹¹¹² A trusted contact can't see balances, move money, or make decisions about the account.¹² Your relative chooses who it is, and it doesn't have to be you.

   How you know it worked

   The bank or brokerage confirms a trusted contact is on file, or tells you it doesn't offer one.

9. 9

   Step 9: Put a 'when a call feels wrong' card by the phone

   Write a short card for near the phone or in a wallet: 'If a call feels wrong, hang up and call me,' with your number and the bank's fraud line. Add the National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311), and the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline, 877-908-3360.¹³¹⁴ Never write the safe word on it.

   How you know it worked

   The card is somewhere they'll see it during a call, and it doesn't include the safe word.

10. 10

    Step 10: If money moved, call the bank first

    Call the bank's fraud line right away, say the payment was fraud, ask for a recall of any transfer, and ask the bank to send the receiving bank a hold harmless letter (the paperwork that lets that bank return the money).¹⁵ In 2025 the FBI's recovery team acted on 642 cases involving people 60 and older and helped freeze about $32.9 million of the $65.4 million reported lost.² If they sent money through a wire service such as Western Union or MoneyGram, call its fraud line too.¹⁶

    How you know it worked

    You have a case or reference number from the bank.

11. 11

    Step 11: Report it, and lead with kindness

    File at ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov; you can file on their behalf, and the FTC says about 17% of reports for people 80 and over are filed by someone else.¹⁵¹ The Elder Fraud Hotline can assign a case manager to help with reports, and if ID numbers were shared, contact the credit bureaus and use identitytheft.gov.¹³¹⁵ Skip the 'how could you'; these scripts are designed to rush anyone, and a calm reaction makes it more likely they'll call you first next time.

    How you know it worked

    You have a complaint confirmation from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and an FTC report number, and your relative knows you're not angry.

12. 12

    Step 12: Watch for the second scam

    People who just lost money are targeted again by fake law firms and 'recovery agents' who claim government ties and know details of the original loss.¹⁷ Government agencies don't charge fees to recover money, and no legitimate helper can promise to get it back.¹⁸ Agree that any offer to get the money back gets a call to you before anything else.

    How you know it worked

    Your relative knows that a call promising to recover the money is a red flag, not good news.

• Screening and carrier blocking cut down scam calls but don't catch them all. Google says Scam Detection can't detect every scam call, and carriers warn their blocking can stop calls you want.⁶¹⁰
• We don't know yet how much call screening reduces losses. We found no independent study that measures it.
• Phone settings cover one door. For older adults overall, the largest total losses start on social media, and scams also arrive by text, email, and at the front door.¹
• A trusted contact gives you no access or control, and not every bank or credit union offers one.
• This guide assumes your relative makes their own decisions. If memory or judgment is changing, talk with their doctor and an attorney about options such as a power of attorney, which is a separate decision with its own trade-offs.
• Your relative may say no to some of this. It's their phone and their money, so agree on what they're comfortable with and revisit it later.

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