As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, fraudsters are leveraging these tools to exploit one of the most vulnerable groups in our communities, older adults. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) data, there were $4.88 billion in losses from seniors in 2024. These numbers continue to trend upwards, and the rise of AI-driven elder fraud presents new risks to victims and financial institutions. AI-driven elder fraud involves scams that use artificial intelligence to make attacks against older adults more convincing, harder to detect and easier to carry out on a large scale. The increased threat requires both awareness and proactive mitigation by banks and credit unions to protect clients and maintain trust in their communities. The Evolving Tactics Behind Elder Financial Exploitation Historically, seniors have fallen victim to fraud schemes such as phishing, romance scams and complex investment schemes. Today’s fraudsters are taking scams to a new level by using generative AI tools — such as deepfakes and voice cloning — to impersonate loved ones and create compelling, urgent scenarios. A deepfake is a video, photo or audio recording that seems real but has been manipulated with AI. Perpetrators often extract voices from social media videos or manipulate photos to craft believable messages. These AI-powered deceptions can lead to hurried decisions by victims, resulting in panicked wire transfers, large cash withdrawals or the sharing of sensitive account credentials. In an example of an AI-enhanced grandparent scam, a fraudster might scan public social media profiles to learn a grandchild’s name, see that they are vacationing abroad and note that they call their grandparent “Nana.” Using a voice-cloning tool and this easily accessible personal information, the scammer can generate a frightened phone call from the “grandchild” claiming to be in legal trouble and urgently needing bail money. The voice’s Deepfakes: The Newest Threat AI-Driven ELDER FRAUD By TERRI LUTTRELL, CAMS‑Audit, CFCS, Compliance and Engagement Director, Abrigo NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT BANKER 11
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