AI technology is helping scammers create highly convincing impersonation scams, including using the likeness of celebrities or loved ones.
Teaching your parents or grandparents about these scams before they fall victim is the best way to protect them.
If a parent is currently a victim and unwilling to listen to reason, look for gentle approaches that acknowledge their needs and ways to help them understand they are being scammed.
Back when the internet was still new, and AI was still just a thing in sci-fi movies, parents were always telling us not to talk to strangers. Fast forward to now, and it turns out many of us are having to tell our parents the same thing. The biggest difference, however, is the technology that can now help criminals take their scams to the next level. In fact, according to a recent announcement by the FTC, imposter scams were the most commonly reported fraud in 2025 — with victims losing a whopping $3.5 billion to the scam last year alone.
Even if your parents are tech-savvy, helping them spot the telltale signs of scams designed to trick the elderly (maybe don’t say the word “elderly” to your parents, though) can save them from some serious financial problems.
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Teach Your Parents About Impersonation Scams Before It’s Too Late
While many scams targeting older people seem blatantly obvious to people who grew up around technology, scammers still find victims to swindle. Lately, one of the most successful scams is impersonation scams targeting the elderly.
What is an Impersonation Scam?
Just a few years back, impersonation scams were mostly people pretending to be tech support or customer service from some big-name company. While those scams are still unfortunately alive and well, scammers now also have generative AI tools (like voice changers) that can convincingly make them seem like anyone. Still, the fundamentals of impersonation scams remain unchanged: scammers pretending to be someone they’re not in order to trick victims into giving up sensitive private information.
How Technology is Making it Trickier Than Ever
It’s no secret that AI is all the current rage. While most people are using it to help come up with workout routines or recipes, scammers are using it to trick people. With AI, scammers are able to impersonate anyone by using AI-powered voice changers and creating AI-generated pictures and videos, making it seem like you really are interacting with that person.
Unfortunately, the result is that seeing no longer validates believing, and the older generations are struggling.
Common Impersonation Scams to Watch Out For
The biggest step in helping keep your parents from becoming scam victims is teaching them what to look out for, because informing them before a scam gets started is going to be a whole lot easier than convincing them their newfound friendship with “Eminem” isn’t real.
Business impersonation scams: The classic version of an impersonation scam, scammers call pretending to be a customer service or tech support agent from a popular company, a bank, or a government official, alerting you to some (made-up) problem. They use this premise to then trick victims into divulging information they can use for financial gain. The FTC reports that victims lost nearly $1 billion to this flavor of impersonation scam last year.
Government impersonation scams: These scams work the same way as business impersonation scams, but instead of the fraudsters pretending to be from Bank of America, they pretend to be government agents, most often posing as IRS, DOJ, and other law enforcement officials. Typically, they’ll alert victims that they’ve somehow broken the law (by missing a tax payment, skipping jury duty, or some other made-up crime), and that they need to pay a fine to make their arrest warrants go away. This particularly alarming type of fraud fleeced victims of over $900 million last year alone, according to the FTC.
Romance scams: People are willing to look past red flags when they’re lonely, making romance scams a goldmine for scammers targeting the elderly. This scam involves scammers pretending to be potential romantic partners (or just friends) in order to trick victims into sending them money, gifts, or sensitive information.
Celebrity impersonation scams: The latest impersonation scam being boosted by AI tools, scammers are able to convince victims that they are a celebrity, and then create scenarios in which victims send them money that they promise to pay back. These celebrity impersonation scams also regularly cross over into the romance-scam genre.
Family/friend impersonation scams: This one isn’t super prevalent (yet), but there have been some instances where scammers are able to use AI to copy the voice of a loved one, pretending to be in distress in order to get a parent or grandparent to send money.
Why Impersonation Scams are Common in Elder Fraud
Romance scams (or non-romance scams that aim to mimic platonic friendships) take advantage of our desire for connection. It just so happens that as people get older, they also tend to deal with feeling lonely or isolated. Mix in convincing new technology, and it’s easy to see how these scams find success.
Desire for connection or attention: Even if it isn’t always logical, the idea that someone (especially someone famous) wants to connect and interact with them can make them feel wanted or appreciated. This also means they might be willing to look past the obvious to feel like their needs are being met.
Lack of awareness or understanding of technology: If you’ve been on the internet at all in recent years, there’s a good chance you’ve been tricked by AI content (even if just for a moment). Now, imagine being of an age where the precursors of that technology didn’t exist until way later in your life. It makes sense why elderly folks are having a hard time distinguishing phony from real, and it’s sadly costing them money.
How to Convince Your Parent They're Being Scammed
A semi-shocking phenomenon is that elderly people can be quite steadfast in their denial that they are being scammed. If you are running into this problem where logic isn’t winning, here are some approaches that might help:
Try to understand why they are resistant to listening, rather than trying to prove to them they are wrong.
Present middle ground, like agreeing not to send money or sensitive information.
Ask if there is anything that might make them doubt the situation, and if they are open to double-checking for their safety.
Use a people search tool like Spokeo to show them that the information they have doesn’t line up with what they are being told.
Let them know this type of scam is normal and that they haven’t done anything wrong.
FAQs
How Are Scammers Using AI?
Scammers are using AI tools like voice changers, generated images, and generated videos to impersonate celebrities, models, and loved ones in order to trick victims into giving up money or sensitive information.
How can I protect my parents from impersonation scams?
First and foremost, make sure to teach them about common scams. If needed, take steps to secure their finances by having extra alerts and protections added to their bank accounts and credit.
How can I find out who’s trying to scam my parents?
If you have the phone number of the person that’s talking to your parents, try running it through a people search tool like Spokeo.
Cyrus Grant is a writer from Southern California with a background in law and dispute resolution. When he isn’t writing, he can be found deep-diving into the latest technology trends or simply spending time at the beach.
