Grandparent Scams: Protecting Elderly Family Members

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The grandparent scam is one of the cruelest forms of fraud, exploiting the love grandparents have for their grandchildren. The scammer calls an elderly person, pretends to be their grandchild in distress, and urgently requests money. The FBI reports that seniors lost over $3.4 billion to fraud in 2023, with grandparent and family impersonation scams among the most common types. Individual losses frequently exceed $10,000, with some victims losing their entire savings.

How the Scam Works

The call comes, often late at night when the victim is groggy and less alert. A voice says “Grandma?” or “Grandpa?” The grandparent naturally responds with a grandchild’s name (“Is that you, Michael?”), immediately giving the scammer the name to use. The “grandchild” explains they are in urgent trouble: arrested for DUI, involved in a car accident, stranded in a foreign country, or hospitalized.

The scammer may hand the phone to an accomplice posing as a lawyer, police officer, or bail bondsman who explains that money is needed immediately for bail, medical bills, or legal fees. The critical element is the secrecy request: “Please don’t tell Mom and Dad, they’ll be furious.” This prevents the victim from calling family members who would immediately identify the fraud.

Payment is requested via wire transfer, gift cards (the victim is instructed to read the card numbers over the phone), or cash. In a particularly brazen variant, a “courier” (an accomplice) is sent to the victim’s home to collect cash.

AI voice cloning has dramatically escalated this scam. Using publicly available audio from social media videos, voicemails, or TikTok clips, scammers can clone a grandchild’s voice with just a few seconds of sample audio. The 2023 case of a Canadian couple who nearly lost $21,000 after hearing their grandson’s cloned voice crying for help demonstrated this technology’s potential.

Prevention Strategies

Establish a family code word. Create a secret word or phrase that family members can use to verify identity in emergencies. Change it periodically. If the caller cannot provide the code word, hang up.

Verify independently. Hang up and call the grandchild directly at their known phone number. Call their parents. Do not use any phone number provided by the caller.

Discuss the scam with elderly family members. Awareness is the strongest defense. Explain how the scam works, including the secrecy request and emotional manipulation. Rehearse the response: hang up and verify.

Be cautious with social media. The more information available about family relationships, names, locations, and voices online, the more convincing the scam can be. Review privacy settings on family members’ social media accounts.

Do not confirm names. If a caller asks “Is this Grandma?”, do not respond with a grandchild’s name. Ask “Who is this?” and make the caller identify themselves.

For more on how AI deepfakes enable impersonation scams, see our deepfake phishing guide. To understand the broader social engineering principles at work, explore our social engineering defense guide.

Community Awareness Programs

Senior centers, retirement communities, and places of worship can host awareness sessions about grandparent scams and other elder fraud. The AARP Fraud Watch Network provides free educational materials and speakers. Local law enforcement often has community outreach officers who present on elder fraud prevention.

Creating a community of awareness is more effective than individual protection because it establishes social norms around verifying unexpected requests. When multiple community members know about the scam, they can support each other in recognizing and resisting it. The secrecy the scammer demands becomes harder to maintain when the community is educated about the tactic.

Building Resilience Through Practice

Role-play the scenario with elderly family members so they have practiced the correct response before a real call comes. Having them actually say “I need to hang up and verify” aloud creates muscle memory that activates under the stress of a real scam call. Repeat the practice quarterly, as the emotional impact of a convincing caller can override intellectual knowledge of the scam.