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Speed, Pressure, Fear: How Scams Targeting Seniors Really Work

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A couple of Saturdays ago, I got scammed. Not a friend of a friend. Not somebody’s great-aunt in another state. Me. A Realtor® for 17 years, a woman who reads the fine print for a living.

I was selling something on Facebook Marketplace, which I’ve done more times than I can count. The buyer paid through Zelle, said the payment was “pending,” and told me I just needed to call Zelle to release it. He sent the number. I called it. And down the rabbit hole I went.

I’m telling the whole, unvarnished story on my Substack this week. Here, I want to do what I do best with every client: lay out the facts, show you the pattern, and give you a plan. Because once you can see the playbook, it gets a lot harder for anyone to run it on you.

The Numbers Got Worse. A Lot Worse.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released its 2025 report this spring, and it is not light reading. Americans 60 and older filed 201,266 complaints and reported $7.75 billion in losses, a 59% jump from the year before, according to HousingWire’s coverage of the report. Complaints were up 37%, and the average loss for people in our age group was about $38,500 (EPCOR).

Then, just last week, the Federal Trade Commission sent its annual report to Congress. The FTC found that reported fraud losses for adults 60 and over grew roughly fivefold since 2020, from about $600 million to about $3 billion in 2025. Because most people never report, the agency estimates the real cost to older adults could be as high as $119.5 billion.

Here’s the part I want you to sit with. The same FTC report says older adults actually report losing money to fraud at lower rates than younger adults. So this is not about being gullible. It’s about the size of the hit. Six-figure losses made up only 6% of older adults’ loss reports in 2025, yet they accounted for 70% of the total dollars (Gizmodo). AARP’s Kathy Stokes put it plainly: seniors may simply have more assets at risk. Scammers go where the money is.

The Playbook Has Three Moves

Hands holding a smartphone with a payment app open while a message pushes for quick action

Move one: speed. My Marketplace scam has a name. It’s often called the “upgrade” scam, and the company that runs Zelle, Early Warning Services, has warned that the fake buyer convinces the seller to send money to “upgrade” an account so a pending payment can be released (News of Davidson). Here’s the kicker: there’s no such thing as upgrading a Zelle account, and Zelle won’t contact you about a Marketplace sale. The whole thing moves fast on purpose, so you never stop long enough to think.

Move two: the promise. Once you’ve sent something, they tell you the next step will get it all back. That is a scam with its own category. Seniors reported $540 million in losses to recovery scams in 2025 (HousingWire). For me, it felt like gambling. You know you’re losing, and you keep going because you want to make it right.

Move three: fear. When the promises stop working, out comes the badge. On day two, I got a text “from the FBI” saying I could be arrested. Government impersonation scams jumped 87% in 2025, per the FBI (Axios), and adults 60 and older lost $413 million across 8,628 of those complaints, more than half the national total (Hoodline). In September, the FBI warned that scammers are now using AI to appear as government officials on video calls (IBTimes). Remember this one: law enforcement does not text you demanding payment. Ever.

Why Smart People Fall for It

It isn’t intelligence. It’s adrenaline. When your heart is pounding, your thinking brain takes a coffee break, and the scammer is counting on it.

On my podcast, I talked with Dr. Keith Ludwick, a retired FBI Special Agent and founder of Stop Scamming Me, about exactly how these schemes work and why capable, accomplished people get caught. I recorded that conversation never imagining I’d need it myself. It’s worth a watch, and it’s an easy one to watch with Mom.

On the Camino, the yellow arrows never actually disappear. Sometimes they get buried under graffiti or hidden by a crowd. That’s what a scam does to the warning signs. Speed, pressure, and fear pile on top of them until you can’t see the arrow anymore.

Rules to Set Before the Phone Rings

Decisions made calm beat decisions made scared. Set these now, while nobody’s rushing you:

  • Look up the number yourself. Never call a number a buyer, a text, or an email hands you. Use the number on the back of your card or the official website.
  • Money is only real when it’s in your account. Meta advises sellers to check their own account and not trust payment screenshots (Underpriced). Emails and “pending” notices are not money.
  • Nobody legitimate makes you pay to get paid. No real payment app will ask you to send money in order to receive money (NordVPN).
  • Sell local, get cash. Meet in a public place, and consider a police station safe zone.
  • Make a family rule. No money moves because of a call, text, or email until you’ve talked to someone you trust.
  • Call your bank this week. Ask what alerts and protections they offer before you need them. My bank couldn’t help me, because I was the one who moved the money.
Adult daughter and her mother talking on a couch about how to spot and report scams

If It Happens, Say It Out Loud

Stop all contact. Call your bank on a number you look up yourself. Then report it to the FBI at ic3.gov, the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and your local police, which is what AARP recommends too. Speed matters on your side as well: in 2025, the FBI’s Recovery Asset Team froze $32.9 million of $65.4 million in elder fraud cases it worked through its Financial Fraud Kill Chain (HousingWire). No guarantees, but you can’t get lucky if you don’t report.

When I walked into the Coppell Police Department, the officer told me they get about eight reports like mine a week. Eight. In my little town. If it’s happening here that often, it’s happening on your street too.

And the shame? That’s the scammer’s last trick. The minute I started telling people, friend after friend said, “Robin, that happened to me too.” Filing those reports didn’t bring my money back, but it gave me back a little control. I’ll take it.

If you want the hour-by-hour plan I wish I’d had taped to my fridge that Saturday, plus how to handle it if it happens to your mom, it’s on my Substack this week.

And if you’re planning a move, selling a home, or helping a parent downsize, know this: big transactions attract big scams. Any time money is moving, call me on a number you already trust and verify before you send a dime. That’s what I’m here for.

Relax I Got This!

Robin McCoy

Realtor® | Senior Home Coach™

214.226.3770 | RelaxIGotThis.com | Robin@RelaxIGotThis.com

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