Your phone rings unexpectedly one afternoon. The voice you hear belongs to your grandson. He sounds shaken. He says he wrecked his car. He is in jail. He needs money before anyone else finds out.
The voice is his, down to the catch in it when he is upset. Except it is not your grandson, who is safe, living his life using a car that isn’t wrecked.
Scammers can now copy a voice from a few seconds of audio lifted from a social media video, then use artificial intelligence to make it say whatever they want.
The Federal Trade Commission has a blunt warning for families: do not trust the voice.
Scams that target older adults are a growth industry, and the craft behind them has changed faster in the past three years than in the previous thirty.
Experts recommend defenses that still work. They cost nothing. And they grow stronger when families and communities use them together.
Danielle Murphy of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office presented Senior Scams on Thursday, September 24th, at Willow Brook Run. She covered the newest schemes circulating in Ohio and took questions.
In 2025, Americans aged 60 and older filed over 201,000 fraud complaints with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. They reported $7.7 billion in losses, which was a 59 percent jump in a single year. The average reported loss topped $38,000. More than 12,400 older victims lost over $100,000 each.
Researchers believe the true totals run far higher, because embarrassment keeps many victims silent. Falling for a scam does not mean you are careless. These crimes succeed because trained criminals run them like a business, with scripts, quotas, and rehearsed answers for every objection.
The classic scam has run for decades. A caller claims to be a grandchild in trouble, begs for secrecy, and asks for money. The current version adds a disturbing upgrade: scammers harvest a short voice sample from an online video, feed it to a voice-cloning tool, and place a call that sounds like the real grandchild.
The FTC’s advice remains the same. Hang up. Call your grandchild or their parents on a number you know is theirs. If you cannot reach them, check with another family member before you do anything else.
The FBI recommends one more layer of protection: a family code word. Pick a private word or phrase no outsider could guess, share it only within the family, and agree that anyone calling with an emergency must give it. A caller who cannot produce the code word is likely a scammer, no matter how familiar the voice sounds.
Impostor scams. A caller claims to represent Social Security, Medicare, your bank, or a tech company. Or a pop-up warns that your computer is infected and gives you a number to call.
Every version ends the same way: pay now, or move your money to a “safe account.”
But government agencies do not call to demand payment. No legitimate bank asks you to move money to protect it. And companies that sell virus protection software don’t operate via pop-up messages on infected computers.
Romance scams. These begin with weeks or months of warm, attentive messages from someone you meet online. Money requests start small and grow. The person always has a reason they cannot meet in person or appear on video. Beware! Genuine love doesn’t come with demands for payment.
Sweepstakes and lottery scams. Congratulations, you have won a prize. To collect it, you must first pay taxes, fees, or shipping. A real prize never costs money to collect, and no one wins a lottery they never entered.
Slow down, hang up, and talk to someone you trust. Those three habits defeat almost every scheme on this page.
Move fast. Call your bank or card issuer immediately. A quick report can sometimes freeze or recover funds. Then report the crime to your local police. This builds your case and helps protect the next target. The resources below provide further guidance:
Scammers prefer isolated targets. People who live alone face more risk, with no partner or friend nearby to say, “That doesn’t sound right.”
Community life puts friends and professionals within reach when something feels off. At Willow Brook, you can ask a teammate, walk down the hall for advice, or bring it up with friends at dinner. Scams target people of every age, and you may learn that neighbors have faced the same scheme or almost fallen for one. A conversation like that can stop a scam before money changes hands. It also keeps you from carrying the worry by yourself.
Willow Brook Christian Communities is a not-for-profit senior living organization with three campuses in central Ohio, voted Best Retirement Facility in Delaware County year after year. To learn more or schedule a visit, contact us through willow-brook.org.
Sources and Reader Note
Fraud statistics come from the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report. Voice-cloning guidance comes from the Federal Trade Commission. Ohio resource contacts come from the Ohio Attorney General’s elder abuse resource pages. Scam tactics change often. When in doubt, slow down and verify who you are dealing with.
Willow Brook Christian Communities
100 Delaware Crossing W.
Delaware, Ohio 43015
Phone: 740-721-3382
55 Lazelle Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43235
Phone: 614-885-3300
100 Willow Brook Way S.
Delaware, Ohio 43015
Phone: 740-369-0048
100 Delaware Crossing W.
Delaware, Ohio 43015
Phone: 740-201-5640