A different kind of phishing is hitting inboxes and phones every day. The old advice, “look for the typo,” no longer works…
For years, the standard advice for spotting scams targeting older adults was the same: look for the typo. A misspelled bank name. A clumsy greeting. A grammatical mistake no real business would make. If a message looked sloppy, you knew to delete it.
That advice is now obsolete.
Generative artificial intelligence has rewritten the rules of online fraud, turning what used to be crude bulk emails into polished, personalized messages that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
The text you received about a missed package. The voicemail in your daughter’s voice asking for help. The email from “your” bank confirming a transaction you did not make. All of it has gotten dramatically more convincing in the past eighteen months.
And adults over sixty are bearing the brunt…
According to the FBI’s most recent Elder Fraud Report, Americans aged sixty and older reported $3.4 billion in losses to internet-enabled scams in a single year.
That figure has climbed for five consecutive years and reflects victims in every state. Investigators say the real number is almost certainly higher, because many older victims never report the loss, either out of embarrassment or because they do not realize what happened until weeks later.
Why Filters Cannot Save You Anymore
The technology that once protected you, including spam filters, junk folders, and robocall blockers, is now in a race it is increasingly losing. AI-generated messages slip past pattern-matching filters because they do not repeat patterns. Each one is generated fresh.
A romance scam, a fake IRS call, and a “your account has been compromised” text. These can now be tailored to your name, your bank, your zip code, even details lifted from your own social media or a relative’s obituary. It seems like scams targeting older adults are everywhere!
“Marry the personal information of the target with the actual voice of the target’s grandchild, thanks to AI voice cloning, and it’s like the industrial revolution for criminals.” – Kathy Stokes, Director of Fraud Prevention Programs, AARP
That was the warning AARP fraud-prevention director Kathy Stokes delivered to officials at the White House, after describing the case of a grandmother who lost forty-five thousand dollars to a caller using an AI-cloned version of her grandson’s voice.
The FBI, in its own public alert, has acknowledged that AI-generated content has advanced to the point that it is often difficult to identify. The bureau has urged the public to stop assuming a familiar voice on the line is who it claims to be.
The Fix is Not a Filter. It Is a Habit.
If you cannot out-tech the scammers, you have to out-practice them. That is the conclusion of a growing body of research from cybersecurity firms, which consistently finds that the single most reliable defense against phishing is not software. It is repeated, hands-on exposure to the real thing in a safe environment.
One large industry study found that people who practiced identifying phishing attempts each week for a year were eighty-six percent less likely to click on a real one.
The challenge has been that this kind of training has long been the domain of corporations, where information-technology departments run mandatory annual modules for employees. Retirees, the very group most at risk, have largely been left on their own.
That is starting to change.
Phish Tested: A Solution Built for the Kitchen Table
PhishTested, a platform that launched its consumer service this year, applies the same practice-based method long used inside Fortune 500 companies, but reformatted for households across the country.
Members can choose from a library of realistic PhishTested quizzes and take them on the site, or send a secure link by text to a loved one they are concerned about. A fake delivery text. A phony Medicare email. A fraudulent bank alert. The recipient decides whether to trust, verify, or delete. The platform then explains what gave the scam away.
See what your inbox is missing — before a scammer does.
PhishTested’s For Families plan lets each person in your household pick a five-minute quiz to take on the site, or text a secure link to a parent or grandparent they are concerned about. A subscription starts at $1.99 a month.
Visit PhishTested.com →Each quiz takes about five minutes. A member opens a quiz on the site or sends one by text to a parent or grandparent who has agreed to receive it. When the link is tapped, the practice begins. The library now spans more than 300 scenarios across 9 categories, from fake delivery texts and romance scams to IRS calls, gift card requests, and account verification fraud.
The “For Families” plan is built so that a single subscription covers everyone in a household. A subscription starts at $1.99 a month. Adult children can pick a quiz on scams targeting their parents’ generation and text a secure link to them; older adults can do the same for themselves directly on the site. A shared readiness dashboard lets adult children see at a glance how each family member is doing without having to ask.
It is not a silver bullet. No service is. But the underlying premise, that the only way to recognize a scam in the moment is to have already seen ones like it, is supported by every credible study on the subject.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are spam filters no longer effective against scams targeting older adults?
Traditional spam filters rely on pattern matching to block known threats. Generative artificial intelligence creates unique, highly personalized messages that do not follow predictable patterns, allowing them to easily bypass conventional junk folders and robocall blockers.
How much money do older Americans lose to internet scams annually?
The financial impact is staggering. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), Americans aged 60 and older reported $3.4 billion in losses to internet-enabled scams in 2023 alone, and that number continues to climb.
What is the most effective defense against modern phishing scams?
You cannot rely on software alone. The most reliable defense is repeated, hands-on exposure to simulated threats in a safe environment. Consistent practice builds the habit of verifying unexpected requests, making individuals significantly less likely to fall for actual scams. We cover multiple strategies for building this habit right here on Aging Today.
How does PhishTested help protect families from online fraud?
Instead of relying on outdated advice, PhishTested provides a library of over 300 realistic scam scenarios. It allows individuals and families to practice identifying fraudulent messages, such as fake delivery texts and Medicare emails, in a safe, simulated environment, ensuring they are prepared when real threats arrive.
What to do this week:
- If you are over sixty and have not already done so, security experts recommend three immediate steps.
Never act on an urgent message about a delivery problem, a frozen account, or a tax issue without independently calling the company at a number you look up yourself. Not a number printed in the message. - Assume that any voicemail you hear can be faked, and verify by calling the person’s known number. Agree on a family code word for genuine emergencies.
- Build the habit of practicing. The skill of spotting a scam, like any skill, fades without use. Five minutes a week is enough.
The scams are not going away. They will keep getting better at sounding like your bank, your grandson, your pharmacist. But the people who learn to see them coming, almost without exception, do.
Chad Durling is co-founder of PhishTested.com and the father of two. He works with families across the country to help them recognize the scams now reaching American inboxes every day.
