The number of Americans over the age of sixty, complaining about fraud, has almost doubled since 2008, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Why is it that the elderly population is being taken advantage of more than any other age group in the U.S.? In a survey, one in every five Americans over the age of sixty five has been financially abused and according to Metropolitan Life Insurance, it has set back this older generation over $2.9 million dollars.

It’s obvious that old age is a huge factor to the fraud being committed, since elderly people tend to be easier targets and are less aware of the scams they are getting themselves involved in. Surprisingly, only 10 percent of these frauds are being reported, due to fear of their financial independence being taken away from them by family members. By the looks of it, this problem seems to be only growing and with the unbelievable amount of scam artists in this country, the number of frauds reported should increase significantly in the upcoming years.