Impact of Fraud on Elderly Residents in Washington State

Fraud offenses are a pervasive problem for individuals throughout society, especially for elderly victims. This paper explores the impact of fraud on elderly victims in Washington state both by the number of victims and financial losses. A solution to this problem will assist law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, elder advocacy groups, and the public in understanding the impact and types of fraud utilized successfully against elderly victims. By exploring existing data sources of fraud victims, this study attempts to break down the fraud offenses to understand what types of fraud are being committed and what further research is necessary to fully understand and combat fraud offenses with elderly victims. Understanding the impact of elder fraud is difficult due to the low reporting rates, non-standardized definitions across jurisdictions, and rapidly evolving techniques used by offenders. Prior studies have been published analyzing the national impact of fraud offenses using self-reporting data collection from victims, such as the FBI’s Elder Fraud Report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center. These reports rely on victims to self-report to the agency in question and analyze trends at the national level. This study attempts to use local law enforcement data specific to Washington state to determine the number of victims and their financial losses. Overall, Washington’s elderly residents are one of the highest impacted demographics, making up 18.7% of fraud victims in 2022, with $44.8 million in losses. False pretenses, swindles, and confidence games continue to be the predominant fraud offense type in 2022 for elderly victims in Washington. While these data detail the scope of elderly fraud in Washington, further analysis and research are needed to determine why elderly victims continue to be targets of fraud and why false pretenses, swindles, and confidence games are the most successful types.