Family Safety Guide
Family Safety Guide
COVID-19 scams targeting older adults have not slowed down. Here is how families can recognize the current tactics, reinforce real health precautions, and keep an open conversation going.
The COVID-19 pandemic may feel like old news, but the scams built around it never went away, and they keep evolving alongside flu season surges and public health updates. Fraudsters have learned that older adults are frequent targets, partly because many control significant household wealth and partly because age-related cognitive decline can make sophisticated schemes harder to spot in the moment. From fake stimulus payment offers to impersonated contact tracers to bogus at-home test kits, the tactics change constantly, but the goal stays the same: extract money, Social Security numbers, or bank details before anyone has time to question it. This guide breaks down the most common COVID-19 scams still circulating, the health precautions that remain genuinely important for older adults, and practical ways families can keep the conversation open without making a loved one feel targeted or foolish.
COVID-19 scams targeting seniors persist through fake cures, stimulus payment tricks, impostor contact tracers, and phony supply sellers. Older adults in their 60s through 80s report significant fraud losses yearly, so ongoing precautions and family conversations both matter.
Scammers do not target seniors at random. Older adults often control significant household wealth, and many were raised to be polite and trusting toward anyone presenting themselves as an authority figure, whether that's a health official, a bank representative, or a government agency. That combination of financial stability and social trust makes older adults statistically more likely to be approached, even if not every attempt succeeds.
Federal Trade Commission data on fraud loss reports found that people in their 60s accounted for roughly 20% of reported losses, with those in their 70s at 13% and those in their 80s at 6%. Age-related cognitive decline can also play a role, making it harder in some cases to catch inconsistencies in a scammer's story before money or information changes hands.
None of this means older adults are careless. It means the schemes are specifically engineered to exploit trust and urgency. Understanding why the targeting happens is the first step toward recognizing it when it shows up in a phone call, text, or email.
One of the most common tactics involves text messages containing links that claim to offer a COVID-19 cure, warn that a test is required, or dangle a "special offer" like a free month of a streaming service. These links are designed to install malicious code on the phone or direct the recipient to a fake webpage built to harvest personal, health insurance, or financial information.
The messages are engineered to feel urgent and legitimate, often mimicking the tone of a real health alert. Because they arrive unprompted and reference a real, ongoing public health concern, they can catch even cautious people off guard, especially if the recipient is anxious about their own health status or that of a family member.
The safest response is to never click links in unsolicited texts about COVID-19 cures, tests, or offers. If a message claims to be from a health provider or government agency, verify by contacting that organization directly through a known phone number or website, not through any link or number provided in the message itself.
Another persistent scheme involves stimulus payments. Scammers may claim a processing fee is required to release a payment, or they may try to convince the recipient to hand over a Social Security number, bank account number, or government benefits debit card number in order to "confirm eligibility."
Legitimate government stimulus programs do not charge fees to deliver funds that are owed, and they do not call, text, or email asking for a Social Security number or bank login credentials to process a payment. Any contact that pairs a stimulus payment with an urgent request for financial details is a red flag.
Families should remind loved ones that if a payment is genuinely due, it will arrive through official channels without requiring upfront payment or sensitive account information provided over the phone. When uncertain, verify directly with the issuing agency rather than responding to the original contact.
| Scam Type | Red Flag | What To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Fake cures/tests/offers | Unsolicited text link claiming a cure or free offer | Never click; verify with provider directly |
| Stimulus payment | Request for a fee or Social Security number | Confirm through official government channels only |
| Contact tracer impersonator | Asks for money or immigration status | Real tracers never request payment or SSN |
| Supply sellers | Robocall or ad selling masks/test kits cheaply | Buy only from verified retailers or manufacturers |
Real contact tracers work for state health departments and reach out by phone, email, text, or in-person visit to inform people they may have been exposed to COVID-19. A legitimate tracer may ask for a name, address, basic health information, and places or people recently visited, all in service of limiting further spread.
Scammers impersonate this role because it sounds official and time-sensitive. Instead of sticking to health-related questions, a fraudulent contact tracer will ask for money, a Social Security number, or immigration status, none of which a real contact tracer needs to do their job.
A genuine contact tracer will never request payment or a full Social Security number. If a caller claiming to be a contact tracer pushes for financial or immigration details, that is the clearest sign the contact is not legitimate, and the conversation should end there.
Supply scams round out the common categories, with fraudsters claiming to sell or offer in-demand items like surgical masks, test kits, and household cleaning products. These offers frequently arrive through robocalls, unsolicited texts, or social media advertisements promising fast delivery of hard-to-find supplies.
Because these ads often appear on familiar platforms and use professional-looking branding, they can seem more trustworthy than a random phone call. The pressure to secure supplies quickly, especially during a surge in cases, can also push people to skip normal due diligence before paying.
Before buying, confirm the seller's legitimacy through an established retailer or a manufacturer's official website rather than an unsolicited ad or robocall. If a deal seems unusually cheap or the seller cannot be verified independently, treat it as a likely scam.
Scam awareness matters alongside continued attention to basic COVID-19 precautions, particularly for adults 65 and older and those managing underlying conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, obesity, sickle cell disease, or type 2 diabetes.
Practical steps remain simple: wash hands often for at least 20 seconds, limit close interactions where possible, maintain distance from others when case counts rise, wear a mask in crowded indoor settings, and clean frequently touched surfaces daily. None of these require special equipment or major lifestyle changes.
These precautions matter for a second reason too: anxiety about health status is exactly what scammers exploit with fake test and cure offers. A family that stays reasonably informed about real health guidance is better equipped to recognize when a message is manufacturing false urgency.
The most effective long-term protection is not a single warning but an ongoing, judgment-free conversation. Share the scam categories above directly with your loved one so they recognize the pattern rather than memorizing a single example that scammers can easily modify.
Encourage them to mention any unusual call, text, or email, even ones they suspect were harmless. Reacting with curiosity rather than alarm keeps the door open for future disclosures, whereas a critical response can make someone hide the next suspicious contact out of embarrassment.
Keep the FCC's consumer complaint resources handy for reporting suspicious contacts, and remind your loved one that verifying independently, by calling an agency's official number rather than one provided in a message, is always an acceptable and expected step, never a rude one.
The single most concrete step a family can take is scheduling one direct, low-pressure conversation this week about what a legitimate COVID-19 contact looks like versus a scam. Walk through the four scam categories together: fake cures and special offers, stimulus payment requests, impersonated contact tracers, and supply sellers. Use real, recent examples if your loved one has mentioned any suspicious calls or texts.
Agree on a simple rule together: no personal information, Social Security numbers, or payments go out over the phone, by text, or through an unsolicited email, ever, regardless of who the caller claims to be. If something feels urgent or scary, that is itself a warning sign worth pausing on. Legitimate agencies do not pressure people into immediate action.
Set up a standing check-in, even a short weekly call, where your loved one can mention anything odd they received without feeling embarrassed. Shame and isolation are exactly what scammers count on. An open, recurring dialogue removes that leverage far more effectively than a single one-time lecture.
Finally, save two numbers where your loved one can see them: the Federal Communications Commission's consumer complaint line for reporting suspicious calls and texts, and a trusted family contact to call before responding to anything that asks for money or personal data. Making it easy to pause and verify is the most protective habit you can build together.
COVID-19 scams targeting seniors still circulate through fake stimulus offers, impostor contact tracers, bogus cures, and phony supply sellers. Combine basic health precautions with regular, judgment-free conversations, and always verify unexpected contacts independently before sharing any personal information.
COVID-19 has not disappeared, and neither have the scams built around it. Fraudsters continue to exploit older adults' trust and financial stability through fake cures, stimulus payment schemes, impersonated contact tracers, and bogus medical supply sales. The Federal Trade Commission's own loss data shows people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s report significant fraud losses every year, which is exactly why families cannot treat this as a solved problem. The best defense combines two things: ongoing health precautions like handwashing, masking in crowded indoor spaces, and surface disinfecting, paired with an honest, judgment-free conversation about the calls, texts, and emails your loved one receives. When in doubt, verify independently and report the contact to the FCC or FTC rather than responding directly.
If your loved one has already shared financial information, a Social Security number, or made a payment in response to a suspicious COVID-19 contact, act immediately: contact their bank, place a fraud alert with credit bureaus, and report the incident to the FTC and FCC without delay.