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Caregivers warned: investment fraud increasingly targets older adults, with crypto 'pig butchering' and Bitcoin ATMs rising
Summary
At a Fairfax Area Agency on Aging webinar, Carmen Clifford of the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Division of Securities urged caregivers to watch for red flags, verify registrations and use reporting tools after statistics showed seniors suffered large losses from investment and crypto scams.
Carmen Clifford, principal training and outreach coordinator for the Division of Securities and Retail Franchising at the Virginia State Corporation Commission, told a caregiver audience that investment fraud is rising and that older adults are disproportionately targeted.
"Seniors who are 60 and older reported losses of $4.8 billion," Clifford said, citing the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2024 figures, and added that investment fraud accounted for about $6.5 billion of the roughly $16 billion lost to internet crime last year.
Why it matters: caregivers often are the first to notice behavioral and financial warning signs. Clifford told attendees at the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging webinar that simple checks — confirming a professional’s registration, recognizing high-pressure sales and spotting unusual account activity — can stop scams before money is lost.
Clifford explained what the division regulates and…
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