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To protect elderly parents from crypto scams, set up three things this week: one family rule (nobody sends crypto, gift cards or cash because of a call, text or message they didn't start), a few bank settings (alerts, limits and a trusted contact), and a calm conversation about how these scams sound. Your parent doesn't need to understand bitcoin. They need to know that anyone asking them to pay with it, or at a crypto ATM, is a scammer.
Why older parents are the target
Because that's where the savings are, and the scammers know it. People 60 and over reported more than $7.7 billion in losses to the FBI in 2025, from more than 201,000 complaints, according to the FBI's summary of its 2025 elder fraud data. Schemes involving cryptocurrency took $4.3 billion of that, from more than 42,000 older victims. The average loss for victims over 60 was more than $38,000, and more than 12,000 of them lost over $100,000.
Put another way: the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report puts all reported crypto losses at about $11.4 billion. Nearly two of every five of those dollars came from someone over 60.
Crypto ATMs are a big part of it. The FBI's May 2026 kiosk warning counted more than 13,400 complaints involving crypto kiosks in 2025 and over $388 million in losses. More than half of those complaints came from people over 50, who lost over $302 million.
None of this means your parent is gullible. These scams are run from scripts by people who make the same call all day. They're built to work on polite, trusting, responsible people, and many older adults are all three.
The three ways crypto scams reach a parent
Almost every case falls into one of three stories. They start differently. They end the same way: send money now, in a way that can't be reversed, and don't tell anyone.
The authority. A caller poses as the police, a court, the IRS, the bank's fraud department or tech support. The FTC found that in 2024, about a third of older adults who reported losing $10,000 or more to a business or government impersonator paid in crypto, more than any other method, and most of those reports mentioned bitcoin ATMs. Its August 2025 data spotlight also found reports of these $10,000-plus losses from older adults more than quadrupled from 2020 to 2024. Our same-day guide to the police warrant bitcoin scam walks through that call step by step, and our guide to fake Coinbase emails and texts covers the exchange "support" version.
The new friend. A wrong-number text or a widowed "engineer" on Facebook turns into weeks of chat, then a trading app that shows big gains. This is pig butchering, and it's the costliest kind. Investment schemes took more than $3.5 billion from people over 60 in 2025, the FBI says.
The emergency. A grandchild is in jail or in a crash and needs bail money, now. The voice may be cloned with AI from a few seconds of social media video. The FBI's December 2024 warning on AI fraud recommends that families create a secret word or phrase to verify each other.
Warning signs your parent is in a scam right now
You'll rarely see the scam itself. You'll see its effects. Look for changes in behavior around money and phones.
| What you notice | What it can mean | A gentle question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Sudden interest in bitcoin or a trading app, with no history of investing | A "new friend" is coaching them | "Who told you about this one?" |
| Large cash withdrawals, or trips to a gas station or convenience store kiosk | Paying at a crypto ATM | "What was the cash for? I'm not upset." |
| Long phone calls they end when you walk in | A caller told them to keep it secret | "Did someone tell you not to tell us?" |
| A new online friend or romance nobody has met on video | Stolen photos, scripted chat | "Can we all say hi on a video call?" |
| Talk of a "tax," "fee" or "unlock" before they can withdraw | The final stage of a fake platform | "Can you show me the app?" |
| Fear about a warrant, frozen account or a hacked computer | An impersonation call | "Let's call the bank together on the number on your card." |
| Unusual secrecy, stress or embarrassment about money | They suspect it and feel ashamed | "This happens to smart people. Let's look at it together." |
⚠ Red flag
If anyone has told your parent to keep a payment secret from family or the bank, treat it as a scam until proven otherwise. Secrecy is in every version of these scams because family and bank tellers are who stop them.
The conversation: how to talk about it without a fight
Most adult children get this wrong in the same way. They lead with "you'd never fall for this, right?" and the parent hears "you think I'm losing it." Try this instead.
- Make it about the scammers, not about them. "I've been reading about a call that's tricking people at the bank. It's really convincing." News stories are a natural opener.
- Ask what they've seen. Odds are they've had a few. Let them be the expert on what lands in their inbox.
- Agree on one rule, out loud. "Nobody we deal with will ever ask us to pay in crypto, gift cards, a crypto ATM or cash handed to a courier. If anyone does, we hang up and call each other first." That one rule covers all three stories above.
- Pick a family code word. If a grandchild "calls from jail," your parent asks for the word. The FBI recommends exactly this.
- Promise no blame. Say it plainly: "If something happens, call me, and I won't be angry." Shame is why so many losses go unreported.
Print the rule and put it by the phone or on the fridge. If you want a ready-made version, our checklists below are written to be printed and left there. You can also sit together and try our is this a scam? quiz on a text they recently got.
Settings to set up together this week
These take an afternoon, and most can be done with your parent at the kitchen table. Do them with permission. The aim is a second set of eyes, not control of their money.
- Bank alerts. Turn on text or email alerts for large withdrawals, new payees and wire transfers. With their agreement, have alerts copied to you.
- Lower daily ATM and transfer limits. A lower cash limit buys time, and time is what breaks these scams.
- A trusted contact. Brokerage firms are required by FINRA rules to ask customers for a trusted contact person, whom the firm may call if it suspects financial exploitation. The contact can't make trades or move money. Many banks offer something similar; ask.
- Call filtering. Turn on the phone's silence-unknown-callers or spam filtering, and your carrier's free call-blocking feature.
- Saved numbers. Save the bank's real number (from the back of the card), your number and a sibling's under clear names. Then "call the number on your card" is one tap away.
- If they own crypto, turn on two-factor authentication with an authenticator app, and make sure the recovery phrase is written down and stored at home, never in a photo or email. Our guide to hot vs cold wallets explains the options.
Can you stop a parent from using a bitcoin ATM? Not directly, if they're a competent adult. Lower cash limits and bank alerts are the practical brakes. Some states have gone further: Tennessee banned crypto kiosks starting July 1, 2026, and others now cap daily kiosk amounts or require refunds for scam victims. Our guide to bitcoin ATM scam refunds lists the state rules.
Prefer to watch? How to protect your parents from crypto scams, in under a minute.
Read the video transcript
Protect parents from crypto scams with one rule. The FBI says Americans over sixty lost four point three billion dollars to crypto scams in 2025. Here's how to make your parents a harder target. One: agree on the rule, out loud. Nobody real ever asks us to pay in crypto, gift cards, a bitcoin ATM, or cash to a courier. If anyone does, hang up and call family first. Two: pick a family code word. If a grandkid calls from jail, ask for it. The FBI recommends this because voices can be cloned. Three: turn on bank alerts for big withdrawals, and lower the daily cash limit. Time breaks these scams. Four: promise no blame. Shame is why people keep paying. Print the rule and stick it by the phone. What scam call did your parents get this year? Comment below, and hit like and subscribe.
If your parent is in a scam and won't believe you
This is the hardest case, and it's common, especially with romance and investment scams. The scammer has often spent weeks preparing your parent for this exact moment: "Your family will be jealous. They won't understand."
- Don't argue about the person. Ask to see the app or website instead, and check it together. Our guide on how to check if a crypto website is legit has checks a parent can watch you run, like the domain's age.
- Suggest a test. Ask them to withdraw a meaningful amount to their own bank account. If the platform demands a fee or tax first, that's the answer, and you didn't have to say it.
- Bring in a neutral voice. Their bank's fraud team, a local police officer or the National Elder Fraud Hotline can say what you can't.
- Stay in contact. If you cut them off, the scammer becomes the only person they talk to.
If money is already gone: who helps
- Stop the payments. No more fees, taxes or "last" deposits.
- Call the bank and any exchange or kiosk operator used, with the wallet addresses and receipts. Speed matters.
- Call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311), run by the Justice Department. Case managers help people 60 and older report fraud to the right agencies, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. AARP's free Fraud Watch Network Helpline, 877-908-3360, also offers support, and you don't need to be a member.
- File at ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Our guide on how to report a crypto scam lists what to include.
- Warn them about the second scam. Scam victims are often targeted again. A "recovery agent" or "FBI officer" offering to get the money back for a fee is running a second scam. Read how crypto recovery scams work together.
For every other scam we track, start at our Scams hub.
Rob's take
I've held bitcoin since 2011. In all that time, no bank, government agency or legitimate company has needed me to send crypto during a phone call. Not once. That's the sentence I'd want every parent to carry around. After 18 years in PR I'll add one more thing: the scripts these crews use are better written than most corporate messaging I've seen. Your parent isn't up against a clumsy crook. Don't make them feel foolish for nearly falling for a professional.
Protecting parents from crypto scams FAQ
Why are seniors targeted by crypto scams?
Older adults are more likely to have savings, home equity and retirement accounts, and they're often polite to callers and trusting of authority. The FBI says people over 60 lost $4.3 billion to schemes involving crypto in 2025. Crypto payments are hard to reverse, which makes them ideal for scammers.
What are signs my parent is being scammed?
Watch for sudden interest in bitcoin or a trading app, large cash withdrawals, trips to a crypto ATM, secretive phone calls and a new online friend nobody has met. Talk of paying a "tax" or "fee" to withdraw is a strong sign. So is fear about a warrant or a frozen account.
How do I talk to my parents about scams without upsetting them?
Make it about how clever the scammers are, not about your parent's judgment. Ask what calls and texts they've been getting, agree on one family rule about never paying in crypto or gift cards, and promise you won't be angry if something happens.
Can I stop my parent from using a bitcoin ATM?
Not directly, if your parent is a competent adult. With their agreement, you can lower daily cash limits and set up bank alerts for large withdrawals, which buys time to talk. Some states, including Tennessee, now ban or restrict crypto kiosks.
What is a trusted contact person?
It's someone your parent names on a brokerage or bank account whom the firm may call if it suspects fraud or exploitation. FINRA rules require brokerage firms to ask for one. A trusted contact can't make trades or move money.
Who can help if an elderly person lost money to crypto?
Call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311, weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, and file reports at ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Contact the bank and the exchange or kiosk operator right away. Ignore anyone who offers to recover the money for a fee.