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Attorney General warns of scams
targeting seniors
[September 06, 2025]
Chicago – As National Grandparents’
Day approaches, Attorney General Kwame Raoul urges consumers to be
aware of scams targeting older adults. Raoul is encouraging people
to avoid responding to unsolicited phone calls, emails or text
messages, and to hang up immediately if they are suspicious about a
call.
“Scammers often prey on older adults,” Raoul said. “This
Grandparents’ Day, as we celebrate all that grandparents and
community elders do for our homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods, I
also encourage them and their families to be informed and vigilant
about avoiding financial fraud and identity theft.”
Most scams start with an unsolicited or unexpected contact, try to
elicit intense emotions and claim a need for an urgent response. For
example, scammers may threaten to revoke a driver’s license unless
there is immediate payment to address alleged unpaid tolls. Scammers
also might reach out with a supposed one-time offer for a financial
opportunity or to notify the consumer they have won a prize.
Consumers should not trust offers that sound too good to be true,
especially if they come with an urgent deadline for a response.
Attorney General Raoul encourages older adults to be cautious of
unsolicited phone calls, emails or texts. Scammers often try to
steal money and personal data from older people using the following
scams:
Grandparent/Family Scams:
Scammers lie and pretend to be a family member in trouble. They can
use artificial intelligence (AI) to copy your family member’s voice
to make urgent requests for bail money, lawyers’ fees, hospital
bills and other fake expenses. Don’t answer, call back or send any
money before talking to a trusted family member or friend, and
consider having a family codeword to use for real emergencies.
Medicare Scams: Scammers reach out offering “free supplies”
and/or “no-cost” lab tests. They also try to convince you that you
need a replacement Medicare card and ask for your Medicare number.
Never give your Medicare number to someone who contacts you out of
the blue. Medicare will not call you unless you specifically request
a call. Review your Medicare Summary Notices and Explanations of
Benefits on paper or at
Medicare.gov every month for charges, products or services you
did not request or receive.
Social Security and IRS Scams: Scammers use caller ID
spoofing to make it look like they are calling from the Social
Security Administration, IRS or other government agencies and claim
there is a problem with your benefits or tax refund. Confirm you are
talking to a real government agency by calling the phone number
listed on the agency’s official website or in the phone book.
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Employment Scams:
Legitimate employers will not ask you to pay for an interview,
to reformat a resume through a website or to purchase equipment
to get a job.
Romance Scams: Scammers create fake profiles and build
online relationships fast, so be wary if your love interest
avoids meeting you in person or over video. An online love
interest who asks for money is almost certainly a scam artist.
You can find more tips on romance scams
here.
Tech Support and Phantom Hacker Scams: Do not trust calls
or internet pop-up messages that say you have been hacked or
have other computer problems. Scammers will try to trick you
into giving them remote access to your computer. Once they have
access, they can install software that can steal your personal
data. They may even contact you pretending to be from your bank
to have you move your money so they can steal it. Honest tech
companies will not contact you unsolicited, by phone, email or
text message, to notify you of a problem.
Customer Service Scams: If you did not order anything
from a website, ignore messages from individuals claiming to be
customer service representatives who want to help you with a
problem with your order or account. If you did order something
from a website, be aware that scammers may set up a similar
website to appear legitimate. Make sure you are going to the
real website, not just the one at the top of the search engine
page. Be wary of social media posts complaining about products
or services and offering a phone number to call for help.
Raoul is also warning consumers to avoid sending cryptocurrency
or paying with gift cards, which scammers seek because they
cannot be traced. Scammers sometimes send victims to special
ATMs directing them to scan a QR code and send cryptocurrency.
Once a consumer sends cryptocurrency, it can be difficult or
impossible to get the money back. Victims of crypto ATM scams
should immediately file a police report and contact the
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Attorney General Raoul encourages
anyone who thinks they are the victim of a scam to file a complaint
on the
Attorney General’s website or call one of the office’s Consumer
Fraud Hotlines:
1-800-386-5438 (Chicago)
1-800-243-0618 (Springfield)
1-800-243-0607 (Carbondale)
1-866-310-8398 (Spanish-language hotline)
[Press Office
Illinois Attorney General] |
