<p>When Olena Boyko* – a 30-year-old, sultry, model from Ukraine – sent George Anderson the message, “You bring light to my darkness,” it had been just 26 days since the 72-year-old Ohio-based vascular surgeon buried his wife. With exchanged selfies and video calls, her texts grew more intimate – “I dream only of you.” When his children intervened, in less than a month he had wired her 1 billion dollars. Olena, he discovered, was designed to prey on his grief.</p>.<p>In New Delhi, Sadhna Mohanty was juggling eye drops and hospital forms for her nearly-blind husband when her phone rang. “Ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you,” said the voice, polite and regretful. Her phone service, he said, would be terminated. With surgery scheduled the next morning and her husband’s care depending on connectivity, she panicked. “Just read me the OTP,” the caller coaxed. Grateful for his patience, she complied. Moments later, Rs 5 lakh vanished from her account. Cloaked in politeness, the fraud preyed on her desperation.</p>.<p>These misfortunes are symptoms of a silent, global epidemic: the psychological exploitation of older adults in the digital age for financial gains. Cyber-enabled fraud poses a staggering risk for life-long earnings. Americans over 60 in 2024 reported $4.8 billion in such losses. In India, in 2025, digital payment fraud will cross Rs 1.2 lakh crore ($14.4 billion). Although granular tracking of frauds is limited, there is a sharp rise in their frequency and financial magnitude.</p>.<p>What makes these scams more devastating is the hijacking of trust. Social engineering is less about code and more about psychology. It mimics compassion, impersonates authority, and weaponises fear. Today’s fraudsters use voice cloning, cryptocurrency transfers, and AI-generated personas. The tactics are new. The themes are ancient – elders’ desires are disposable and the vulnerability in old men (and women) isn’t just physical, it’s social. While the term “elder abuse” may not have been explicit, the condemnation of verbal abuse, neglect, and the exploitation of elders is woven into the world’s major ethical treatises.</p>.<p>Three forces make seniors uniquely vulnerable:</p>.<p>Neurobiology: Ageing reduces activity in the anterior insula, the brain region signalling distrust. This neurological shift, coupled with a decline in interoceptive awareness and cognitive processing speed, impairs the ability to recognise deception. What might raise red flags in a younger person can feel benign to an older adult.</p>.<p>Culture: Many elders were raised in environments that prized politeness, respect for authority, and institutional trust. In India, seniors are deferential to bureaucracies; in the US, they are responsive to legal threats. A call from a bank officer or a distressed grandchild taps into learned reflexes of obedience, not skepticism.</p>.<p>Loneliness: Globally, older adults face high rates of isolation – ranging from 18.3% to 37.6% in India, and approximately 33% in the US – creating fertile ground for manipulation. Scammers don’t just impersonate people; they impersonate belonging.</p>.<p>Late life is marked by generativity and wisdom – impulses to contribute and make meaning, psychoanalyst Erik Erikson observed. Fraud robs them of both. Victims may withdraw from family, mistrust legitimate help, or spiral into depression, cognitive decline, or suicide. The elderly are not merely victims of theft – they are stripped of dignity, autonomy, and their sense of safety. Their families bear the fraud’s fallout, years later.</p>.<p>Yet, legal protections remain inadequate and we treat elder scams as individual failings rather than systemic failures. In India, the long-awaited Elder Persons (Care and Protection) Bill remains stalled in Parliament, while financial institutions resist liability for losses based on deception. In the US, laws like the Elder Justice Act and Senior Safe Act exist, but enforcement is inconsistent and under-resourced. As trust in institutions erodes, warn Nobel laureates Acemoglu, Robinson, and Johnson, it fuels inequality and stifles innovation, economic growth, and social mobility.</p>.<p>Until we recognise elder fraud as a public health crisis – one rooted in neurobiology, cultural dynamics, social trust, and emotional manipulation – we remain ill-equipped to address its scale or severity. Five imperative interventions are:</p>.<p>Tailored security protocols: Financial institutions must adopt biometric and behavioural authentication. Technology accountability: Platforms equipped to proactively detect and block fraudulent behaviour and predictive analytics to identify cognitive decline – or be held accountable. Digital literacy: Education for seniors to cultivate skills and confidence to navigate online threats. Trauma-informed: Expedited financial restitution and mental health services such as identifying behavioural markers of cognitive decline. Global task force: Coordinated cross-border efforts between entities to tackle cyber fraud.</p>.<p>Safeguarding seniors isn’t just about tightening cybersecurity; it is about prioritising supportive institutions to empower them to engage confidently in the digital world. Anderson is in the throes of dementia today, cyber abuse likely hastened it. “I have forgotten about it,” says Mohanty, whispering, “But I lost all my confidence.”</p>.<p><em>* All names and identifying characteristics have been altered to preserve the anonymity of individuals. Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day</em></p>
<p>When Olena Boyko* – a 30-year-old, sultry, model from Ukraine – sent George Anderson the message, “You bring light to my darkness,” it had been just 26 days since the 72-year-old Ohio-based vascular surgeon buried his wife. With exchanged selfies and video calls, her texts grew more intimate – “I dream only of you.” When his children intervened, in less than a month he had wired her 1 billion dollars. Olena, he discovered, was designed to prey on his grief.</p>.<p>In New Delhi, Sadhna Mohanty was juggling eye drops and hospital forms for her nearly-blind husband when her phone rang. “Ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you,” said the voice, polite and regretful. Her phone service, he said, would be terminated. With surgery scheduled the next morning and her husband’s care depending on connectivity, she panicked. “Just read me the OTP,” the caller coaxed. Grateful for his patience, she complied. Moments later, Rs 5 lakh vanished from her account. Cloaked in politeness, the fraud preyed on her desperation.</p>.<p>These misfortunes are symptoms of a silent, global epidemic: the psychological exploitation of older adults in the digital age for financial gains. Cyber-enabled fraud poses a staggering risk for life-long earnings. Americans over 60 in 2024 reported $4.8 billion in such losses. In India, in 2025, digital payment fraud will cross Rs 1.2 lakh crore ($14.4 billion). Although granular tracking of frauds is limited, there is a sharp rise in their frequency and financial magnitude.</p>.<p>What makes these scams more devastating is the hijacking of trust. Social engineering is less about code and more about psychology. It mimics compassion, impersonates authority, and weaponises fear. Today’s fraudsters use voice cloning, cryptocurrency transfers, and AI-generated personas. The tactics are new. The themes are ancient – elders’ desires are disposable and the vulnerability in old men (and women) isn’t just physical, it’s social. While the term “elder abuse” may not have been explicit, the condemnation of verbal abuse, neglect, and the exploitation of elders is woven into the world’s major ethical treatises.</p>.<p>Three forces make seniors uniquely vulnerable:</p>.<p>Neurobiology: Ageing reduces activity in the anterior insula, the brain region signalling distrust. This neurological shift, coupled with a decline in interoceptive awareness and cognitive processing speed, impairs the ability to recognise deception. What might raise red flags in a younger person can feel benign to an older adult.</p>.<p>Culture: Many elders were raised in environments that prized politeness, respect for authority, and institutional trust. In India, seniors are deferential to bureaucracies; in the US, they are responsive to legal threats. A call from a bank officer or a distressed grandchild taps into learned reflexes of obedience, not skepticism.</p>.<p>Loneliness: Globally, older adults face high rates of isolation – ranging from 18.3% to 37.6% in India, and approximately 33% in the US – creating fertile ground for manipulation. Scammers don’t just impersonate people; they impersonate belonging.</p>.<p>Late life is marked by generativity and wisdom – impulses to contribute and make meaning, psychoanalyst Erik Erikson observed. Fraud robs them of both. Victims may withdraw from family, mistrust legitimate help, or spiral into depression, cognitive decline, or suicide. The elderly are not merely victims of theft – they are stripped of dignity, autonomy, and their sense of safety. Their families bear the fraud’s fallout, years later.</p>.<p>Yet, legal protections remain inadequate and we treat elder scams as individual failings rather than systemic failures. In India, the long-awaited Elder Persons (Care and Protection) Bill remains stalled in Parliament, while financial institutions resist liability for losses based on deception. In the US, laws like the Elder Justice Act and Senior Safe Act exist, but enforcement is inconsistent and under-resourced. As trust in institutions erodes, warn Nobel laureates Acemoglu, Robinson, and Johnson, it fuels inequality and stifles innovation, economic growth, and social mobility.</p>.<p>Until we recognise elder fraud as a public health crisis – one rooted in neurobiology, cultural dynamics, social trust, and emotional manipulation – we remain ill-equipped to address its scale or severity. Five imperative interventions are:</p>.<p>Tailored security protocols: Financial institutions must adopt biometric and behavioural authentication. Technology accountability: Platforms equipped to proactively detect and block fraudulent behaviour and predictive analytics to identify cognitive decline – or be held accountable. Digital literacy: Education for seniors to cultivate skills and confidence to navigate online threats. Trauma-informed: Expedited financial restitution and mental health services such as identifying behavioural markers of cognitive decline. Global task force: Coordinated cross-border efforts between entities to tackle cyber fraud.</p>.<p>Safeguarding seniors isn’t just about tightening cybersecurity; it is about prioritising supportive institutions to empower them to engage confidently in the digital world. Anderson is in the throes of dementia today, cyber abuse likely hastened it. “I have forgotten about it,” says Mohanty, whispering, “But I lost all my confidence.”</p>.<p><em>* All names and identifying characteristics have been altered to preserve the anonymity of individuals. Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day</em></p>
