Regulators Report Surges In Investment Scams Targeting The Elderly

Posted on November 1st, 2022 at 1:14 PM
Regulators Report Surges In Investment Scams Targeting The Elderly

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that older investors lost $147 million due to investment scams in 2021, which constitutes a massive 213% increase from 2020.

The schemes primarily involved investment seminars and advice, stocks and commodity futures trading, art, crypto, and rare-coin investments. According to the FTC, the median individual loss for people age 60 and older was $6,800 per instance of investment fraud. Furthermore, older investors lost a total of $341 million online, according to regulators.

State securities regulators also have reported a 70% increase in fraud related to digital assets in 2021, according to an enforcement report published by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). Additionally, the depressed market is helping crypto fraudsters as they primarily attempt to convince elderly investors, who are concerned about running out of retirement funds, that crypto could provide them with a better financial outlook, according to Amanda Senn, deputy director of the Alabama Securities Commissions.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, advisors, law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

I am so glad I found you! Wow! I appreciate your help, concern and guidance.

RB

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 19, 2026
Wall Street Journal Analysis Questions Investor Gains Following DuPont's Decade-Long Breakup

A Wall Street Journal analysis has raised questions about investor returns following DuPont’s multi-year corporate restructuring, which divided the historic conglomerate into multiple independent companies.

February 18, 2026
American Portfolios Ordered to Pay $4.6 Million in Restitution Over Cash Sweep Program Disclosures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered American Portfolios Financial Services to return $4.6 million to customers and pay monetary sanctions after determining that the firm overcharged investors and failed to properly disclose how it generated revenue through a cash sweep program.

February 17, 2026
FINRA Fines Kingswood Capital Partners $150,000 for Supervisory Failures in GWG L Bond Sales

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) censured and fined San Diego–based broker-dealer Kingswood Capital Partners $150,000 after finding supervisory failures tied to sales of high-risk GWG L bonds.