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

You were most helpful with my FINRA deposition. You are a good lawyer and a good person.

Dan B.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

January 21, 2026
New Investor Losses as Yieldstreet Rebrands to Willow Wealth

Yieldstreet, now operating under the name Willow Wealth, continues to report significant losses to investor clients despite a high-profile rebrand.

January 20, 2026
SEC Charges Three Advisors in Alleged Sale of Unregistered Oil and Gas Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged three advisors and agents with selling millions of dollars in unregistered oil and gas securities to retail investors while failing to disclose conflicts of interest.

January 19, 2026
FINRA Study Warns of Declining Investor Participation and Rising Fraud Risks Among Younger Investors

A new study from FINRA’s Investor Education Foundation highlights troubling shifts in retail investing, including shrinking participation, heavier reliance on social media for advice, and growing vulnerability to fraud.