Elizabeth Warren highlights surge in crypto scams against seniors, endorses new protective legislation

Nov. 17, 2023

By Mike Dalton

Senator Elizabeth Warren warned of cryptocurrency scams targeting seniors during a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging on Nov. 16.

There, Warren cited statistics from the FBI indicating that crypto fraud stole $2.5 billion from consumers in 2022. She added that this fraud primarily targets consumers.

She emphasized that such fraud often targets the aging population, noting that last year saw a 350% rise in crypto investment scams targeting seniors. Warren said that this was the largest increase for any age group. She said that this amounted to over $1 billion in losses for seniors and said that the total is “almost surely an underestimate.”

Warren also interviewed an expert witness, Steve Weisman, a lawyer and Senior Lecturer at Bentley University and the main editor for Scamicide.com.

In response to Warren’s questions, Weisman suggested that seniors are especially vulnerable to cryptocurrency scams because of changes to the brain involved in aging, as well as greed and the “fear of missing out” (FOMO) that is common in crypto.

Weisman suggested that cryptocurrency’s anonymity is “terrific” and aids scammers. He said that although specific attacks have been traced, crypto that is moved through coin mixers is challenging to trace. He added that fraudulent crypto transactions are complex to block, unlike fraud involving traditional methods such as credit cards.

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