My aging parent was scammed: what should we do now?

Stop the contact and the money movement

A caller who promises to recover the money for a fee may be the same scammer returning with a new story.

• Do not send another payment, even if the caller threatens arrest, harm, fees, or lost winnings.
• Contact the financial company through its official app, statement, card, or website—not a number the caller supplied.
• Ask whether a transfer can be recalled, a card frozen, an account secured, or a gift card flagged.
• If a scammer had remote access to the phone or computer, disconnect it from the internet and get qualified technical help before using it for banking again.

Keep the evidence before blocking everything

Save phone numbers, usernames, email addresses, web addresses, envelopes, receipts, payment instructions, dates, and the words the scammer used. Take screenshots where it is safe to do so. Do not keep engaging in order to collect more evidence.

Report what happened

Report the fraud to the relevant financial institution and the fraud-reporting or law-enforcement service where your parent lives. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission accepts reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If a known person may be exploiting, threatening, or controlling your parent, contact the appropriate local adult-protection service or police.

Talk without making secrecy more likely

Scams are built to create fear, urgency, authority, affection, or hope. Begin with the method, not your parent’s judgment. Ask what the caller knew, what they asked your parent not to tell anyone, and whether another caller has offered to help recover the loss.

Try: “They designed this to make you act before you could check. I am glad you told me. Let’s stop what we still can, then work out how they reached you.”

Add protection in proportion to the pattern

One scam does not automatically prove that your parent cannot manage money. Start with the path the scammer used: call filtering, transaction alerts, a trusted contact at the financial institution, credit monitoring or a freeze where appropriate, stronger account security, and a family rule to pause before unusual payments.

Repeated losses, secrecy, new difficulty with familiar finances, or inability to understand the risk deserve a broader medical, legal, and financial conversation. Authority over another adult’s money is a legal question; do not assume it without qualified local advice.

Try: “Before either of us sends money after an unexpected call, we will hang up and call one another. We can check the story together without deciding anything on the spot.”

Related guidance