How to Protect an Aging Parent's Money From Scams: Freezes, Trusted Contacts, Alerts and a Code Word
Older adults lose the most per scam, and it is often their life savings. These are the quiet defaults to set up together, before anything goes wrong: freezes, alerts, trusted contacts, legal authority and a code word.
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📐 Figures verified Sep 28, 2026 against the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center's 2025 Internet Crime Report and FTC, CFPB and Social Security guidance on credit freezes, managing someone else's money and representative payees. Reported losses undercount the real total; most scams are never reported.
Set up the protections together, before anything goes wrong: freeze your parent's credit, turn on account alerts that reach you too, add a trusted contact to investment accounts, sign a durable power of attorney, and agree on a family code word. People 60 and older reported $7.7 billion in losses to the FBI in 2025, an average of $38,500 per complaint.
Numbers That Matter
| Figure | Amount | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Losses reported by people 60 and older, 2025 | $7.748 billion across 201,266 complaints, an average of $38,500 | FBI IC3 2025 report | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Share of all reported losses | 37%, the most of any age group | FBI IC3 2025 report | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Credit freezes | Free at all three bureaus; someone with legal authority, such as a power of attorney, can request one | FTC | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Managing someone else's money | Guides for agents under a power of attorney, trustees and representative payees | CFPB | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Social Security benefits | Managed by a representative payee Social Security appoints, not by a power of attorney | Social Security Administration | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Where to report | The FTC, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and the FBI at ic3.gov | Federal Trade Commission | Sep 28, 2026 |
Start With the Conversation
Protection works best when your parent helps set it up, while they are fully able to decide. Frame it as what everyone in the family is doing, not as a judgment: you are locking down your own credit too, and you want a plan for emergencies. Agree on what you can see, what alerts you will get, and what you will never ask for over the phone.
Write down where accounts are, who the advisers and insurers are, and who has authority for what. A shared list, kept somewhere safe, saves days in a crisis and makes an unfamiliar account or payee stand out.
Lock the Doors: Freeze, Alerts and Passwords
Freeze your parent's credit at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It is free and blocks most new accounts in their name; they can lift it when they apply for credit. If they can't do it themselves, someone with legal authority, such as an agent under a power of attorney, can.
Turn on alerts at their bank and card companies for withdrawals, transfers and new payees above a small amount, with copies sent to you if they agree. Many banks offer view-only access for a family member, which lets you watch without being able to move money. Set up two-step login on their email and banking, and a password manager or a written list kept at home.
Name the People: Trusted Contacts and Powers of Attorney
Brokerage firms must make reasonable efforts to collect a trusted contact person for each account (FINRA Rule 4512), someone the firm can call if it suspects exploitation or can't reach the account owner. A trusted contact can't move money or make trades. Some banks offer the same option.
A durable power of attorney names someone to manage finances and stays in effect if your parent can no longer decide for themselves; without one, the family may need a court guardianship. Social Security doesn't accept a power of attorney for benefits: if your parent can't manage their benefits, Social Security appoints a representative payee, who must use the money for them and keep records.
The Family Code Word
Voice cloning makes a panicked call in a grandchild's voice easy to fake. Agree on a code word in person and never post it online. Anyone calling in an emergency and asking for money has to say it; if they can't, your parent hangs up and calls the relative back on a number they already have. Write the rule on a card by the phone: no code word, no money.
Warning Signs to Watch For
- New "friends" or advisers who discourage contact with family.
- Large withdrawals, wires, gift card purchases or crypto ATM receipts.
- Secretive phone calls, or a sudden need for cash.
- Unpaid bills despite enough income, or new names on accounts.
- Mail from lotteries, sweepstakes or investment offers.
If you suspect a scam in progress, call the bank's fraud line with your parent, then report to the FTC and ic3.gov. You can also contact your state's Adult Protective Services, and the Justice Department's National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311) helps families plan next steps.
Worked Example
- The setup: Dad has $180,000 in savings and investments. His bank texts him, and his daughter, for any withdrawal over $500, and she is the trusted contact on his brokerage account.
- Monday: a "bank investigator" talks him into withdrawing $9,000 in cash for a courier. The alert reaches his daughter; she calls him, then the bank, before the courier arrives.
- Wednesday: the same scammers push a $40,000 transfer from the brokerage. The firm pauses it and calls the trusted contact.
- The result: $9,000 + $40,000 = $49,000 kept, and a family code word set up that weekend.
An illustration; banks and brokerages set their own alert and hold policies.
Decision Rules
If this, then that
- If your parent is still managing well → set up freezes, alerts, a trusted contact and a power of attorney now, together
- If they get Social Security and can't manage it → ask Social Security about a representative payee
- If an alert shows a large withdrawal or wire → call your parent, then the bank's fraud line, right away
- If you suspect exploitation → report to the bank, Adult Protective Services, the FTC and ic3.gov
Mistakes to avoid
- Waiting until after a crisis to sign a power of attorney.
- Taking over accounts without your parent's say, which damages trust.
- Assuming a power of attorney covers Social Security benefits.
- Choosing a code word that appears anywhere online.
Related: managing an aging parent's finances covers the wider costs of care; grandparent and voice-clone scams explains the calls the code word stops; the Fraud Map shows the 60+ share of losses in every state; and the Scams & Fraud Protection hub has every guide.