Almost 4,000 scams were reported to the Vermont Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) last year, a 12% increase from 2024 that’s reflective of the exponential increase in online scams nationwide since the advent of the internet. Although online scams affect all demographics, older people are often targeted because of accumulated life savings and age.

Americans over age 60 lost $7.784 billion just last year to online scams, according to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report.

The millions of scams out there are only going to continue improving with artificial intelligence, said Christopher Curtis, director of CAP, so it’s important to stay diligent and learn about them. Scams are only one way that older adults are at risk for losing money — financial exploitation and abuse also occur frequently.

Last year, the top five types of scams in Vermont were computer tech support, debt collection, identity theft, relationship imposter and law enforcement imposter, according to CAP’s 2025 Report. Scams are becoming more believable and harder to spot, said Curtis, but the Attorney General’s Office works diligently to respond to and help prevent them. Their website on scam prevention provides resources to learn about scams, sign up for alerts, and instructions if you are scammed. They recommend the following acronym to stay diligent in consumer transactions:

Curtis said the quicker you call CAP, the more likely their team can freeze transactions, keep others from falling for the scam and in very rare cases, get money back. Since scammers are criminals often not from Vermont, Curtis said it’s difficult to track people and money down, but calling immediately is the best thing to do.

IT Support Specialist Shawn Cook at Eastview in Middlebury has a tried-and-true philosophy for the residents he works with: “Treat everything like a scam.”

He said it might feel harsh but is extremely effective. Every unknown email and text should be treated as fraudulent, giving residents the time to consider them and ask Cook. He said he receives around a dozen scam inquiries from residents a week and reports new ones from the Attorney General’s website to the residents every few weeks. Once every three months, Cook also presents a “tech talk” to residents on a variety of technology skills to help them stay active and vigilant.

Preventing Financial Exploitation

Attorney Anthony Duprey of Duprey Law in Vergennes said the older person’s fraud cases he sees are often exploitation by a power of attorney or family member. A power of attorney can be granted different rights to manage finances, assets and estates. recommends choosing one while in good health and full cognitive capacity. Although it’s possible to revoke power of attorney at any time, once you are deemed to “lack capacity,” you are unable to do so.

One important prevention against financial fraud for older adults, Duprey said, is making an informed decision about rights granted to power of attorney. In Vermont, there are optional specific authorities, like the ability to change beneficiaries that can be granted to a power of attorney. Duprey said these rights increase the risk of exploitation and recommends not granting them.

When choosing a power of attorney, Duprey said to consider two factors:

1. Who you can trust to manage your assets always in your best interest, not considering their own.
2. Who is good at managing money and staying organized. A trustworthy but unorganized person can still cause problems.

If financial fraud by a power of attorney is ever suspected, Duprey recommends immediately revoking their rights and calling the Attorney General’s Office, law enforcement or Adult Protective Services if applicable.

Know Your Rights: Vermont Laws Protect Against Financial Fraud

Under Title 33, Chapter 069 of Vermont statute, “vulnerable adults” are protected from abuse, neglect and exploitation, including financially. Vulnerable adults, according to the Vermont Judiciary, are those over 18 who:

• Live in a care facility or psychiatric hospital/psychiatric unit
• Received assistance with personal care services for over a month/are eligible for Long-Term Medicaid waiver services
• Have a physical, mental, or developmental disability that impairs ability to independently take care of oneself, or
• Are unable to protect themselves from abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Consequences for financially exploiting a vulnerable adult depend on the amount of assets involved. Over $500 can result in up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Perpetrators are also placed on the Adult Abuse Registry. In FY25, 60 Vermonters were placed on the registry, compared to 44 in 2024 and 38 in 2023, according to the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living Adult Protective Services Annual Report. 149 vulnerable adult exploitation cases were investigated by the state in 2025, with 30 resulting in a recommendation of substantiation, meaning there was sufficient evidence of exploitation.

On May 20, Gov. Phil Scott signed H.385 (Act 106) that protects vulnerable adults and victims of domestic abuse or human trafficking from long-lasting impacts of coerced debt. Coerced debt is incurred in someone else’s name without their consent or knowledge because of abuse or exploitation, and manipulation is used to prevent action from the victim. The bill also makes it possible for financial institutions to step in in cases of suspected financial fraud for vulnerable adults.

A New Law

Rep. Jubilee McGill, D-Bridport, said she was originally interested in Act 106 because of coerced debt’s impact on youth, whose parents or guardians can incur debt in their name without knowledge or consent. Although Act 106 doesn’t apply to them, McGill said she decided to co-sponsor this bill because of all the protections it provides, especially allowing banks to act on suspicious transactions. McGill said bankers often notice unusual transactions but have never had a mechanism to do anything about it.

“I think we’ll see a lot of vulnerable adults who are going to be getting that person stepping in, helping them resolve the situation and not falling prey to the kind of scams out there that can really change a person’s life,” McGill said. “Especially for older Vermonters who are on fixed incomes, we see folks losing their entire life savings.”

Instead of having to bring personal lawsuits for coerced debt, victims will now be able to tell their creditor their debt is coerced, and the creditor will immediately stop collection. An investigation will follow and if the state determines the debt is coerced, it will be transferred to the perpetrator, and the victim will be relieved.

“The old way of doing things was a lot of work and even when folks were able to see the process through, they were really not likely to ever see any true resolution in their life,” McGill said, adding that she believes this new method will make it easier to seek retribution for coerced debt. The bill will take effect in July 2028.

Scam Prevention and Education

Anyone can become a victim of scams, said Ilir Hasa, lead financial coach at Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, which is why the organization offers a free class called “Avoiding Scams and Financial Fraud.”

The class is a one-hour Zoom session held quarterly but will be available on demand starting this fall on their website at cvoeo.org, Hasa said. It covers scam warning signs, methods scammers use, most common scams and the importance of taking time to verify before responding. Hasa said the class helps people make more informed decisions about their finances and encourages them to reflect before acting.

CVOEO also offers one-on-one financial coaching for people older than 18, and the organization has an office in Middlebury with financial coaches. If someone thinks they have been a victim of a scam, Hasa said to first call their financial institutions to report it and stop money from going to the scammer.

Below are numbers to call if financial fraud happens or you have questions. For loved ones scammed by romance or friend impersonators, it can be difficult to help them out of it. According to clinical psychologist Anca Ivu in a Bitdefender article, unmet social needs make it difficult for people to cut off impersonators. Ivu recommended a less judgmental approach when talking to someone you believe is in a romance scam. Instead of accusing them of being scammed, try to help them come to the realization by asking questions about the person’s background and history.