Elder Fraud Hotline: What It Is, How to Call, and What Help You Can Get

When an older adult is scammed, families often do not know where to turn first. The bank may say they cannot reverse the transfer. Local police may lack jurisdiction or resources for financial fraud. The FTC's online portal accepts reports but does not provide direct case assistance.

The National Elder Fraud Hotline fills that gap. Run by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office for Victims of Crime, it provides direct, personalized support to older fraud victims and their families — something most reporting channels do not offer.

This guide explains exactly what the hotline is, how it works, what you can expect when you call, and how it fits into a broader response plan when a parent has been scammed.

The Basics: What Is the Elder Fraud Hotline?

Number: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311) Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday Cost: Free Operated by: DOJ Office for Victims of Crime Languages: English and Spanish; interpreter services available for other languages

The hotline launched in 2020 specifically to address the scale of financial fraud targeting Americans over 60. It is not a general consumer complaint line — it is staffed by trained case managers whose job is to help fraud victims navigate the aftermath of a scam.

What the Elder Fraud Hotline Actually Does

Understanding what this hotline does (and does not do) helps you set the right expectations before you call.

What it does:

• Assigns a personal case manager to your situation
• Helps you understand what type of fraud occurred and what agencies have jurisdiction
• Guides you through reporting to the appropriate federal and state agencies (FBI IC3, FTC, state attorney general, relevant financial regulators)
• Provides referrals to local victim services, mental health support, and legal aid
• Connects you with resources to monitor credit and prevent further fraud
• Follows up with you over time as your case progresses
• Helps you draft complaint letters to banks or financial institutions
• Assists with understanding what recovery options may exist

What it does not do:

• Conduct criminal investigations directly (that falls to the FBI, FTC, and state law enforcement)
• Recover lost funds (no government hotline can guarantee this)
• Provide legal representation
• Act as a financial advisor

Think of the case manager as a knowledgeable guide who helps you file the right reports in the right places and connects you to every resource available — rather than an investigator or attorney.

Who Staffs the Hotline?

Calls are answered by case managers employed by a nonprofit victim services provider under contract with the DOJ. These are not automated systems or call center scripts. The case managers receive specialized training in:

• Elder financial fraud typologies (romance scams, tech support fraud, government impersonation, investment fraud)
• Federal and state reporting processes
• Trauma-informed communication (many callers are in distress or embarrassed)
• Victim rights under federal law

Interpreter services are available, meaning the call does not need to be conducted in English.

When to Call the Hotline

The hotline is appropriate in these situations:

• Your parent has recently been defrauded and you need to know what steps to take and in what order
• You suspect fraud is ongoing — the parent is still in contact with the scammer — and need guidance on how to intervene
• You have already reported to the FTC or police but are unsure what else to do
• Your parent is reluctant to accept that it was a scam and you want professional guidance on how to approach that conversation
• Significant money has been lost and you want to understand whether any legal or institutional remedies exist

You can call on behalf of a parent — you do not need to be the victim yourself to use the hotline.

What to Have Ready Before You Call

The case manager will be able to help you more effectively if you have basic information available:

• The approximate date the fraud began and when money was sent
• How money was transferred (wire transfer, gift cards, cryptocurrency, Zelle, etc.)
• Approximate total amount lost
• How contact was initiated (phone call, email, text, online, social media)
• The type of scam, if known (government impersonation, romance, tech support, lottery, investment, etc.)
• Whether any personal information was shared (Social Security number, bank account numbers, Medicare number)
• Whether you have already reported to any agency

You do not need to have all of this information prepared — the case manager will walk you through a structured intake — but having it available speeds the process.

What Happens After You Call

After the initial intake, your case manager will:

1. Prioritize immediate steps — if the fraud is ongoing or very recent, they will focus on stopping further loss first (freezing accounts, breaking contact with the scammer, securing email access)
2. Create a customized reporting plan — depending on the type of fraud, they will identify which agencies have jurisdiction and help you file reports in the right order
3. Connect you with local resources — including victim compensation programs, legal aid for older adults, and mental health support if needed
4. Follow up — case managers do not close cases immediately; they check in and provide ongoing support as the situation develops

Other Reporting Resources to Use Alongside the Hotline

The Elder Fraud Hotline is one component of a complete response. Use it alongside these:

Why Many Victims Do Not Call — and Why That Needs to Change

Studies consistently show that elder fraud is massively underreported. Estimates suggest only 1 in 20 incidents is ever reported to any authority. The reasons are predictable:

• Shame and embarrassment
• Fear that family will see them as incapable
• Uncertainty about whether what happened qualifies as fraud
• Not knowing where to report or believing it will not make a difference

All of these reasons are understandable — and all of them work in the scammer's favor.

Reporting serves two purposes beyond personal recovery: it creates an official record that may become part of a larger investigation, and it contributes to statistical data that drives federal funding for elder fraud enforcement. The FBI IC3 report that drives congressional action on elder fraud is built from individual reports exactly like yours.

If your parent is reluctant, it can help to frame reporting as something done on behalf of other seniors — "If we report this, it might prevent the same thing from happening to someone else."

When Reporting Is Not Enough: The Prevention Case

Recovery after fraud is harder than prevention before it. By the time a family calls the Elder Fraud Hotline, money is often already gone — and the hard reality is that gift card transactions, wire transfers to international accounts, and cryptocurrency payments are extremely difficult to recover.

This is why building a protection system before a scam happens matters more than any recovery resource. Setting up call blocking, adding a trusted contact person to financial accounts, establishing a family code word against AI voice cloning scams, and knowing what the specific red flags look like for each scam type — these steps reduce the chance of ever needing to make that hotline call.

The Elder Scam Shield guide walks through this prevention system in full: the phone settings, financial controls, legal tools like credit freezes and Power of Attorney, and the exact scripts for talking to a parent about all of it without triggering defensiveness. It is designed for adult children who want to act before fraud happens, not after.