City of London Police say fraud by trusted individuals cost the elderly over £51 million last year
Data shows older people are disproportionately affected by financial abuse
New figures released by the City of London Police reveal that older and vulnerable individuals are being heavily targeted by fraudsters who exploit their positions of trust.
During the 2025/26 financial year, fraud by abuse of position amounted to £93.8 million in total losses.
Notably, individuals aged 70 and over bore the brunt, losing over £51 million collectively.
This type of fraud involves exploiting a position of responsibility, authority, or trust to access and steal a victim's money, assets, or property without lawful authority.
The crimes are often perpetrated by those closest to the victim, including family members, friends, carers, employees, or individuals entrusted with managing another's finances or affairs.
Oliver Little is from the City of London Police - he tells us the impact of scams go far beyond finance
"Often we find with victims the emotional impact is just as severe. Sadly, we've had people who have taken their own lives following fraud. it's really important that people don't see this just as a financial impact on people, but understand the impact on people."
According to the data, people aged 80 to 89 experienced the highest number of reports and incurred the greatest financial losses, totalling almost £24 million.
These statistics highlight the significant risk faced by older individuals, emphasising the importance of safeguards and vigilance.
Oliver explains what tactics are used by those looking to take advantage of people who trust them
"With the abusive position of trust, see there's a range of things that go on from helping them get some money out and then taking proportion of the cash for themselves up to potentially try and get wills changed or power of attorney, things like that."
Oliver adds the progression of technology, particularly with online banking is leaving older people more vulnerable than ever
"I think what we've got is we've got an ageing population and that population, many of those people have worked hard all their lives for a comfortable retirement.
Many of those people are not particularly comfortable with modern technology and the pace of technological change is really fast. And so for them navigating modern finances can be quite difficult.
That's not the case for all of them, but many people might find themselves falling behind. And I think that means that they're uniquely vulnerable."
People are encouraged to keep an eye out on those around them who are older, Oliver points out what could be signs something is wrong
"If you are looking after an elderly relative or a friend. Make sure that you can have that open conversation about their finances.
Make sure that you understand what their kind of average costs are so that you can see if there's anything that's completely out of the ordinary.
Trust your instincts. Be able to have open conversations with them and if you start to notice missing bank statements or, you know, demand letters for debts that are out of scope with what you think that person's situation should be, missing valuables.
Those are the warning signs really that we look for. We see as people start to lose money and those kind of things pop up. So be aware of those warning signs."