Financial scams targeting seniors cost San Diego County residents millions each year — here's how to recognize the warning signs and where to report them locally.
By Patricia Nguyen, CDP · August 19, 2026
Financial exploitation is one of the most under-reported forms of elder abuse, and San Diego County — with a large retiree population, high home values, and a sizable veteran community receiving monthly benefit deposits — sees a steady stream of cases each year, from romance scams and fake tech-support calls to grandparent scams and outright theft by a trusted caregiver or family member. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and California's Department of Justice both flag adults 60 and older as the age group losing the most money per victim to fraud nationally, and local Adult Protective Services caseworkers say financial exploitation cases in San Diego County have been rising, not falling.
Scams aimed at seniors tend to fall into a few recurring patterns: a caller posing as a grandchild in legal trouble who needs money wired immediately; a 'tech support' pop-up demanding remote computer access and gift card payment; a romance interest met online who eventually asks for money; a fraudulent contractor after a wildfire or storm; or, most commonly and most damaging, a family member, caregiver, or new 'friend' who gradually gains access to accounts, a power of attorney, or a deed.
Some signs are financial: unexplained ATM withdrawals or wire transfers, new names added to a bank account or deed, unpaid bills despite adequate income, or a sudden reluctance to discuss money. Others are behavioral: a new 'friend' or caregiver who isolates the senior from family, insists on being present for financial conversations, or discourages calls to relatives. A sudden new will, power of attorney, or beneficiary change — especially one drafted quickly, without the senior's longtime attorney, and naming a recent acquaintance — is one of the clearest red flags Adult Protective Services caseworkers see.
Cognitive decline raises the risk substantially. A senior with early dementia may not remember agreeing to a purchase, may be unable to explain a large transfer, or may simply not recognize that a call demanding gift cards is a scam. Banks in California are required under state law to train staff to watch for signs of elder financial exploitation and, increasingly, tellers are the first to flag a suspicious withdrawal pattern — which is one reason it helps to let a senior's bank branch know a family member should be contacted about unusual activity.
Suspected financial abuse of a senior living at home should be reported to San Diego County Adult Protective Services (APS) at 800-510-2020, available 24/7. For a senior living in a licensed facility — an RCFE or skilled nursing facility — reports go to the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) complaint line at 844-538-8766, or to the California Department of Public Health for skilled nursing facilities. If a crime has already occurred (money was taken, a document was forged), it should also be reported to local police or the San Diego County Sheriff, and can be reported to the California Attorney General's office and the FBI's IC3.gov for scams involving wire transfers or online contact.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit handles criminal financial exploitation cases and has historically prioritized cases involving caregivers, conservators, or family members in a position of trust. The county's Aging & Independence Services (AIS) line, 800-339-4661, can also route a family to the right agency if it's unclear who has jurisdiction.
The most effective protections are usually in place before a scam happens. Setting up a trusted-contact designation on bank and brokerage accounts lets the institution call a pre-named family member if it sees suspicious activity, without giving that person account access. A durable power of attorney, set up while a senior is still clearly competent and with an attorney the family trusts (not one introduced by a new acquaintance), avoids a rushed or contested version later. Reviewing account and credit card statements together on a regular schedule — monthly, not just at tax time — tends to catch problems early, as does registering landline and cell numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry and treating any unsolicited call asking for money, gift cards, or remote computer access as a scam by default.
For seniors already receiving in-home care or living in a facility, asking pointed questions about who has account access, requesting an itemized accounting from any agent under a power of attorney, and keeping a family member other than the caregiver informed of major financial decisions all reduce risk. A free local senior care advisor can also help a family evaluate whether a caregiving arrangement or facility has appropriate financial safeguards in place before a placement is made.
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