Boston Council Hears Elder Fraud Topped $7.2 Million in Past Year

BOSTON — March 9, 2026 — Boston officials reported $7.2 million in elder fraud losses last year, calling the figure a significant undercount. The City Council Committee on Human Services, chaired by Councillor Erin J. Murphy and co-convened with Councillor Edward M. Flynn, heard from Age Strong Commissioner Emily Shea, Consumer Affairs and Licensing Executive Director Kathleen Joyce, and Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Gerald Cahill at the March 9 hearing. Cahill said imposter scams — callers posing as banks, law enforcement, or hospitals — accounted for roughly $1.8 million in elder losses last year, with computer pop-up scams adding another $1 million. Joyce's office closed more than 1,000 consumer cases last fiscal year and recovered more than $264,000 total; she cited one case in which a $70,000 fraud victim recovered all funds after her office coordinated with the FBI and the Postal Inspection Service. Cahill identified artificial intelligence as "the biggest thing" on the fraud horizon, warning that AI can now convincingly replicate familiar voices in phone calls. A member of the public, Paul White, testified that a fraudster used his Social Security information to open a credit card and buy $10,000 in jewelry at a Downtown Crossing store in April 2025, with Discover Bank still refusing to classify the transaction as fraud nearly a year later.